Bayfield, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bayfield's normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 32.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.0°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 25°C, 829 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBayfield Fish Hatchery
- Station IDUSC00470604
- Location46.79°N 90.86°W
- Elevation615 ft (188 m)
- Population592
On October 22, the normal high in Bayfield is 52°F and the normal low 33°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bayfield.
- Jan 23° 4°
- Feb 26° 6°
- Mar 37° 17°
- Apr 49° 29°
- May 60° 40°
- Jun 71° 50°
- Jul 77° 56°
- Aug 76° 55°
- Sep 68° 48°
- Oct 55° 36°
- Nov 40° 25°
- Dec 28° 12°
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 Bayfield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.88 in), the least in February (1.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 4°F | 13.1°F | 1.54 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 6°F | 16.0°F | 1.27 | – | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 17°F | 26.7°F | 1.60 | – | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 49°F | 29°F | 38.9°F | 2.68 | – | <1 | 22 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 60°F | 40°F | 49.8°F | 3.51 | – | <1 | 8 | 15 h |
| June | 71°F | 50°F | 60.7°F | 3.88 | – | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 77°F | 56°F | 66.7°F | 3.85 | – | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 76°F | 55°F | 65.5°F | 3.59 | – | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 48°F | 58.0°F | 3.41 | – | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 36°F | 45.1°F | 3.22 | – | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 25°F | 32.3°F | 2.09 | – | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 28°F | 12°F | 20.2°F | 1.98 | – | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 31°F | 41.0°F | 32.62 | – | 1 | 185 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −16°C | −10.5°C | 39 mm |
| February | −3°C | −14°C | −8.9°C | 32 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.9°C | 41 mm |
| April | 9°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 68 mm |
| May | 16°C | 4°C | 9.9°C | 89 mm |
| June | 22°C | 10°C | 15.9°C | 99 mm |
| July | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 98 mm |
| August | 24°C | 13°C | 18.6°C | 91 mm |
| September | 20°C | 9°C | 14.4°C | 87 mm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 82 mm |
| November | 4°C | −4°C | 0.2°C | 53 mm |
| December | −2°C | −11°C | −6.6°C | 50 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Bayfield's own co-op station Bayfield (6 mi N) does: 106 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00470604; 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 Bayfield?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September.
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 USC00470604.
When is the last frost in Bayfield?
In Bayfield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 17 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 5; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 131 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 155 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bayfield in zone 5a in ZIP code 54814, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00470604; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Bayfield?
In a normal year in Bayfield, 1 day a year reaches 90°F and 185 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a 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
- 81high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00470604.
How sunny is Bayfield?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bayfield, 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 Bayfield need?
A normal year in Bayfield brings 8,905 heating degree days, 66% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 210 cooling degree days, 77% 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 1,718 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,610 | 0 |
| February | 1,372 | 0 |
| March | 1,189 | 0 |
| April | 785 | 0 |
| May | 475 | 2 |
| June | 156 | 25 |
| July | 44 | 97 |
| August | 56 | 69 |
| September | 229 | 17 |
| October | 618 | 0 |
| November | 983 | 0 |
| December | 1,390 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,905 | 210 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00470604. 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 Bayfield been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 41.7°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.0°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.3°F | +2.3°F | 29.98 |
| 2022 | 39.7°F | −1.3°F | 33.13 |
| 2023 | 42.9°F | +1.9°F | 37.36 |
| 2024 | 44.9°F | +3.9°F | 32.02 |
| 2025 | 41.7°F | +0.7°F | 25.56 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00470604. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bayfield's climate compare?
Bayfield is warmer than 13 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 35. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.0°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bayfield 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 Bayfield share this climate record?
2 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.
- Washburn, WI2,055 people · 8 mi S
- Cornucopia, WI104 people · 12 mi NW
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 Bayfield's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Bayfield. This page uses Bayfield Fish Hatchery; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfield (6 mi N) USC00470603 | 7 mi N | 820 ft | 41.7°F | 7°F | 77°F | 33.3 | 106 | May 20 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Bayfield's climate
What is the coldest month in Bayfield?
January, with a normal high of 23°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Bayfield?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Bayfield's NOAA station; Bayfield's own co-op station Bayfield (6 mi N) records 106 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Bayfield?
June, with 3.88 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bayfield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bayfield in zone 5a in ZIP code 54814, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Bayfield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 5. Waiting until June 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Madeline Island, WI5 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Ashland, WI17 miles from this station, 41.5°F a year
- Port Wing, WI25 miles from this station, 41.1°F a year
- Saxon, WI29 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made