Faribault, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Faribault's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 35.5 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.9°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 900 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFaribault
- Station IDUSC00212721
- Location44.31°N 93.27°W
- Elevation970 ft (296 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population24,983
On October 23, the normal high in Faribault is 55°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Faribault.
- Jan 23° 5°
- Feb 28° 8°
- Mar 40° 20°
- Apr 56° 33°
- May 68° 45°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 82° 61°
- Aug 80° 58°
- Sep 73° 50°
- Oct 59° 36°
- Nov 42° 24°
- Dec 29° 13°
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 Faribault each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.57 in), the least in January (0.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 5°F | 14.0°F | 0.97 | 9.4 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 28°F | 8°F | 18.0°F | 1.00 | 10.6 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 40°F | 20°F | 30.4°F | 1.92 | 6.4 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 3.13 | 1.6 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 4.37 | 0.2 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.8°F | 5.57 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 61°F | 71.3°F | 4.64 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 58°F | 68.9°F | 4.66 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 50°F | 61.2°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 36°F | 47.3°F | 2.60 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 24°F | 33.1°F | 1.67 | 4.9 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 13°F | 20.7°F | 1.24 | 10.1 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 34°F | 44.5°F | 35.45 | 43.3 | 104 | 9 | 168 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −15°C | −10.0°C | 25 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.8°C | 25 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.9°C | 49 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 80 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 111 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 141 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.5°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.5°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 42 mm | 12 cm |
| December | −2°C | −11°C | −6.3°C | 31 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00212721; 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 Faribault?
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 (8).
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 USC00212721.
When is the last frost in Faribault?
In Faribault, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 21 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 51 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 152 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 170 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Faribault in zone 4b in ZIP code 55021, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Faribault's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00212721; 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 Faribault?
In a normal year in Faribault, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 168 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 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
- 168a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 74high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1895) is 110°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −40°F, on January 9, 1977.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1951, with 42.20 in; the snowiest season is 1935–36, with 80.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00212721; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00212721. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Faribault?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Faribault, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 1.8 |
| February | 78% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 6.0 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 69% | 2.7 |
| November | 67% | 1.8 |
| December | 62% | 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 Faribault need?
A normal year in Faribault brings 8,032 heating degree days, 50% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 589 cooling degree days, 35% 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 2,529 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,581 | 0 |
| February | 1,317 | 0 |
| March | 1,073 | 0 |
| April | 626 | 2 |
| May | 288 | 31 |
| June | 54 | 138 |
| July | 12 | 207 |
| August | 28 | 149 |
| September | 171 | 56 |
| October | 555 | 6 |
| November | 957 | 0 |
| December | 1,372 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,032 | 589 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00212721. 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 Faribault's climate compare?
Faribault is warmer than 90 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 109. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.5°F is warmer than 17%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Faribault 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 Faribault share this climate record?
9 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.
- Northfield, MN21,316 people · 11 mi NE
- Lonsdale, MN5,066 people · 14 mi NW
- Kenyon, MN1,872 people · 14 mi E
- Dundas, MN1,806 people · 9 mi N
- Morristown, MN1,016 people · 11 mi SW
- Warsaw, MN690 people · 6 mi SW
- Nerstrand, MN278 people · 10 mi E
- Dennison, MN218 people · 14 mi NE
- Kilkenny, MN151 people · 15 mi W
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 Faribault's climate
What is the coldest month in Faribault?
January, with a normal high of 23°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Faribault?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (10.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Faribault?
June, with 5.57 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Faribault in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Faribault in zone 4b in ZIP code 55021, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Faribault's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Faribault?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; 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
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Owatonna, MN15 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Waseca, MN21 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Farmington, MN25 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Rosemount, MN29 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made