Ellsworth, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ellsworth's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 35.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 26°C, 913 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEllsworth (1 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00472556
- Location44.73°N 92.46°W
- Elevation1,030 ft (314 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population3,341
On October 23, the normal high in Ellsworth is 53°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ellsworth.
- Jan 21° 2°
- Feb 27° 6°
- Mar 39° 19°
- Apr 54° 31°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 76° 53°
- Jul 80° 57°
- Aug 78° 55°
- Sep 71° 47°
- Oct 57° 35°
- Nov 40° 22°
- Dec 27° 10°
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 Ellsworth each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.25 in), the least in February (1.00 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 2°F | 11.9°F | 1.01 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 27°F | 6°F | 16.4°F | 1.00 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 19°F | 28.9°F | 1.99 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 31°F | 42.5°F | 2.99 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.8°F | 4.51 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 76°F | 53°F | 64.5°F | 5.25 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 57°F | 68.4°F | 4.11 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 78°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | 5.04 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 47°F | 58.9°F | 3.87 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 35°F | 45.8°F | 2.84 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 22°F | 31.1°F | 1.97 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 27°F | 10°F | 18.3°F | 1.36 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 32°F | 42.3°F | 35.94 | 111 | 5 | 166 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −16°C | −11.2°C | 26 mm |
| February | −3°C | −14°C | −8.7°C | 25 mm |
| March | 4°C | −7°C | −1.7°C | 51 mm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.8°C | 76 mm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.7°C | 115 mm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 133 mm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 104 mm |
| August | 25°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 128 mm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 98 mm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.7°C | 72 mm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.5°C | 50 mm |
| December | −3°C | −12°C | −7.6°C | 35 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Baldwin (16 miles away), gets 43 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00472556; 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 Ellsworth?
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 USC00472556.
When is the last frost in Ellsworth?
In Ellsworth, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 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 131 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ellsworth in zone 4b in ZIP code 54011, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ellsworth's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00472556; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 Ellsworth?
In a normal year in Ellsworth, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 166 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 166a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 76high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1908) is 105°F, on July 14, 1995; the lowest is −40°F, on December 19, 1983.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1970, with 46.22 in; the snowiest season is 1983–84, with 87.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00472556; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00472556. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ellsworth?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ellsworth, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 1.8 |
| February | 77% | 2.9 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 6.0 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.1 |
| October | 68% | 2.7 |
| November | 65% | 1.7 |
| December | 61% | 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 Ellsworth need?
A normal year in Ellsworth brings 8,581 heating degree days, 60% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 347 cooling degree days, 62% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,109 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,648 | 0 |
| February | 1,362 | 0 |
| March | 1,119 | 0 |
| April | 676 | 1 |
| May | 334 | 16 |
| June | 86 | 71 |
| July | 29 | 134 |
| August | 51 | 90 |
| September | 213 | 32 |
| October | 598 | 3 |
| November | 1,017 | 0 |
| December | 1,448 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,581 | 347 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00472556. 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 Ellsworth been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 46.8°F, 4.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.1°F | +3.8°F | 25.69 |
| 2022 | 42.8°F | +0.5°F | 27.61 |
| 2023 | 46.8°F | +4.5°F | 36.41 |
Over 54 complete years from 1945 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.4°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00472556; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ellsworth's climate compare?
Ellsworth is warmer than 31 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 109. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.3°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ellsworth 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 Ellsworth share this climate record?
Frontenac has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Frontenac, MN174 people · 16 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 Ellsworth's climate
What is the coldest month in Ellsworth?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Ellsworth?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Ellsworth's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Baldwin (16 miles away), records 43 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Ellsworth?
June, with 5.25 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ellsworth in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ellsworth in zone 4b in ZIP code 54011, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Ellsworth's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Ellsworth?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 13; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Red Wing, MN11 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- River Falls, WI11 miles from this station, 43.4°F a year
- Baldwin, WI16 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Hastings, MN21 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made