Climate
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Though located at approximately the same latitude as Rome, Italy, Omaha, by virtue of its location near the center of North America far from large bodies of water or mountain ranges, has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa), with hot summers and cold winters. Average July maximum and minimum temperatures are 87.4 °F (30.8 °C) and 65.9 °F (18.8 °C) respectively, with moderate humidity and relatively frequent thunderstorms, usually rather violent and capable of spawning severe weather or tornadoes; the January counterparts are 31.7 °F (−0.2 °C) and 11.6 °F (−11.3 °C), though temperatures may easily fall below 0 °F (−18 °C) or rise above 50 °F (10 °C). The maximum temperature recorded in the city is 114 °F (46 °C), the minimum −32 °F (−36 °C). Average yearly precipitation is 30.2 inches (767 mm), falling mostly in the warmer months, as winter precipitation is more often in the form of lower-moisture-content snowfall, averaging 26.8 inches (68 cm) per season.
Omaha has had its share of natural disasters by water and wind. The city's Carter Lake was formed by a massive flood which altered the course of the Missouri River. The Great Flood of 1881 filled Omaha and Council Bluffs with water for almost a month, causing two fatalities and millions of dollars in damage. As many as 1,000 people were displaced by a flood in 1943, which sent the Missouri River, Carter Lake, and the old Florence Lake into homes and businesses throughout East Omaha. The flood of April 13, 1952 led to 40,000 people being evacuated from East Omaha and Carter Lake. President Harry S. Truman personally visited the scene of the flooding in Omaha and officially declared it a disaster area.
Several neighborhoods in Midtown and North Omaha were severely damaged by the Easter Sunday tornado of 1913, which destroyed many businesses and neighborhoods. More than 200 people died during the event. The Omaha Tornado of 1975 cut through 10 miles of streets and residences, crossing the city's busiest intersection at 72nd and Dodge. Three people were killed and 133 were reported injured.
| Climate data for Omaha (Eppley Airfield), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 69 (21) |
78 (26) |
91 (33) |
96 (36) |
103 (39) |
107 (42) |
114 (46) |
111 (44) |
104 (40) |
96 (36) |
83 (28) |
72 (22) |
114 (46) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 33.4 (0.8) |
38.1 (3.4) |
50.9 (10.5) |
63.7 (17.6) |
73.8 (23.2) |
83.2 (28.4) |
87.3 (30.7) |
85.1 (29.5) |
77.6 (25.3) |
64.7 (18.2) |
48.9 (9.4) |
35.3 (1.8) |
61.9 (16.6) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 13.6 (−10.2) |
18.1 (−7.7) |
28.1 (−2.2) |
39.8 (4.3) |
50.9 (10.5) |
61.0 (16.1) |
66.2 (19) |
64.0 (17.8) |
53.9 (12.2) |
41.6 (5.3) |
28.8 (−1.8) |
16.7 (−8.5) |
40.3 (4.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −32 (−36) |
−26 (−32) |
−16 (−27) |
5 (−15) |
21 (−6) |
39 (4) |
44 (7) |
43 (6) |
28 (−2) |
8 (−13) |
−14 (−26) |
−25 (−32) |
−32 (−36) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 0.72 (18.3) |
0.85 (21.6) |
1.99 (50.5) |
2.96 (75.2) |
4.76 (120.9) |
4.18 (106.2) |
3.83 (97.3) |
3.82 (97) |
2.68 (68.1) |
2.15 (54.6) |
1.64 (41.7) |
1.04 (26.4) |
30.62 (777.8) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 6.7 (17) |
6.4 (16.3) |
4.8 (12.2) |
1.3 (3.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.5 (1.3) |
2.7 (6.9) |
6.3 (16) |
28.7 (73) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.0 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 10.2 | 12.3 | 11.0 | 10.3 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 101.2 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 5.0 | 5.2 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 5.0 | 21.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 167.4 | 158.2 | 207.7 | 231.0 | 275.9 | 315.0 | 331.7 | 297.6 | 246.0 | 217.0 | 147.0 | 133.3 | 2,727.8 |
| Source #1: NOAA (extremes 1871–present), HKO (sun only, 1961–1990) | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: The Weather Channel | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Geography Of Omaha
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“The climate has been described as “ten months winter and two months mighty late in the fall.””
—Administration in the State of Colo, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are layed waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever.... Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)