Leech Lake, Minnesota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Leech Lake's normal year runs from −2°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 26.6 inches of precipitation and 48 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.8°C, January lows of −19°C, July highs of 27°C, 675 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLeech Lake
- Station IDUSC00214652
- Location47.25°N 94.22°W
- Elevation1,302 ft (397 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Leech Lake is 50°F and the normal low 32°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 Leech Lake.
- Jan 18° -2°
- Feb 24° 1°
- Mar 37° 15°
- Apr 52° 29°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 75° 54°
- Jul 80° 58°
- Aug 78° 56°
- Sep 69° 47°
- Oct 54° 35°
- Nov 36° 21°
- Dec 23° 7°
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 Leech Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −2°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.37 in), the least in January (0.68 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°F | −2°F | 7.7°F | 0.68 | 9.3 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 24°F | 1°F | 12.5°F | 0.68 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 15°F | 26.2°F | 1.11 | 6.8 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 29°F | 40.6°F | 1.86 | 5.9 | 7 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.4°F | 2.91 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 54°F | 64.4°F | 3.82 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 80°F | 58°F | 69.1°F | 4.37 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 78°F | 56°F | 67.1°F | 3.20 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 69°F | 47°F | 58.2°F | 3.13 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 35°F | 44.5°F | 2.51 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 36°F | 21°F | 28.9°F | 1.22 | 6.8 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 23°F | 7°F | 15.0°F | 1.09 | 11.1 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 30°F | 40.7°F | 26.58 | 48.2 | 103 | 3 | 180 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −19°C | −13.5°C | 17 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −5°C | −17°C | −10.8°C | 17 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 3°C | −9°C | −3.2°C | 28 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 4.8°C | 47 mm | 15 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.0°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.5°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 6.9°C | 64 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 2°C | −6°C | −1.7°C | 31 mm | 17 cm |
| December | −5°C | −14°C | −9.4°C | 28 mm | 28 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214652; 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 Leech Lake?
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 (10).
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 USC00214652.
When is the last frost at Leech Lake?
In Leech Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 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 81 year in 10 after May 23; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 168 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Leech Lake in zone 3b in ZIP code 56641, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (24 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 USC00214652; 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 at Leech Lake?
In a normal year in Leech Lake, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 180 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 180a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 98high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 18a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 104°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −59°F, on February 9, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1949, with 35.43 in; the snowiest season is 1965–66, with 104.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00214652; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00214652. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Leech Lake?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Leech Lake, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 1.6 |
| February | 80% | 2.8 |
| March | 75% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 4.8 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 72% | 3.8 |
| October | 65% | 2.4 |
| November | 62% | 1.4 |
| December | 62% | 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 Leech Lake record?
A normal year at Leech Lake brings 9,189 heating degree days, 71% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 378 cooling degree days, 58% 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 2,093 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,778 | 0 |
| February | 1,470 | 0 |
| March | 1,201 | 0 |
| April | 732 | 0 |
| May | 344 | 15 |
| June | 90 | 74 |
| July | 27 | 152 |
| August | 46 | 109 |
| September | 230 | 26 |
| October | 635 | 1 |
| November | 1,085 | 0 |
| December | 1,551 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,189 | 378 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214652. 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 Leech Lake been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 41.2°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 40.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.4°F | +1.6°F | 24.01 | 45.8 |
| 2022 | 37.1°F | −3.6°F | 28.21 | – |
| 2023 | 41.9°F | +1.2°F | 23.07 | 46.9 |
| 2024 | 43.4°F | +2.7°F | 25.12 | – |
| 2025 | 41.2°F | +0.5°F | 24.50 | – |
Over 111 complete years from 1890 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.0°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00214652; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Leech Lake's climate compare?
Leech Lake is warmer than 39 of the 129 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.7°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Leech Lake 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 Leech Lake share this climate record?
5 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.
- Remer, MN397 people · 20 mi SE
- Bena, MN152 people · 7 mi N
- Ball Club, MN122 people · 14 mi NE
- Federal Dam, MN119 people · 1 mi SE
- Boy River, MN24 people · 7 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 Leech Lake's climate
What is the coldest month at Leech Lake?
January, with a normal high of 18°F and a normal low of −2°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow at Leech Lake?
Yes: 48 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (11.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Leech Lake?
July, with 4.37 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.68 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Leech Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Leech Lake in zone 3b in ZIP code 56641, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come at Leech Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 23. Waiting until May 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Walker, MN20 miles from this station, 41.6°F a year
- Cass Lake, MN21 miles from this station, 40.0°F a year
- Deep Portage, MN25 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Pokegama Dam, MN30 miles from this station, 39.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made