Grand Marais, MN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Grand Marais's primary NOAA station, GRAND MARAIS - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Grand Marais
Grand Marais, Minnesota has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 40°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 40°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 25.9"
- precipitation, annual total
- 140 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Grand Marais: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00094992 · Grand Marais, MN 40°F mean · 25.9" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 40°F
- RANK-COOL #343
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ St Mary
- PRCP-MID 25.9"
- SWING-WIDE 47°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,310 HDD
- STN-MULTI USW00094992
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: St Mary, MT (+ 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.
- Grand Marais (this station) 40°F
- Hot Blue Mesa Lake, CO 40°F
- Near St Mary, MT 40°F
- Near Polebridge, MT 40°F
- Near Olney, MT 40°F
Grand Marais 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 · Grand Marais
Grand Marais: 27/100 · grade F
Grand Marais publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Grand Marais, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 25.9 in · 9.1 from 35 in | 68/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 175 calendar days | 29/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 140 days/year | 18/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.5°F · 28.0° from 67.5°F | 3/100 · F |
Grand Marais · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Grand Marais is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 15.4°F and warmest-month mean 61.9°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 61.9°F
- Coldest month
- 15.4°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 Grand Marais sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Grand Marais's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 95%
- Among 6,861 stations, Grand Marais sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 35th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 66th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Grand Marais compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Grand Marais's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | 24°F (-4°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 0.8" | N/A | 30.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 27°F (-3°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 0.9" | N/A | 27.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 35°F (2°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.2" | N/A | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 45°F (7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 2.2" | N/A | 20.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 55°F (13°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 2.5" | N/A | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| June | 62°F (17°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 3.7" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 70°F (21°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 3.1" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| August | 70°F (21°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 2.4" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 63°F (17°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.6" | N/A | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| October | 52°F (11°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.0" | N/A | 8.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 39°F (4°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 1.9" | N/A | 21.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 1.5" | N/A | 29.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 72°F around July 29, short of 90°F on every date, while 175 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 6°F near January 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 23, then returns to freezing around November 1, covering 175 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 20, when 45% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 8 at 28%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 130 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 5 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 19°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Grand Marais.
Where Grand Marais Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 19°F.
Grand Marais earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
9.5 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
12.5 days with precipitation
13.9 days with precipitation
12.4 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
Grand Marais runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Grand Marais'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 June at 3.7", on a wide 46.5°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: June, July, October, taking 38% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.8".
- Winter share: 12% 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.
Rain reaches Grand Marais in small, frequent amounts
Grand Marais records about 130 days with measurable precipitation a year and 25.9" in total, which works out to roughly 0.20 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 36% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: June, about 14 of them.
- Fewest: February, about 8.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.20 inches.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 9
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 22
50% probability date
Growing Season
140 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,310
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
51
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MN closest to Grand Marais 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 (40°F here).
- Allenspark, CO 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Drake, ND 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Minnewaukan, ND 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Minocqua, WI 40°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (25.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bonesteel, SD 25.9" · 0.0" off
- De Smet, SD 25.9" · 0.0" off
- Elgin, OR 25.9" · 0.0" off
- Greensburg, KS 26.0" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Grand Marais's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Grand Marais's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,310 annual heating degree days against 51 for cooling. Its 46.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 140 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
August and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Grand Marais's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 46.5°F. The annual average is 40°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Grand Marais's 25.9 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Grand Marais's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Grand Marais, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Grand Marais's climate
How much rain does Grand Marais get? ▼
How cold does Grand Marais get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Grand Marais? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Grand Marais's primary station: GRAND MARAIS (USW00094992). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Grand Marais area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2724992). Match rule for Grand Marais: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Grand Marais 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.