Fergus Falls, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fergus Falls's normal year runs from 0°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 26.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.5°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 27°C, 682 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFergus Falls
- Station IDUSC00212768
- Location46.29°N 96.12°W
- Elevation1,250 ft (381 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population14,258
On October 24, the normal high in Fergus Falls is 51°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fergus Falls.
- Jan 18° 0°
- Feb 22° 3°
- Mar 36° 18°
- Apr 53° 32°
- May 67° 45°
- Jun 76° 56°
- Jul 81° 61°
- Aug 79° 57°
- Sep 71° 49°
- Oct 56° 35°
- Nov 38° 21°
- Dec 24° 8°
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 Fergus Falls each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 0°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.35 in), the least in December (0.71 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°F | 0°F | 9.0°F | 1.29 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 22°F | 3°F | 12.7°F | 0.83 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 36°F | 18°F | 26.9°F | 1.15 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 32°F | 42.3°F | 2.00 | 4 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 45°F | 55.9°F | 3.86 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 15 h |
| June | 76°F | 56°F | 66.3°F | 4.35 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 81°F | 61°F | 70.8°F | 3.28 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 79°F | 57°F | 68.2°F | 2.95 | 6 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 49°F | 59.8°F | 3.04 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 35°F | 45.4°F | 2.37 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 21°F | 29.7°F | 1.04 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 24°F | 8°F | 16.1°F | 0.71 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 32°F | 41.9°F | 26.87 | 68 | 8 | 174 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −18°C | −12.8°C | 33 mm |
| February | −5°C | −16°C | −10.7°C | 21 mm |
| March | 2°C | −8°C | −2.8°C | 29 mm |
| April | 12°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 51 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 98 mm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 110 mm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 83 mm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 75 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 77 mm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 60 mm |
| November | 3°C | −6°C | −1.3°C | 26 mm |
| December | −4°C | −13°C | −8.8°C | 18 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Rothsay (15 miles away), gets 50 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00212768; 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 Fergus Falls?
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 (6).
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 USC00212768.
When is the last frost in Fergus Falls?
In Fergus Falls, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 22 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 41 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 22; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 152 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 172 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fergus Falls in zone 4a in ZIP code 56537, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00212768; 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 Fergus Falls?
In a normal year in Fergus Falls, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 174 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 68 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 174a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 94high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 68a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 110°F, on July 6, 1936; the lowest is −42°F, on February 16, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1896, with 38.10 in; the snowiest season is 1974–75, with 84.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00212768; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00212768. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Fergus Falls?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fergus Falls, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 1.8 |
| February | 83% | 3.0 |
| March | 75% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.1 |
| October | 69% | 2.6 |
| November | 67% | 1.6 |
| December | 66% | 1.2 |
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 Fergus Falls need?
A normal year in Fergus Falls brings 8,882 heating degree days, 65% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 521 cooling degree days, 43% 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 2,356 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,736 | 0 |
| February | 1,463 | 0 |
| March | 1,183 | 0 |
| April | 680 | 1 |
| May | 308 | 26 |
| June | 71 | 110 |
| July | 20 | 198 |
| August | 39 | 139 |
| September | 199 | 44 |
| October | 611 | 3 |
| November | 1,059 | 0 |
| December | 1,514 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,882 | 521 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00212768. 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 Fergus Falls's climate compare?
Fergus Falls is warmer than 47 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.9°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fergus Falls 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 Fergus Falls share this climate record?
7 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.
- Elbow Lake, MN1,276 people · 22 mi S
- Ashby, MN472 people · 20 mi SE
- Underwood, MN363 people · 12 mi E
- Dalton, MN214 people · 13 mi SE
- Wendell, MN167 people · 18 mi S
- Elizabeth, MN165 people · 6 mi N
- Foxhome, MN121 people · 9 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 Fergus Falls's climate
What is the coldest month in Fergus Falls?
January, with a normal high of 18°F and a normal low of 0°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Fergus Falls?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Fergus Falls's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Rothsay (15 miles away), records 50 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Fergus Falls?
June, with 4.35 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.71 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fergus Falls in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fergus Falls in zone 4a in ZIP code 56537, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Fergus Falls?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rothsay, MN16 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Breckenridge, MN19 miles from this station, 42.1°F a year
- Ottertail, MN29 miles from this station, 40.9°F a year
- White Rock Dam, MN37 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made