Browns Valley, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Browns Valley's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 25.4 inches of precipitation and 44 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.1°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 29°C, 644 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBrowns Valley
- Station IDUSC00211063
- Location45.60°N 96.83°W
- Elevation978 ft (298 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population505
On October 22, the normal high in Browns Valley is 55°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Browns Valley.
- Jan 22° 1°
- Feb 27° 5°
- Mar 40° 17°
- Apr 55° 30°
- May 69° 43°
- Jun 79° 54°
- Jul 84° 59°
- Aug 82° 56°
- Sep 74° 46°
- Oct 58° 34°
- Nov 42° 21°
- Dec 28° 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 Browns Valley each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.97 in), the least in December (0.81 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 1°F | 11.4°F | 0.93 | 8.8 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 27°F | 5°F | 16.1°F | 0.89 | 9.0 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 40°F | 17°F | 28.4°F | 1.28 | 5.7 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 30°F | 42.7°F | 2.49 | 4.9 | 7 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 43°F | 56.3°F | 2.82 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 54°F | 66.5°F | 3.75 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 84°F | 59°F | 71.1°F | 3.97 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 82°F | 56°F | 68.7°F | 2.67 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 74°F | 46°F | 59.8°F | 2.43 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 34°F | 46.1°F | 2.31 | 0.9 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 21°F | 31.1°F | 1.00 | 5.4 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 28°F | 8°F | 17.9°F | 0.81 | 9.5 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 31°F | 43.0°F | 25.35 | 44.2 | 80 | 15 | 179 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −17°C | −11.4°C | 24 mm | 22 cm |
| February | −3°C | −15°C | −8.8°C | 23 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −2.0°C | 33 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 5.9°C | 63 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.5°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 15°C | 21.7°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 13°C | 20.4°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.4°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 59 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.5°C | 25 mm | 14 cm |
| December | −2°C | −13°C | −7.8°C | 21 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00211063; 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 Browns Valley?
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 (7).
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 USC00211063.
When is the last frost in Browns Valley?
In Browns Valley, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 15 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 91 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Browns Valley in zone 4b in ZIP code 56219, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00211063; 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 Browns Valley?
In a normal year in Browns Valley, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 179 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 80 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 179a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 81high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 80a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00211063.
How sunny is Browns Valley?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Browns Valley, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 1.9 |
| February | 82% | 3.0 |
| March | 73% | 3.9 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 76% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.6 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.2 |
| October | 70% | 2.7 |
| November | 70% | 1.8 |
| December | 65% | 1.3 |
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 Browns Valley need?
A normal year in Browns Valley brings 8,506 heating degree days, 58% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 534 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,397 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,661 | 0 |
| February | 1,369 | 0 |
| March | 1,135 | 0 |
| April | 670 | 1 |
| May | 295 | 26 |
| June | 63 | 109 |
| July | 15 | 204 |
| August | 34 | 147 |
| September | 200 | 44 |
| October | 590 | 4 |
| November | 1,016 | 0 |
| December | 1,460 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,506 | 534 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00211063. 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 Browns Valley been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 41.7°F, 1.3°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 43.0°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.5°F | +2.5°F | 29.01 | 36.3 |
| 2022 | 41.7°F | −1.3°F | 22.07 | 52.5 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00211063. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Browns Valley's climate compare?
Browns Valley is warmer than 60 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 14. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.0°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Browns Valley 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 Browns Valley 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.
- Agency Village, SD911 people · 12 mi W
- Peever, SD174 people · 7 mi SW
- Long Hollow, SD165 people · 17 mi W
- Peever Flats, SD107 people · 7 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.
Questions about Browns Valley's climate
What is the coldest month in Browns Valley?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Browns Valley?
Yes: 44 inches in a normal year, falling on 22 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Browns Valley?
July, with 3.97 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.81 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Browns Valley in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Browns Valley in zone 4b in ZIP code 56219, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Browns Valley?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sisseton, SD9 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Wilmot, SD13 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Wheaton, MN22 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- White Rock Dam, MN22 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made