LaCrosse, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
LaCrosse's normal year runs from 25°F December nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 15.1 inches of precipitation and 17 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, December lows of −4°C, July highs of 32°C, 383 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLacrosse
- Station IDUSC00454338
- Location46.82°N 117.88°W
- Elevation1,476 ft (450 m)
- Population290
On October 23, the normal high in LaCrosse is 59°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for LaCrosse.
- Jan 39° 26°
- Feb 45° 27°
- Mar 54° 31°
- Apr 62° 36°
- May 72° 42°
- Jun 79° 48°
- Jul 90° 53°
- Aug 89° 52°
- Sep 79° 44°
- Oct 63° 36°
- Nov 47° 30°
- Dec 38° 25°
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 LaCrosse each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in December (2.37 in), the least in July (0.31 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 26°F | 32.3°F | 1.96 | 4.1 | 14 | <1 | 24 | 9 h |
| February | 45°F | 27°F | 35.8°F | 1.34 | 2.2 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 54°F | 31°F | 42.3°F | 1.66 | 0.8 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 36°F | 48.7°F | 1.30 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 72°F | 42°F | 56.7°F | 1.26 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 15 h |
| June | 79°F | 48°F | 63.6°F | 0.96 | 0.0 | 6 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 90°F | 53°F | 71.3°F | 0.31 | 0.0 | 3 | 17 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 89°F | 52°F | 70.3°F | 0.32 | 0.0 | 3 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 79°F | 44°F | 61.2°F | 0.50 | 0.0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 63°F | 36°F | 49.3°F | 1.12 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 47°F | 30°F | 38.6°F | 1.96 | 1.8 | 13 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 38°F | 25°F | 31.2°F | 2.37 | 8.1 | 15 | <1 | 26 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 37°F | 50.1°F | 15.06 | 17.1 | 106 | 43 | 135 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −3°C | 0.2°C | 50 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 34 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 12°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 42 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 17°C | 2°C | 9.3°C | 33 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 22°C | 5°C | 13.7°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 9°C | 17.6°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 11°C | 21.8°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 11°C | 21.3°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 7°C | 16.2°C | 13 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 2°C | 9.6°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 8°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 50 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 3°C | −4°C | −0.4°C | 60 mm | 21 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00454338; 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 LaCrosse?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00454338.
When is the last frost in LaCrosse?
In LaCrosse, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 8 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 131 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 8; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 133 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts LaCrosse in zone 7a in ZIP code 99143, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, LaCrosse's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (17 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 Washington · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00454338; 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 LaCrosse?
In a normal year in LaCrosse, 43 days a year reach 90°F (8 of them 100°F or more), 135 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 106 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 43a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 135a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 106a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1908) is 113°F, on June 28, 2015; the lowest is −34°F, on December 30, 1968.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1916, with 21.53 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 47.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00454338; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00454338. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is LaCrosse?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around LaCrosse, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.3 |
| February | 64% | 2.2 |
| March | 64% | 3.3 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 75% | 6.0 |
| June | 78% | 6.8 |
| July | 91% | 7.5 |
| August | 88% | 6.2 |
| September | 83% | 4.5 |
| October | 73% | 2.8 |
| November | 61% | 1.5 |
| December | 55% | 1.0 |
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 LaCrosse need?
A normal year in LaCrosse brings 5,915 heating degree days, 10% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 506 cooling degree days, 44% 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 2,423 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,014 | 0 |
| February | 816 | 0 |
| March | 705 | 0 |
| April | 489 | 0 |
| May | 269 | 12 |
| June | 102 | 58 |
| July | 16 | 210 |
| August | 21 | 186 |
| September | 152 | 40 |
| October | 489 | 1 |
| November | 794 | 0 |
| December | 1,048 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,915 | 506 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00454338. 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.
Has LaCrosse been warmer than normal lately?
Over 79 complete years from 1909 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted -0.4°F per century (−0.02°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does LaCrosse's climate compare?
LaCrosse is warmer than 41 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.1°F is warmer than 40%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, LaCrosse is Dsb: continental, dry-summer, 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 LaCrosse share this climate record?
Endicott has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Endicott, WA299 people · 12 mi NE
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 LaCrosse's climate
What is the coldest month in LaCrosse?
December, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in LaCrosse?
Yes: 17 inches in a normal year, falling on 14 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (8.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in LaCrosse?
December, with 2.37 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is LaCrosse in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts LaCrosse in zone 7a in ZIP code 99143, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at LaCrosse's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in LaCrosse?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 13; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- St. John, WA24 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Pomeroy, WA28 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Ritzville, WA31 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Lind, WA35 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made