Nebraska has a continental climate, with highly variable temperatures from season to season and year to year. The central region has an average annual normal temperature of 50°F (10°C), with a normal monthly maximum of 76°F (24°C) in July and a normal monthly minimum of 22°F (–6°C) in January. The record low for the state is –47°F (–44°C), registered in Morrill County on 12 February 1899; the record high of 118°F (48°C) was recorded at Minden on 24 July 1936.
Average yearly precipitation (1971–2000) in Omaha was 30 in (76 cm); in the semiarid panhandle in the west, 17 in (43 cm); and in the southeast, 30 in (76 cm). Snowfall in the state varies from about 21 in (53 cm) in the southeast to about 45 in (114 cm) in the northwest corner. Blizzards, droughts, and windstorms have plagued Nebraskans throughout their history.