Benson, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Benson's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 28.1 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.5°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 29°C, 714 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBenson
- Station IDUSC00210667
- Location45.32°N 95.62°W
- Elevation1,030 ft (314 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population3,414
On October 22, the normal high in Benson is 55°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Benson.
- Jan 21° 1°
- Feb 26° 5°
- Mar 39° 18°
- Apr 56° 33°
- May 69° 46°
- Jun 79° 57°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 74° 49°
- Oct 59° 35°
- Nov 41° 22°
- Dec 27° 8°
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 Benson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.10 in), the least in January (0.74 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 1°F | 11.0°F | 0.74 | 8.3 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 26°F | 5°F | 15.4°F | 0.81 | 8.5 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 18°F | 28.7°F | 1.50 | 7.1 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 33°F | 44.1°F | 2.59 | 4.2 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 46°F | 57.6°F | 3.34 | 0.1 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 57°F | 68.1°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.2°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 69.7°F | 3.77 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 49°F | 61.6°F | 2.75 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 35°F | 46.8°F | 2.45 | 0.3 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 22°F | 31.2°F | 1.24 | 5.7 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 27°F | 8°F | 17.4°F | 0.82 | 8.4 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 33°F | 43.7°F | 28.11 | 42.6 | 101 | 12 | 168 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.7°C | 19 mm | 21 cm |
| February | −3°C | −15°C | −9.2°C | 21 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −1.8°C | 38 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.7°C | 66 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 62 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.4°C | 31 mm | 14 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −8.1°C | 21 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00210667; 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 Benson?
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 (9).
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 USC00210667.
When is the last frost in Benson?
In Benson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 21 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 17; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 171 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Benson in zone 4b in ZIP code 56215, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Benson's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00210667; 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 Benson?
In a normal year in Benson, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 168 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 101 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 168a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 83high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 101a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1945) is 104°F, on June 24, 1988; the lowest is −35°F, on January 16, 1977.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1995, with 38.12 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 79.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00210667; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00210667. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Benson?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Benson, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.8 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 69% | 2.6 |
| November | 67% | 1.7 |
| December | 61% | 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 Benson need?
A normal year in Benson brings 8,378 heating degree days, 56% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 643 cooling degree days, 29% 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 2,620 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,674 | 0 |
| February | 1,389 | 0 |
| March | 1,124 | 0 |
| April | 629 | 2 |
| May | 264 | 36 |
| June | 47 | 141 |
| July | 10 | 232 |
| August | 23 | 168 |
| September | 162 | 60 |
| October | 567 | 5 |
| November | 1,016 | 0 |
| December | 1,476 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,378 | 643 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00210667. 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 Benson been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 44.7°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.7°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 42.2°F | −1.5°F | – | – |
| 2023 | 44.7°F | +1.0°F | 21.25 | – |
Over 60 complete years from 1953 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°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 USC00210667; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Benson's climate compare?
Benson is warmer than 69 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 38. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.7°F is warmer than 14%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Benson is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Benson 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.
- Murdock, MN298 people · 13 mi SE
- Clontarf, MN126 people · 5 mi NW
- De Graff, MN108 people · 8 mi SE
- Danvers, MN100 people · 7 mi W
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 Benson's climate
What is the coldest month in Benson?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Benson?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 23 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Benson?
June, with 4.10 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.74 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Benson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Benson in zone 4b in ZIP code 56215, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Benson's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Benson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Milan, MN21 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Morris, MN22 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Glenwood, MN25 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Artichoke Lake (1 mi E), MN25 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made