Litchfield, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Litchfield's normal year runs from 0°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 29.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 27°C, 756 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLitchfield
- Station IDUSC00214778
- Location45.13°N 94.53°W
- Elevation1,120 ft (341 m)
- Population6,515
On October 22, the normal high in Litchfield is 53°F and the normal low 32°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Litchfield.
- Jan 20° 0°
- Feb 25° 4°
- Mar 37° 17°
- Apr 53° 32°
- May 67° 45°
- Jun 77° 56°
- Jul 81° 60°
- Aug 79° 58°
- Sep 71° 48°
- Oct 56° 34°
- Nov 40° 21°
- Dec 26° 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 in Litchfield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 0°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.58 in), the least in January (0.78 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 0°F | 10.0°F | 0.78 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 25°F | 4°F | 14.2°F | 0.78 | – | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 17°F | 27.2°F | 1.48 | – | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 32°F | 42.5°F | 2.65 | – | <1 | 14 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 45°F | 55.6°F | 3.72 | – | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 56°F | 66.4°F | 4.58 | – | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 81°F | 60°F | 70.7°F | 3.81 | – | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 58°F | 68.2°F | 4.08 | – | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 48°F | 59.7°F | 3.04 | – | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 34°F | 45.3°F | 2.56 | – | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 21°F | 30.3°F | 1.35 | – | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 26°F | 7°F | 16.5°F | 0.95 | – | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 29.78 | – | 7 | 168 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −18°C | −12.2°C | 20 mm |
| February | −4°C | −16°C | −9.9°C | 20 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.7°C | 38 mm |
| April | 12°C | 0°C | 5.8°C | 67 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 94 mm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 116 mm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.5°C | 97 mm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 104 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 77 mm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 65 mm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −0.9°C | 34 mm |
| December | −4°C | −14°C | −8.6°C | 24 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Dassel (14 miles away), gets 41 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214778; 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 Litchfield?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00214778.
When is the last frost in Litchfield?
In Litchfield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 20 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 61 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 147 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 167 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Litchfield in zone 4b in ZIP code 55355, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Litchfield's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00214778; 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 Litchfield?
In a normal year in Litchfield, 7 days a year reach 90°F and 168 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a 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
- 84high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1907) is 104°F, on July 31, 1988; the lowest is −37°F, on January 9, 1977.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1991, with 39.01 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 72.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00214778; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00214778. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Litchfield?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Litchfield, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.8 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 69% | 2.6 |
| November | 67% | 1.7 |
| December | 61% | 1.2 |
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 Litchfield need?
A normal year in Litchfield brings 8,760 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 494 cooling degree days, 46% 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 2,343 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,706 | 0 |
| February | 1,422 | 0 |
| March | 1,173 | 0 |
| April | 677 | 1 |
| May | 314 | 25 |
| June | 64 | 106 |
| July | 13 | 190 |
| August | 32 | 131 |
| September | 199 | 40 |
| October | 613 | 3 |
| November | 1,041 | 0 |
| December | 1,505 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,760 | 494 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214778. 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 Litchfield been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 41.0°F, 1.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 42.2°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.6°F | +2.4°F | 20.08 |
| 2022 | 41.0°F | −1.2°F | – |
Over 71 complete years from 1941 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.6°F per century (+0.09°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00214778; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Litchfield's climate compare?
Litchfield is warmer than 52 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 59. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.2°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Litchfield 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 Litchfield share this climate record?
4 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.
- Atwater, MN1,098 people · 12 mi W
- Grove City, MN634 people · 7 mi W
- Cosmos, MN495 people · 15 mi SW
- Darwin, MN338 people · 6 mi E
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 Litchfield's climate
What is the coldest month in Litchfield?
January, with a normal high of 20°F and a normal low of 0°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Litchfield?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Litchfield's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Dassel (14 miles away), records 41 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Litchfield?
June, with 4.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.78 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Litchfield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Litchfield in zone 4b in ZIP code 55355, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Litchfield's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Litchfield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Dassel, MN14 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Hutchinson, MN17 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Kimball, MN19 miles from this station, 42.5°F a year
- New London, MN23 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made