Gays Mills, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gays Mills's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 37.7 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.1°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 958 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGays Mills
- Station IDUSC00473022
- Location43.31°N 90.85°W
- Elevation689 ft (210 m)
- Population512
On October 23, the normal high in Gays Mills is 58°F and the normal low 35°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 Gays Mills.
- Jan 27° 7°
- Feb 32° 11°
- Mar 45° 23°
- Apr 58° 35°
- May 70° 46°
- Jun 80° 57°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 82° 59°
- Sep 74° 50°
- Oct 61° 37°
- Nov 45° 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 Gays Mills each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.56 in), the least in February (1.17 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 7°F | 17.1°F | 1.32 | 10.8 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 11°F | 21.5°F | 1.17 | 7.8 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 45°F | 23°F | 34.1°F | 2.03 | 5.9 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 35°F | 46.4°F | 3.89 | 1.6 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 46°F | 58.0°F | 4.24 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 80°F | 57°F | 68.2°F | 5.56 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.0°F | 4.83 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 82°F | 59°F | 70.2°F | 4.43 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 50°F | 62.0°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 37°F | 49.1°F | 2.68 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 45°F | 26°F | 35.8°F | 2.10 | 1.9 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 33°F | 15°F | 23.9°F | 1.55 | 9.7 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 36°F | 46.5°F | 37.70 | 37.8 | 99 | 10 | 167 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.3°C | 34 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 0°C | −12°C | −5.8°C | 30 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 7°C | −5°C | 1.2°C | 52 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 8.0°C | 99 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 141 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.5°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 53 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.5°C | 39 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00473022; 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 Gays Mills?
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 (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 USC00473022.
When is the last frost in Gays Mills?
In Gays Mills, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 25 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 18; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 175 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gays Mills in zone 5a in ZIP code 54631, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Gays Mills's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (23 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00473022; 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 Gays Mills?
In a normal year in Gays Mills, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 167 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 99 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 167a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 59high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 99a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00473022.
How sunny is Gays Mills?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gays Mills, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 2.9 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 67% | 1.8 |
| December | 62% | 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 Gays Mills need?
A normal year in Gays Mills brings 7,333 heating degree days, 36% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 645 cooling degree days, 29% 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 2,694 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,483 | 0 |
| February | 1,218 | 0 |
| March | 959 | 1 |
| April | 561 | 3 |
| May | 248 | 33 |
| June | 42 | 138 |
| July | 9 | 227 |
| August | 17 | 178 |
| September | 149 | 60 |
| October | 498 | 5 |
| November | 876 | 0 |
| December | 1,274 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,333 | 645 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00473022. 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 Gays Mills's climate compare?
Gays Mills is warmer than 118 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 138. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.5°F is warmer than 25%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gays Mills is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Gays Mills share this climate record?
4 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.
- Soldiers Grove, WI555 people · 7 mi NE
- Seneca, WI336 people · 6 mi SW
- Mount Sterling, WI184 people · 4 mi W
- Bell Center, WI108 people · 2 mi SE
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 Gays Mills's climate
What is the coldest month in Gays Mills?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Gays Mills?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Gays Mills?
June, with 5.56 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gays Mills in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gays Mills in zone 5a in ZIP code 54631, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Gays Mills's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Gays Mills?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; 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
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Steuben, WI12 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Boscobel, WI14 miles from this station, 48.0°F a year
- Lynxville, WI14 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Viroqua, WI17 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made