Gull Lake Dam, Minnesota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Gull Lake Dam's normal year runs from −1°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 27.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 26°C, 688 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGull Lake Dam
- Station IDUSC00213411
- Location46.41°N 94.36°W
- Elevation1,215 ft (370 m)
On October 24, the normal high in Gull Lake Dam is 49°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gull Lake Dam.
- Jan 18° -1°
- Feb 24° 3°
- Mar 37° 16°
- Apr 51° 31°
- May 65° 45°
- Jun 75° 56°
- Jul 79° 61°
- Aug 77° 59°
- Sep 68° 49°
- Oct 53° 36°
- Nov 37° 22°
- 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 at Gull Lake Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −1°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.36 in), the least in February (0.60 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°F | −1°F | 8.3°F | 0.63 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 24°F | 3°F | 13.3°F | 0.60 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 16°F | 26.4°F | 1.24 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 31°F | 40.9°F | 2.38 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 45°F | 55.2°F | 3.41 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 56°F | 65.3°F | 4.11 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 79°F | 61°F | 69.9°F | 4.36 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 59°F | 67.8°F | 3.31 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 68°F | 49°F | 58.5°F | 2.66 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 36°F | 44.5°F | 2.63 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 37°F | 22°F | 29.9°F | 1.03 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 24°F | 8°F | 15.7°F | 0.74 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 32°F | 41.3°F | 27.10 | 103 | 2 | 175 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −18°C | −13.2°C | 16 mm |
| February | −5°C | −16°C | −10.4°C | 15 mm |
| March | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 31 mm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 60 mm |
| May | 18°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 87 mm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.5°C | 104 mm |
| July | 26°C | 16°C | 21.1°C | 111 mm |
| August | 25°C | 15°C | 19.9°C | 84 mm |
| September | 20°C | 10°C | 14.7°C | 68 mm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 6.9°C | 67 mm |
| November | 3°C | −5°C | −1.2°C | 26 mm |
| December | −5°C | −13°C | −9.1°C | 19 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Brainerd station (9 miles away), gets 48 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00213411; 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.
Which months are mildest at Gull Lake Dam?
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 (9).
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 USC00213411.
When is the last frost at Gull Lake Dam?
In Gull Lake Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 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 21 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 176 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gull Lake Dam in zone 4a in ZIP code 56468, 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 USC00213411; 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 at Gull Lake Dam?
In a normal year in Gull Lake Dam, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 175 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 175a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 95high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1911) is 103°F, on July 28, 1917; the lowest is −47°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1968, with 35.57 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 85.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00213411; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00213411. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Gull Lake Dam?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Gull Lake Dam, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 1.6 |
| February | 78% | 2.8 |
| March | 74% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 3.9 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 64% | 1.6 |
| December | 59% | 1.1 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Gull Lake Dam record?
A normal year at Gull Lake Dam brings 9,018 heating degree days, 68% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 423 cooling degree days, 53% 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 2,192 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,758 | 0 |
| February | 1,448 | 0 |
| March | 1,197 | 0 |
| April | 725 | 0 |
| May | 322 | 18 |
| June | 74 | 83 |
| July | 20 | 173 |
| August | 34 | 120 |
| September | 223 | 28 |
| October | 638 | 1 |
| November | 1,055 | 0 |
| December | 1,527 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,018 | 423 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00213411. 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.
Have recent years at Gull Lake Dam been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 43.0°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.3°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 39.4°F | −1.9°F | – |
| 2023 | 44.2°F | +2.9°F | – |
| 2024 | 45.7°F | +4.4°F | – |
| 2025 | 43.0°F | +1.7°F | – |
Over 52 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.1°F per century (+0.28°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00213411; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gull Lake Dam's climate compare?
Gull Lake Dam is warmer than 40 of the 129 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.3°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gull Lake Dam 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 Gull Lake Dam share this climate record?
6 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.
- Baxter, MN9,186 people · 6 mi SE
- Nisswa, MN2,156 people · 7 mi NE
- East Gull Lake, MN1,147 people · 1 mi S
- Lake Shore, MN1,123 people · 6 mi N
- Motley, MN686 people · 14 mi W
- Pillager, MN531 people · 8 mi SW
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 Gull Lake Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Gull Lake Dam?
January, with a normal high of 18°F and a normal low of −1°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow at Gull Lake Dam?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Brainerd station (9 miles away), records 48 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Gull Lake Dam?
July, with 4.36 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.60 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gull Lake Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gull Lake Dam in zone 4a in ZIP code 56468, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Gull Lake Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Brainerd, MN11 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Pine River Dam, MN22 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Little Falls, MN28 miles from this station, 44.9°F a year
- Deep Portage, MN34 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made