Lakefield, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lakefield's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 30.5 inches of precipitation and 49 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.7°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 27°C, 774 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLakefield (2 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00214453
- Location43.70°N 95.15°W
- Elevation1,530 ft (466 m)
- Population1,710
On October 22, the normal high in Lakefield is 55°F and the normal low 33°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 Lakefield.
- Jan 22° 5°
- Feb 27° 8°
- Mar 39° 21°
- Apr 55° 33°
- May 68° 46°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 81° 60°
- Aug 79° 58°
- Sep 73° 49°
- Oct 59° 36°
- Nov 42° 23°
- Dec 28° 11°
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 Lakefield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.48 in), the least in January (0.62 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 5°F | 13.4°F | 0.62 | 9.2 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 27°F | 8°F | 17.6°F | 0.67 | 9.3 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 39°F | 21°F | 30.0°F | 1.53 | 7.8 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 33°F | 43.7°F | 3.03 | 5.4 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 46°F | 56.9°F | 4.48 | 0.3 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.5°F | 4.47 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 81°F | 60°F | 70.9°F | 4.16 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 58°F | 68.2°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 49°F | 60.8°F | 3.11 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 36°F | 47.3°F | 2.28 | 1.1 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 42°F | 23°F | 32.0°F | 1.24 | 5.2 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 28°F | 11°F | 19.3°F | 0.79 | 10.2 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 34°F | 44.0°F | 30.48 | 48.5 | 106 | 8 | 168 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −15°C | −10.3°C | 16 mm | 23 cm |
| February | −3°C | −13°C | −8.0°C | 17 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 4°C | −6°C | −1.1°C | 39 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 77 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.8°C | 114 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 16.0°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.5°C | 58 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 5°C | −5°C | 0.0°C | 31 mm | 13 cm |
| December | −2°C | −12°C | −7.1°C | 20 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214453; 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 Lakefield?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00214453.
When is the last frost in Lakefield?
In Lakefield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 19 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 13; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 153 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 172 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lakefield in zone 5a in ZIP code 56150, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lakefield's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°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 Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00214453; 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 Lakefield?
In a normal year in Lakefield, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 168 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 106 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
- 168a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 83high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 106a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 98°F, on June 7, 2011; the lowest is −31°F, on January 3, 2010.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 48.11 in; the snowiest season is 2017–18, with 91.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00214453; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00214453. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lakefield?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lakefield, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.0 |
| February | 79% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 70% | 5.6 |
| June | 76% | 6.3 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 3.0 |
| November | 72% | 2.0 |
| December | 69% | 1.6 |
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 Lakefield need?
A normal year in Lakefield brings 8,168 heating degree days, 52% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 538 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,487 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,601 | 0 |
| February | 1,329 | 0 |
| March | 1,084 | 0 |
| April | 641 | 1 |
| May | 283 | 31 |
| June | 50 | 127 |
| July | 14 | 195 |
| August | 30 | 129 |
| September | 176 | 49 |
| October | 554 | 6 |
| November | 989 | 0 |
| December | 1,418 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,168 | 538 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214453. 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 Lakefield been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.5°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.0°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.1°F | +3.1°F | 30.45 | 27.4 |
| 2022 | 44.0°F | at normal | 24.28 | 42.6 |
| 2023 | 47.0°F | +3.0°F | 31.53 | 47.6 |
| 2024 | 48.1°F | +4.1°F | 36.13 | 19.4 |
| 2025 | 46.5°F | +2.5°F | 26.82 | 26.8 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00214453. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lakefield's climate compare?
Lakefield is warmer than 77 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 64. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.0°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lakefield 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 Lakefield share this climate record?
2 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.
- Heron Lake, MN592 people · 11 mi NW
- Okabena, MN201 people · 9 mi W
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 Lakefield's climate
What is the coldest month in Lakefield?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Lakefield?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 37 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Lakefield?
May, with 4.48 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.62 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lakefield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lakefield in zone 5a in ZIP code 56150, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Lakefield's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Lakefield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 13. Waiting until May 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Windom, MN12 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Spirit Lake, IA19 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Sherburn, MN19 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Lake Park, IA19 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made