Darlington, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Darlington's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 37.6 inches of precipitation and 36 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.9°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 28°C, 956 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDarlington Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00472001
- Location42.68°N 90.11°W
- Elevation854 ft (260 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,482
On October 14, the normal high in Darlington is 62°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Darlington.
- Jan 27° 8°
- Feb 32° 12°
- Mar 44° 23°
- Apr 58° 35°
- May 69° 46°
- Jun 79° 57°
- Jul 82° 60°
- Aug 81° 58°
- Sep 74° 48°
- Oct 61° 37°
- Nov 46° 26°
- Dec 33° 15°
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 Darlington each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.29 in), the least in January (1.31 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 8°F | 17.8°F | 1.31 | 11.3 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 12°F | 21.6°F | 1.43 | 9.2 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 23°F | 33.6°F | 2.02 | 4.6 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 3.89 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 46°F | 57.8°F | 4.18 | 0.6 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 57°F | 67.8°F | 5.29 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 60°F | 71.0°F | 4.22 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 4.36 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 48°F | 61.1°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 37°F | 49.0°F | 2.80 | 0.6 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 26°F | 35.7°F | 2.35 | 2.2 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 15°F | 23.8°F | 1.69 | 6.2 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 37.64 | 35.7 | 91 | 9 | 158 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −13°C | −7.9°C | 33 mm | 29 cm |
| February | 0°C | −11°C | −5.8°C | 36 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 0.9°C | 51 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 99 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 106 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.7°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 16.2°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 71 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 60 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.6°C | 43 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00472001; 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 Darlington?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00472001.
When is the last frost in Darlington?
In Darlington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 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 31 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 153 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 175 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Darlington in zone 5a in ZIP code 53530, 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 USC00472001; 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 Darlington?
In a normal year in Darlington, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 158 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 91 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 158a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 57high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 91a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1901) is 107°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −41°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 52.76 in; the snowiest season is 1974–75, with 66.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00472001; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00472001. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Darlington?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Darlington, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.8 |
| February | 71% | 2.8 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 68% | 2.0 |
| December | 61% | 1.4 |
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 Darlington need?
A normal year in Darlington brings 7,384 heating degree days, 37% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 570 cooling degree days, 37% 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 2,578 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,461 | 0 |
| February | 1,214 | 0 |
| March | 974 | 1 |
| April | 567 | 3 |
| May | 260 | 35 |
| June | 46 | 129 |
| July | 13 | 197 |
| August | 23 | 147 |
| September | 170 | 53 |
| October | 499 | 5 |
| November | 881 | 0 |
| December | 1,277 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,384 | 570 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00472001. 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 Darlington been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 47.4°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.0°F | +1.8°F | 24.80 | 34.9 |
| 2023 | 48.6°F | +2.4°F | 33.81 | 43.3 |
| 2024 | 49.3°F | +3.1°F | 42.32 | 32.1 |
| 2025 | 47.4°F | +1.2°F | 32.03 | 36.6 |
Over 83 complete years from 1911 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.3°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00472001; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Darlington's climate compare?
Darlington is warmer than 110 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 137. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.2°F is warmer than 24%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Darlington 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 Darlington share this climate record?
5 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.
- Warren, IL1,276 people · 14 mi SE
- Blanchardville, WI827 people · 15 mi NE
- Apple Canyon Lake, IL795 people · 17 mi S
- Scales Mound, IL419 people · 16 mi SW
- Apple River, IL333 people · 12 mi S
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 Darlington's climate
What is the coldest month in Darlington?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Darlington?
Yes: 36 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (11.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Darlington?
June, with 5.29 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Darlington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Darlington in zone 5a in ZIP code 53530, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Darlington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Platteville, WI19 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Dodgeville, WI19 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Stockton, IL20 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Monroe, WI23 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made