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Shaded-relief map of Garden City, Kansas: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
KANSAS · FINNEY COUNTY

Garden City

27,996 people, 2,850 ft above sea level in Finney County.

2,850 ftElevation, city center
27,996People, 2024 estimate
11 sq miLand area
Rain 39°
Rain now Dew point 38° · SE 14 mph · high 41°
City of Garden City River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Garden City plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Garden City

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Garden City Regional Airport (KGCK) · 5:54 PM
Rain
39° Rain Feels like 31° · high of 41° near 6 PM
WindSE 14 mphno gusts
Humidity96%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.03 in →steady
Visibility6 mihazy
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 38° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Tonight, about 6 PMin about 1 hours · 77% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.56 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Finney County
NWS Dodge City and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 6:19 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:23 AM5:32 PM ↓
10 h 9 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
—
Air quality index ·
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
rain
rain
rain
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
windy
windy
windy
windy
TEMPERATURE °F
41°
36°
48°
37°
53°
40°
CHANCE OF RAIN
77% · 0.10 in Saturday evening 50%
WIND, MPH
16
14
12
10
9
9
8
8
8
9
10
11
13
16
20
18
16
17
17
19
23
29
32
28
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 36 to 44°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 57° / 28°
SAT Nov. 14 Showers likely Showers likely
41° 33°
80% rain — SE 15, gusts 25 A
SUN Nov. 15 Chance of showers Chance of showers
48° 34°
40% rain — ESE 8 B
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
54° 36°
0% rain — S 17, gusts 31 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 43°
0% rain — S 25, gusts 40 B
WED Nov. 18 Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
66° 38°
10% rain — S 16, gusts 25 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
63° 47°
10% rain — SSE 13 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
68° 44°
40% rain up to 0.4″ S 22, gusts 39 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Garden City about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the southern Rockies three days ago, and over Texas a day ago, about 880 miles back along its path. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the Great Basin. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, TEN YEARS AGO Nov. 17, 2016

The hottest this week has been

87° on Nov. 17, 2016, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1948. Next is 84° in 1999.

84°
87°
19992016
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Garden City Experiment Sta record since 1948.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Garden City stands on

Garden City’s center stands about 2,850 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,810 ft to 2,900 ft, a difference of 90 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Alluvium (sand, silt, clay), from the Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Garden City, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
2,800 ft2,900 ft GARDEN CITY2,850 ftHigh point of the line3,000 ftArkansas Riverabout 2,840 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Loess

Silt. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

Dune Sand

Sand. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 9 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Sand, silt, clay. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Sand, silt, clay. Age: Pleistocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Garden City’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Garden City reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Arkansas and the Mississippi: about 1,580 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Garden City≈ 1,580 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF GARDEN CITY ≈ 1,580 mi to the Gulf of America Arkansas → Mississippi

Lakes on the way: Murray Lake and Ozark Lake.

690 miles of the trip are on the Arkansas.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Garden City; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Garden City’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1948 · Garden City Experiment Sta, 4 mi east-northeast

Garden City has a cold semi-arid climate. Summer afternoons average 93° in July; winter nights fall to about 17° in January. A normal year brings about 16 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 20 inches of water.

46°17°49°20°59°28°68°37°78°49°89°60°93°65°91°63°84°54°71°40°57°27°47°18° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY GARDEN CITY 19.6 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average93° / 65°high / low, the warmest month
January, average46° / 17°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow19.6 inwettest months: July and June
Snow a year15.6 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record112°FJune 28, 2012
Coldest on record−22°FJanuary 19, 1984
Wettest day on record3.70 inMay 1, 1978
Snowiest day on record12.0 inNovember 25, 1992
90° days a year76about 17 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°149and 19 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeCold semi-aridKöppen BSk

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 16, to the last in spring, about April 30 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and upJune 18 to Aug. 23; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezingNov. 2 to March 28; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchJune through August: 9.0 of the year’s 19.6 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Garden City normally reaches 58° and falls to 28°. The record high is 84°, in 1999; the record low 0°, in 2014. The most rain on this date, 0.32 in, fell in 1993.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high46°49°59°68°78°89°93°91°84°71°57°47°
Normal low17°20°28°37°49°60°65°63°54°40°27°18°
Rain and melt, in0.470.591.131.652.793.073.162.801.331.340.490.73
Snow, inches3.43.33.21.10.10.00.00.00.00.81.02.7
Record high80° (2015)90° (2016)95° (2026)99° (1989)103° (1996)112° (2012)111° (2022)110° (2024)105° (2012)100° (2016)91° (2016)82° (2025)
Record low−22° (1984)−20° (2021)−15° (1960)9° (1997)24° (2013)38° (1998)45° (1990)38° (1994)25° (1985)7° (2019)−5° (1991)−20° (2016)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1948 at Garden City Experiment Sta, 4 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Garden City on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Wichita KS · 192 MI 192 miles east Enid OK · 197 MI 197 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Garden City, Kansas. Explore the plate
KANSAS · FINNEY

Garden City

27,996 people, 2,850 ft above sea level in Finney County.

2,850 ftElevation
27,996People
11 sq miLand
Rain 39°
RainDew point 38°
1

Today in Garden City

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now rain 41° 77%
9p rain 38° 46%
12a rain 38° 32%
3a mostly cloudy night 37° 26%
6a mostly cloudy night 37° 6%
9a mostly cloudy day 39° 1%
Rain
NEXT RAINTonight about 6 PM · 77%
→
Sat80%
Showers likely Showers likely
33
41
A
Sun40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
34
48
B
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
36
54
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
43
58
B
Wed10%
Sunny; warmer Sunny; warmer
38
66
C
Thu10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
47
63
C
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
44
68
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, TEN YEARS AGO · NOV. 17, 2016

87°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1948.

2

What Garden City stands on

Garden City’s center stands about 2,850 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 2,810 ft to 2,900 ft, a difference of 90 ft: gently rolling country.

Garden City, west to east Garden City2,850 ftHigh point3,000 ftArkansas Riverabout 2,840 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center2,850 ft
Within 3 miles2,810 to 2,900 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (90 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceAlluvium
Its agePleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old
5

Garden City’s year

Garden City has a cold semi-arid climate. Summer afternoons average 93° in July; winter nights fall to about 17° in January. A normal year brings about 16 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 20 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 19.6 in
July, average93° / 65° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average46° / 17° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow19.6 in · wettest months: July and June
Snow a year15.6 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record112°F · June 28, 2012
Coldest on record−22°F · January 19, 1984
Wettest day on record3.70 in · May 1, 1978
Snowiest day on record12.0 in · November 25, 1992
90° days a year76 · about 17 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°149 · and 19 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeCold semi-arid · Köppen BSk
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 16, to the last in spring, about April 30 (median dates)
2Highs of 90° and up · June 18 to Aug. 23; normal highs reach 90°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 2 to March 28; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · June through August: 9.0 of the year’s 19.6 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Garden City normally reaches 58° and falls to 28°. The record high is 84°, in 1999; the record low 0°, in 2014. The most rain on this date, 0.32 in, fell in 1993.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1948 at Garden City Experiment Sta, 4 miles east-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,580 mito the Gulf of AmericaArkansas → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Garden City reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Arkansas and the Mississippi: about 1,580 river miles.

Lakes on the way: Murray Lake and Ozark Lake.

690 miles of the trip are on the Arkansas.