Appleton, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Appleton's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 33.1 inches of precipitation and 49 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 28°C, 842 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAppleton
- Station IDUSC00470265
- Location44.28°N 88.44°W
- Elevation792 ft (241 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population75,344
On October 22, the normal high in Appleton is 55°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Appleton.
- Jan 25° 10°
- Feb 29° 12°
- Mar 41° 22°
- Apr 54° 34°
- May 67° 46°
- Jun 77° 57°
- Jul 82° 61°
- Aug 79° 60°
- Sep 72° 51°
- Oct 58° 39°
- Nov 43° 28°
- Dec 31° 17°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Appleton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.65 in), the least in February (1.13 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 10°F | 17.7°F | 1.36 | 12.6 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 12°F | 20.4°F | 1.13 | 11.2 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 22°F | 31.4°F | 1.92 | 7.2 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 34°F | 44.0°F | 3.24 | 4.0 | 12 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 46°F | 56.8°F | 3.64 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 77°F | 57°F | 66.8°F | 4.65 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 61°F | 71.4°F | 3.78 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 60°F | 69.5°F | 3.58 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 72°F | 51°F | 61.3°F | 3.18 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 39°F | 48.6°F | 2.84 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 28°F | 35.5°F | 2.07 | 2.4 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 31°F | 17°F | 23.8°F | 1.76 | 11.6 | 10 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 36°F | 45.6°F | 33.15 | 49.4 | 123 | 7 | 157 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −12°C | −7.9°C | 35 mm | 32 cm |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.4°C | 29 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | −0.3°C | 49 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 12°C | 1°C | 6.7°C | 82 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.8°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 14°C | 19.3°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 4°C | 9.2°C | 72 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −2°C | 1.9°C | 53 mm | 6 cm |
| December | −1°C | −8°C | −4.6°C | 45 mm | 29 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00470265; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Appleton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00470265.
When is the last frost in Appleton?
In Appleton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 23 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 41 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 154 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Appleton in zone 5b across its 4 ZIP code areas (5b in 54915, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Appleton's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00470265; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Appleton ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Appleton's 4 ZIP code areas are all in zone 5b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Appleton?
In a normal year in Appleton, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 157 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 157a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 69high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 103°F, on August 16, 1988; the lowest is −32°F, on February 20, 1929.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 49.03 in; the snowiest season is 2010–11, with 83.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00470265; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00470265. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Appleton?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Appleton, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (58%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 385th (with 30 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.6 |
| February | 72% | 2.7 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 68% | 2.6 |
| November | 65% | 1.7 |
| December | 58% | 1.2 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Appleton need?
A normal year in Appleton brings 7,622 heating degree days, 42% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 588 cooling degree days, 35% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,525 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,466 | 0 |
| February | 1,249 | 0 |
| March | 1,044 | 0 |
| April | 633 | 1 |
| May | 286 | 32 |
| June | 65 | 119 |
| July | 12 | 211 |
| August | 24 | 165 |
| September | 166 | 56 |
| October | 514 | 4 |
| November | 885 | 0 |
| December | 1,279 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,622 | 588 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00470265. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Appleton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.8°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.1°F | +1.5°F | 34.45 | 41.9 |
| 2022 | 45.1°F | −0.5°F | 36.93 | 36.7 |
| 2023 | 48.0°F | +2.4°F | 32.83 | 70.6 |
| 2024 | 49.5°F | +3.9°F | 44.04 | 48.8 |
| 2025 | 46.8°F | +1.1°F | 30.37 | 52.0 |
Over 99 complete years from 1902 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.4°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00470265; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Appleton's climate compare?
Appleton is warmer than 92 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 44. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.6°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Appleton is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Appleton share this climate record?
10 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Neenah, WI27,502 people · 8 mi S
- Fox Crossing, WI19,362 people · 4 mi SW
- Menasha, WI18,433 people · 4 mi S
- Kaukauna, WI18,363 people · 9 mi E
- Harrison, WI14,254 people · 9 mi SE
- Greenville, WI13,273 people · 5 mi W
- Little Chute, WI11,761 people · 6 mi E
- Kimberly, WI7,529 people · 5 mi E
- Combined Locks, WI3,613 people · 6 mi E
- Black Creek, WI1,335 people · 14 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Appleton's climate
What is the coldest month in Appleton?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Appleton?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 34 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (12.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Appleton?
June, with 4.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.13 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Appleton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Appleton in zone 5b across its 4 ZIP code areas (5b in 54915, the largest). By the same method at Appleton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Appleton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Appleton in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- New London, WI15 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Brillion, WI19 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Oshkosh, WI21 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Chilton, WI22 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made