Climateby Month

Fort Smith, AR climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 436 ft elevation

Summers in Fort Smith are hot and oppressively humid; winters are chilly. Highs peak at 94°F in July and fall to 51°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 7 to 11 a month. Normal snowfall is about 2.9 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is April.

Warmest month
94°F
July normal high
Coldest month
30°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
99
47.3 in of precipitation
Snow a year
2.9 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Fort Smith?

Normal highs range from 51°F in January to 94°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 51°F (11°C), low 30°F (-1°C) 51° 30° February: normal high 57°F (14°C), low 33°F (1°C) March: normal high 66°F (19°C), low 42°F (6°C) April: normal high 75°F (24°C), low 50°F (10°C) May: normal high 81°F (27°C), low 60°F (16°C) June: normal high 89°F (32°C), low 68°F (20°C) July: normal high 94°F (34°C), low 72°F (22°C) 94° 72° August: normal high 94°F (34°C), low 71°F (22°C) September: normal high 87°F (31°C), low 63°F (17°C) October: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 51°F (11°C) November: normal high 63°F (17°C), low 40°F (4°C) December: normal high 53°F (12°C), low 32°F (0°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Fort Smith?

May has the most wet days (about 11); the year brings about 47 in of precipitation.

January: 8 wet days February: 8 wet days March: 10 wet days April: 9 wet days May: 11 wet days 11 June: 9 wet days July: 7 wet days 7 August: 7 wet days September: 7 wet days October: 8 wet days November: 7 wet days December: 8 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 2.9 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 1.4 in of snow 1.4 February: 0.6 in of snow March: 0.3 in of snow April: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 May: 0.0 in of snow June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.0 in of snow November: 0.0 in of snow December: 0.6 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Fort Smith?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 27 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 1 muggy days May: 9 muggy days June: 23 muggy days July: 27 muggy days 27 August: 26 muggy days September: 13 muggy days October: 3 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Fort Smith Regional Airport, 4.1 mi SSE of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.8 hours in December to 14.5 hours in June.

January: 10.1 hours of daylight February: 10.9 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.1 hours of daylight May: 14.0 hours of daylight June: 14.5 hours of daylight 14.5 July: 14.3 hours of daylight August: 13.5 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.3 hours of daylight November: 10.3 hours of daylight December: 9.8 hours of daylight 9.8 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Fort Smith, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 51°F30°F 2.9 in8 1.4 in 0 10.1 h
February 57°F33°F 2.7 in8 0.6 in 0 10.9 h
March 66°F42°F 3.9 in10 0.3 in 0 12.0 h
April 75°F50°F 4.9 in9 0.0 in 1 13.1 h
May 81°F60°F 5.6 in11 0.0 in 9 14.0 h
June 89°F68°F 4.6 in9 0.0 in 23 14.5 h
July 94°F72°F 3.4 in7 0.0 in 27 14.3 h
August 94°F71°F 3.6 in7 0.0 in 26 13.5 h
September 87°F63°F 4.0 in7 0.0 in 13 12.4 h
October 76°F51°F 4.4 in8 0.0 in 3 11.3 h
November 63°F40°F 3.9 in7 0.0 in 0 10.3 h
December 53°F32°F 3.5 in8 0.6 in 0 9.8 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Fort Smith

By our comfort score, the best month is April.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 45457
Feb 55853
Mar 651461
Apr 701670
May 60873
Jun 441615
Jul 390524
Aug 380523
Sep 474511
Oct 641451
Nov 601251
Dec 47554

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Fort Smith

The last spring frost typically comes around Mar 25, and the first fall frost around Nov 6, leaving 224 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Fort Smith
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Mar 25after Apr 11
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 6before Oct 23
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 11after Apr 2
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 17before Nov 1
Frost-free season224 daysunder 202 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Ft Smith Rgnl Airport (USW00013964), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Arkansas.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 115°F (August 3, 2011); the lowest was 3°F (February 10, 2011, and 1 other day).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Fort Smith

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth, frost dates, humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Ft Smith Rgnl Airport (USW00013964), 4.2 mi SSE of the city center, 449 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Fort Smith Regional Airport (723440-13964), 4.1 mi SSE of the city center, 448 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error