Ashland, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ashland's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 27.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.3°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 26°C, 707 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAshland Kennedy Memorial Airport
- Station IDUSW00094929
- Location46.55°N 90.92°W
- Elevation826 ft (252 m)
- Population7,940
On October 8, the normal high in Ashland is 59°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ashland.
- Jan 22° 6°
- Feb 27° 8°
- Mar 38° 18°
- Apr 51° 29°
- May 64° 39°
- Jun 73° 49°
- Jul 79° 55°
- Aug 77° 53°
- Sep 69° 46°
- Oct 55° 35°
- Nov 40° 25°
- Dec 28° 13°
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 Ashland each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.93 in), the least in January (0.64 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 6°F | 14.0°F | 0.64 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 27°F | 8°F | 17.2°F | 0.70 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 18°F | 27.9°F | 1.12 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 29°F | 39.5°F | 2.26 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 3.45 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 15 h |
| June | 73°F | 49°F | 61.0°F | 3.92 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 79°F | 55°F | 66.7°F | 3.93 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 53°F | 65.1°F | 3.44 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 69°F | 46°F | 57.4°F | 3.03 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 35°F | 45.0°F | 2.83 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 25°F | 32.3°F | 1.55 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 28°F | 13°F | 20.1°F | 0.98 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 31°F | 41.5°F | 27.85 | 123 | 5 | 185 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −15°C | −10.0°C | 16 mm |
| February | −3°C | −13°C | −8.2°C | 18 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.3°C | 28 mm |
| April | 10°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 57 mm |
| May | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 88 mm |
| June | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 100 mm |
| July | 26°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 100 mm |
| August | 25°C | 12°C | 18.4°C | 87 mm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 77 mm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 72 mm |
| November | 5°C | −4°C | 0.2°C | 39 mm |
| December | −2°C | −11°C | −6.6°C | 25 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Madeline Island (17 miles away), gets 74 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094929; 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 Ashland?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (13).
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 USW00094929.
When is the last frost in Ashland?
In Ashland, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 in half of years and before September 14 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 231 year in 10 after June 6; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 14; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 125 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 152 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 8 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ashland in zone 5a in ZIP code 54806, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ashland's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (22 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 USW00094929; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Ashland?
In a normal year in Ashland, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 185 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 185a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 85high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
The highest temperature in Ashland's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 107°F, on July 23, 1934; the lowest is −41°F, on January 17, 1982.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1953, with 42.40 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 95.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094929; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ASXthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ashland?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ashland, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.3 |
| February | 66% | 2.3 |
| March | 68% | 3.5 |
| April | 67% | 4.5 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 78% | 6.2 |
| August | 76% | 5.1 |
| September | 72% | 3.8 |
| October | 63% | 2.4 |
| November | 58% | 1.4 |
| December | 52% | 1.0 |
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 Ashland need?
A normal year in Ashland brings 8,796 heating degree days, 64% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 259 cooling degree days, 71% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,775 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,579 | 0 |
| February | 1,340 | 0 |
| March | 1,152 | 0 |
| April | 764 | 0 |
| May | 427 | 8 |
| June | 161 | 39 |
| July | 57 | 110 |
| August | 70 | 75 |
| September | 253 | 25 |
| October | 620 | 2 |
| November | 981 | 0 |
| December | 1,392 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,796 | 259 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094929. 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 Ashland been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 41.9°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.5°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.3°F | +1.8°F | 20.25 |
| 2022 | 40.2°F | −1.3°F | – |
| 2023 | 43.5°F | +2.0°F | – |
| 2024 | 45.7°F | +4.2°F | 28.02 |
| 2025 | 41.9°F | +0.4°F | 21.32 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094929. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ashland's climate compare?
Ashland is warmer than 23 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 1. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.5°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ashland 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 Ashland share this climate record?
4 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.
- Bayfront, WI128 people · 8 mi NE
- Odanah, WI118 people · 12 mi E
- Diaperville, WI107 people · 11 mi E
- Mason, WI105 people · 10 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Ashland's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Ashland. This page uses Ashland Kennedy Memorial Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland (3 mi S) USC00470347 | in town | 826 ft | 41.3°F | 4°F | 78°F | 32.8 | – | May 20 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Ashland's climate
What is the coldest month in Ashland?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Ashland?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Ashland's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Madeline Island (17 miles away), records 74 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Ashland?
July, with 3.93 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.64 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ashland in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ashland in zone 5a in ZIP code 54806, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Ashland's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Ashland?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 6. Waiting until June 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bayfield, WI17 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Madeline Island, WI17 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Mellen, WI18 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Drummond, WI22 miles from this station, 40.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made