Mentor reaches 100° on about 16 days a year, more than 94% of U.S. towns
January nights here settle around 20°. It is a dry place: less rain and snow fall here than on 85% of U.S. towns. Warming shows here too: 1.4° more than in 1901–2000, led by January. Picnics, hikes and garden evenings suit April, May, September and October, with highs of 68–83°.
A year in Mentor at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, and what it brings.
What stands out about Mentor’s climate
Compared with towns across the U.S., with Mentor’s place in Kansas beside it.
What a year in Mentor feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from NOAA’s 30-year normals.
About 187 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by April 18 and the first by October 23. Frost and day counts come from NOAA’s station at Salina Muni Airport, 5 miles from the town’s center, at about the same height.
The 2023 USDA map puts Mentor’s center in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical winter, averaged over 1991–2020, reaches about −2°. Plant labels use the zone; frost dates tell you when to plant.
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
About 14 inches of snow a winter
Snow, measured at Lindsborg 3e, KS, falls mostly in January. Precipitation (rain plus melted snow) adds up to 31 inches a year; May is the wettest month and January the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 80 days a year.
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
Heating and cooling a home in Mentor
75% of the work is heating. Months averaging under 55° run from November through March.
Degree days add up how far each day’s average falls below (heating) or rises above (cooling) 65° over a year. NOAA normals at Salina Muni Airport.
Living with Mentor’s climate
What the numbers mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
187 frost-free days in zone 6b. The last frost comes by Apr 18 in half of years, so many gardeners wait a week or two past that to set out tomatoes. The first fall frost comes by Oct 23.
Months with highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more: April, May, September and October.
Parks & trails →Of the yearly building losses FEMA expects in Mentor from natural hazards, river flooding is the largest share (43%); heat waves, cold waves, winter storms and ice storms together are 13%. Normals are averages; the hazards page covers the extremes.
Natural hazards →Mentor and similar climates
TownRatings has no climate map of the towns around Mentor yet.
Climates most like Mentor’s, farther away
TownRatings’ own comparison of NOAA 1991–2020 normals, not a NOAA product: places of 5,000+ at least 150 miles away, one per state, closest on January low, July high, precipitation and snow.
| Town | Jan. low | July high | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mentor, KS | 20° | 93° | 31" | 14" |
| Woodward, OK | 22° | 95° | 26" | 15" |
| Perryton, TX | 22° | 94° | 21" | 14" |
| South Ogden, UT | 21° | 91° | 22" | 23" |
| McCook, NE | 15° | 92° | 21" | 20" |
Temperatures and precipitation come from NOAA’s 5 km grid; snow and day counts from the stations named on this page.
Warmer than it used to be
The last 30 years in Mentor averaged 1.4° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in January (+3.1°).
A bigger shift than in 54% of U.S. towns.
Change by month
The two periods overlap (1991–2000 is in both), which makes the gap a little smaller than it would be between separate periods.
How Mentor compares
Against 12,954 U.S. towns of 2,500 or more (one per 5 km climate cell), with Mentor’s place among Kansas’.
Mentor weather by month
Highs, lows and precipitation from NOAA’s grid at Mentor’s center; snow, wet days and snow on the ground from Lindsborg 3e, KS. 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt | Snow | Wet days | Snow on ground | 30-yr range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 20° | 0.8" | 4.0" | 5 | 7 | 25° – 42° |
| February | 47° | 24° | 1.1" | 3.4" | 5 | 5 | 28° – 44° |
| March | 58° | 33° | 1.9" | 1.6" | 7 | 2 | 38° – 57° |
| April | 68° | 42° | 2.7" | 0.4" | 8 | 0 | 49° – 61° |
| May | 77° | 54° | 5.0" | 0.0" | 9 | 0 | 59° – 75° |
| June | 88° | 64° | 4.2" | 0.0" | 9 | 0 | 69° – 82° |
| July | 93° | 69° | 4.0" | 0.0" | 8 | 0 | 76° – 87° |
| August | 91° | 67° | 3.8" | 0.0" | 8 | 0 | 72° – 86° |
| September | 83° | 58° | 2.8" | 0.0" | 6 | 0 | 65° – 77° |
| October | 70° | 45° | 2.3" | 0.3" | 6 | 0 | 50° – 63° |
| November | 56° | 32° | 1.3" | 1.5" | 5 | 1 | 36° – 51° |
| December | 44° | 23° | 1.2" | 3.0" | 5 | 4 | 22° – 39° |
| Year | 68° | 44° | 31.2" | 14.2" | 80 | 19 |
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average. March swings the most: from 1991 to 2020 its average ranged from 38° to 57°. July is the most reliable, staying within 11°.
Where Mentor’s numbers come from
Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. How TownRatings reads climate data →
- Temperatures and precipitation: NOAA’s gridded 1991–2020 normals for the 5 km cell at Mentor’s center.
- Snow: Lindsborg 3e, KS.
- Frost, freezing nights, 90° and 100° days, heating and cooling: Salina Muni Airport, 5 miles from the town’s center, at about the same height; the nearest station that passes our checks for distance, height and agreement with the grid.
- Growing zone: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. USDA Agricultural Research Service and PRISM Group, Oregon State University, prism.oregonstate.edu/phzm, accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Then and now: NOAA’s gridded normals for 1901–2000 at the same cell.
- Storms and extremes: FEMA National Risk Index (expected annual losses to buildings).
Common questions about Mentor’s climate
What is the weather like in Mentor?
A typical July afternoon reaches 93°, a January night drops to 20°, and about 14 inches of snow falls in a normal winter. Colder January nights than 57% of U.S. towns; hotter July afternoons than 91% of U.S. towns.
How cold does it get in Mentor in winter?
January nights average 20°. About 116 nights a year reach 32° or below and 2 reach 0° or below. In the coldest January of the last 30 years the month averaged 25°.
How much snow does Mentor get?
About 14 inches in a normal winter at Lindsborg 3e, KS, most of it in January, with snow on the ground about 19 days a year.
How hot does it get in Mentor?
July, with a typical high of 93° and a low of 69°. About 68 days a year reach 90° and 16 reach 100° (Salina Muni Airport).
When is the first and last frost in Mentor?
In half of years the last spring frost (32°) comes by April 18 and the first fall frost by October 23, about 187 frost-free days, at Salina Muni Airport.
What growing zone is Mentor in?
Zone 6b on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the coldest night of a typical winter reaches about −2°.
What is the best time of year to visit Mentor?
By one simple rule (highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more), April, May, September and October. The rule is ours, not NOAA’s; the month table has the numbers to judge by.
Is Mentor getting warmer?
Yes: 1991–2020 averaged 1.4° warmer than 1901–2000 on NOAA’s grid. A bigger shift than 54% of U.S. towns.
Neighbors talk weather
Gardens, snow, and the best days of the year in Mentor.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000; USDA/PRISM 2023 hardiness zones; FEMA National Risk Index. Today’s forecast: National Weather Service.