Elk Rvr, MN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Elk Rvr's primary NOAA station, ELK RVR.
The climate verdict for Elk Rvr
Winter sets the terms in Elk Rvr, Minnesota. A pronounced 59.1°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 44°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 44°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 32.9"
- annual precipitation · 36" snow
- 154 days
- frost-free growing season
Elk Rvr: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00212500 · Elk Rvr, MN 44°F mean · 32.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sisseton
- PRCP-MID 32.9"
- SWING-WIDE 59°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,174 HDD
- STN-1 USC00212500
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sisseton Muni, SD (+ 0 °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.
- Elk Rvr (this station) 44°F
- Hot Lakefield, MN 44°F
- Near Sisseton, SD 44°F
- Near Sisseton, SD 44°F
- Near Glad Valley, SD 44°F
Elk Rvr 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 · Elk Rvr
Elk Rvr: 37/100 · grade F
Elk Rvr publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Elk Rvr, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 32.9 in · 2.1 from 35 in | 91/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 35.7 inches/year | 32/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 173 calendar days | 30/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 154 days/year | 28/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.0°F · 23.5° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
Elk Rvr · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Elk Rvr is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 13.0°F and warmest-month mean 72.1°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 72.1°F
- Coldest month
- 13.0°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 Elk Rvr sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Elk Rvr's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 85%
- Among 6,861 stations, Elk Rvr sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 44th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 97%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Elk Rvr is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Elk Rvr compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Elk Rvr's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F (-5°C) | 4°F (-16°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 0.8" | 8.2" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 28°F (-2°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 0.8" | 7.3" | 27.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 41°F (5°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 1.7" | 6.3" | 26.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.0" | 2.4" | 14.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| July | 83°F (29°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.0" | 0.2" | 8.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 1.7" | 5.3" | 24.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 27°F (-3°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 1.1" | 6.0" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 15, short of 90°F on every date, while 173 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 3°F near January 15.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 15, then returns to freezing around October 26, covering 173 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.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 15, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 15 at 18%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 89 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Elk Rvr.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 8.2"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.3"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.3"
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.4"
7.7 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
5.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.0"
6.0 days with precipitation
Elk Rvr runs a summer-peaked wet season
39% of Elk Rvr'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 July at 4.5", on a wide 59.1°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: July, June, May, taking 40% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.8".
- Winter share: 8% 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.
When it rains in Elk Rvr, it arrives in quantity
32.9" of precipitation falls across only about 89 wet days here, averaging 0.37 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 89 a year, 24% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.37 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- February, about 5
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Elk Rvr
Elk Rvr averages 35.7 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 21 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 35.7 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 21 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 11% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 5
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 4
50% probability date
Growing Season
154 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,174
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
569
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MN closest to Elk Rvr 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 (44°F here).
- Blair, WI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Brockway, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
- De Smet, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Faulkton, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (32.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bad Axe, MI 32.9" · 0.0" off
- Luck, WI 32.9" · 0.0" off
- Flint, MI 32.9" · 0.0" off
- Ontonagon, MI 32.9" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Elk Rvr
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Elk Rvr logs 8,174 heating degree days, more than twice its 569 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 59.1°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Elk Rvr's frost-free season lasts about 154 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Elk Rvr coldest normal
January
Averaging 13°F (-11°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Elk Rvr typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Elk Rvr snow peak
January
Elk Rvr averages 35.7 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Elk Rvr's climate
How much snow does Elk Rvr get? ▼
How cold does Elk Rvr get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Elk Rvr? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Elk Rvr's primary station: ELK RVR (USC00212500). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Elk Rvr; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Elk Rvr 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.