Big Falls, MN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Big Falls's primary NOAA station, BIG FALLS.
The climate verdict for Big Falls
Winter sets the terms in Big Falls, Minnesota. A pronounced 60.1°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 38°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 38°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 27.3"
- annual precipitation
- 119 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Big Falls: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00210746 · Big Falls, MN 38°F mean · 27.3" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 38°F
- RANK-COOL #206
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Allagash
- PRCP-MID 27.3"
- SWING-WIDE 60°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 10,140 HDD
- STN-1 USC00210746
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Allagash, ME ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MN station list.
- Big Falls (this station) 38°F
- Hot Blackduck, MN 38°F
- Near Goodridge, MN 38°F
- Cold Allagash, ME 37°F
- Near Intl Falls, MN 37°F
Big Falls sits in Minnesota, the #3 coldest U.S. state at 42.2°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Big Falls
Big Falls: 21/100 · grade F
Big Falls publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Big Falls, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 27.3 in · 7.7 from 35 in | 73/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 194 calendar days | 17/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 119 days/year | 7/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 37.5°F · 30.0° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
Big Falls · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Big Falls is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 4.9°F and warmest-month mean 65.0°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 65.0°F
- Coldest month
- 4.9°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Big Falls sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Big Falls's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 97%
- Among 6,861 stations, Big Falls sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 37th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 98%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Big Falls is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Big Falls compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Big Falls's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Big Falls's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 35 complete annual observations from 1931 to 2025, BIG FALLS changed little at a fitted rate of 0.00°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Big Falls primary station fitted change -0.00 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°F (-10°C) | -5°F (-20°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 0.9" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 22°F (-5°C) | -1°F (-18°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 0.7" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 36°F (2°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 1.2" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 50°F (10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.7" | 22.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 64°F (18°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.1" | 7.5 | 0.1 |
| June | 72°F (22°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 4.4" | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| July | 77°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 4.1" | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| August | 75°F (24°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.4" | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| September | 65°F (19°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.2" | 3.6 | 0.0 |
| October | 50°F (10°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 2.4" | 17.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 33°F (1°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 1.3" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 19°F (-7°C) | 2°F (-16°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 1.0" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 77°F around July 22, short of 90°F on every date, while 194 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -6°F near January 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 28, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 194 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
The widest day
May 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Big Falls.
Where Big Falls Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 194 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Big Falls earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Big Falls runs a summer-peaked wet season
43% of Big Falls's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 4.4", on a wide 60.1°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, August, taking 43% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.7".
- Winter share: 9% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 24
50% probability date
Growing Season
119 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
10,140
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
176
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MN closest to Big Falls on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (38°F here).
- Bondurant, WY 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Pinedale, WY 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Willow City, ND 38°F · 0.1°F off
- Big Sky, MT 38°F · 0.2°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (27.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Great Bend, KS 27.3" · 0.0" off
- Fairmont, NE 27.3" · 0.0" off
- Larned, KS 27.2" · 0.1" off
- Albion, NE 27.2" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Big Falls's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Big Falls logs 10,140 heating degree days, more than twice its 176 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 60.1°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 119 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
Big Falls's calendar has a pronounced split: July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar, with 60.1°F between them. The annual average is 38°F. That average is context, while the monthly highs, lows, and precipitation totals describe the lived parts of the year.
Big Falls's 27.3 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Big Falls's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Big Falls, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Big Falls's climate
How much rain does Big Falls get? ▼
How cold does Big Falls get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Big Falls? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Big Falls's primary station: BIG FALLS (USC00210746). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2705680). Match rule for Big Falls: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Big Falls comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.