Topeka has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification "Dfa"), with hot, somewhat humid summers and cool to cold, fairly dry winters, and is in USDA plant hardiness zone 6a. Over the course of a year, the monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. The maximum temperature reaches an average of 41.5 afternoons per year and reaches an average of 3.5 afternoons per year. The minimum temperature falls below an average of four mornings per year, and 21 afternoons per year stay below freezing. The average window for freezing temperatures is October 15 through April 17.