La Crescent, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
La Crescent's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 37.6 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 956 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLa Crescent Dam 7
- Station IDUSC00214418
- Location43.87°N 91.31°W
- Elevation647 ft (197 m)
- Population5,257
On October 14, the normal high in La Crescent is 60°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for La Crescent.
- Jan 26° 12°
- Feb 30° 15°
- Mar 42° 27°
- Apr 57° 40°
- May 68° 52°
- Jun 78° 63°
- Jul 82° 67°
- Aug 80° 65°
- Sep 72° 56°
- Oct 59° 44°
- Nov 43° 31°
- Dec 30° 19°
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 La Crescent each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.44 in), the least in January (1.17 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 12°F | 18.6°F | 1.17 | 11.2 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 30°F | 15°F | 22.3°F | 1.17 | 8.4 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 27°F | 34.6°F | 1.93 | 5.7 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 40°F | 48.6°F | 4.07 | 1.6 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 52°F | 59.9°F | 5.07 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 63°F | 70.3°F | 5.44 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 67°F | 74.3°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 65°F | 72.1°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 56°F | 63.7°F | 3.87 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 44°F | 51.5°F | 2.97 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 31°F | 37.0°F | 1.98 | 1.2 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 30°F | 19°F | 24.7°F | 1.44 | 9.7 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 41°F | 48.1°F | 37.63 | 37.9 | 108 | 8 | 125 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −11°C | −7.4°C | 30 mm | 28 cm |
| February | −1°C | −10°C | −5.4°C | 30 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 6°C | −3°C | 1.4°C | 49 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 14°C | 5°C | 9.2°C | 103 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 20°C | 11°C | 15.5°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 17°C | 21.3°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 19°C | 23.5°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 18°C | 22.3°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 13°C | 17.6°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 7°C | 10.8°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 6°C | −1°C | 2.8°C | 50 mm | 3 cm |
| December | −1°C | −7°C | −4.1°C | 37 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214418; 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 La Crescent?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00214418.
When is the last frost in La Crescent?
In La Crescent, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 28 in half of years and before October 15 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
- April 151 year in 10 after May 1; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 281 year in 10 before October 15; 9 in 10 before November 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 194 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 215 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts La Crescent in zone 5a in ZIP code 55947, 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 USC00214418; 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 La Crescent?
In a normal year in La Crescent, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 125 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 108 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
- 125a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 63high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 108a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00214418.
How sunny is La Crescent?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around La Crescent, 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 | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 67% | 1.9 |
| 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 La Crescent need?
A normal year in La Crescent brings 6,935 heating degree days, 29% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 820 cooling degree days, 10% 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 3,027 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,438 | 0 |
| February | 1,195 | 0 |
| March | 944 | 0 |
| April | 497 | 4 |
| May | 201 | 42 |
| June | 20 | 179 |
| July | 2 | 290 |
| August | 7 | 225 |
| September | 114 | 75 |
| October | 426 | 6 |
| November | 842 | 0 |
| December | 1,249 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,935 | 820 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214418. 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 La Crescent's climate compare?
La Crescent is warmer than 127 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 117. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.1°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, La Crescent 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 La Crescent share this climate record?
11 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.
- Onalaska, WI19,898 people · 6 mi E
- Holmen, WI11,866 people · 8 mi N
- West Salem, WI5,306 people · 11 mi E
- French Island, WI4,235 people · 2 mi E
- Brice Prairie, WI1,858 people · 5 mi N
- Bangor, WI1,573 people · 16 mi E
- Coon Valley, WI761 people · 19 mi SE
- St. Joseph, WI530 people · 14 mi SE
- Melrose, WI525 people · 24 mi NE
- Mindoro, WI303 people · 15 mi NE
- Chaseburg, WI240 people · 18 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 La Crescent's climate
What is the coldest month in La Crescent?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in La Crescent?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (11.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in La Crescent?
June, with 5.44 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is La Crescent in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts La Crescent in zone 5a in ZIP code 55947, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in La Crescent?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 1. Waiting until May 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- La Crosse, WI3 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Trempealeau, WI11 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Caledonia, MN19 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Winona, MN21 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made