Dalton, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dalton's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 36.4 inches of precipitation and 46 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.1°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 29°C, 924 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDalton
- Station IDUSC00471970
- Location43.66°N 89.20°W
- Elevation860 ft (262 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (census place)221
On October 22, the normal high in Dalton is 59°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dalton.
- Jan 28° 9°
- Feb 32° 11°
- Mar 45° 22°
- Apr 58° 34°
- May 70° 46°
- Jun 80° 56°
- Jul 84° 60°
- Aug 82° 58°
- Sep 75° 49°
- Oct 61° 38°
- Nov 46° 26°
- Dec 33° 16°
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 Dalton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.23 in), the least in February (1.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 9°F | 18.2°F | 1.53 | 14.6 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 11°F | 21.1°F | 1.34 | 8.8 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 22°F | 33.3°F | 1.98 | 7.3 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 34°F | 46.2°F | 3.30 | 3.2 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 46°F | 58.1°F | 4.11 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 80°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 5.23 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 60°F | 71.9°F | 4.38 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 82°F | 58°F | 70.0°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 49°F | 62.1°F | 3.69 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 38°F | 49.8°F | 3.14 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 26°F | 36.0°F | 2.18 | 3.8 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 33°F | 16°F | 24.4°F | 1.77 | 7.1 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 35°F | 46.6°F | 36.37 | 45.5 | 117 | 13 | 157 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −13°C | −7.7°C | 39 mm | 37 cm |
| February | 0°C | −12°C | −6.1°C | 34 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.7°C | 50 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 84 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.5°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 133 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.9°C | 80 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.2°C | 55 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 45 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00471970; 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 Dalton?
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 (10).
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 USC00471970.
When is the last frost in Dalton?
In Dalton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 20 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 61 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 150 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 171 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 25 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dalton in zone 5a in ZIP code 53926, 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 USC00471970; 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 Dalton?
In a normal year in Dalton, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 157 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 117 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 157a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 53high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 117a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1944) is 104°F, on July 7, 2007; the lowest is −39°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 46.03 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 75.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00471970; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00471970. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dalton?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dalton, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.7 |
| February | 73% | 2.8 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 68% | 2.8 |
| November | 66% | 1.8 |
| December | 60% | 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 Dalton need?
A normal year in Dalton brings 7,303 heating degree days, 36% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 639 cooling degree days, 30% 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 2,686 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,450 | 0 |
| February | 1,227 | 0 |
| March | 981 | 0 |
| April | 567 | 3 |
| May | 248 | 33 |
| June | 48 | 142 |
| July | 9 | 221 |
| August | 19 | 173 |
| September | 149 | 60 |
| October | 479 | 6 |
| November | 868 | 0 |
| December | 1,257 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,303 | 639 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00471970. 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.
How does Dalton's climate compare?
Dalton is warmer than 123 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 116. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.6°F is warmer than 26%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dalton 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 Dalton 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.
- Cambria, WI768 people · 9 mi SE
- Friesland, WI313 people · 8 mi SE
- Kingston, WI286 people · 4 mi NE
- Marquette, WI172 people · 7 mi NE
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 Dalton's climate
What is the coldest month in Dalton?
January, with a normal high of 28°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Dalton?
Yes: 46 inches in a normal year, falling on 24 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (14.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dalton?
June, with 5.23 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dalton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dalton in zone 5a in ZIP code 53926, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Dalton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; 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
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Montello, WI11 miles from this station, 45.6°F a year
- Markesan, WI11 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Portage, WI14 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Town Of Westford, WI21 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made