Little Falls, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Little Falls's normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 27.2 inches of precipitation and 53 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.2°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 29°C, 690 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLittle Falls (2 mi NNE)
- Station IDUSC00214793
- Location46.00°N 94.34°W
- Elevation1,120 ft (341 m)
- Population9,206
On October 22, the normal high in Little Falls is 55°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Little Falls.
- Jan 24° 4°
- Feb 29° 7°
- Mar 43° 20°
- Apr 58° 33°
- May 71° 45°
- Jun 80° 55°
- Jul 85° 60°
- Aug 82° 58°
- Sep 75° 50°
- Oct 59° 37°
- Nov 42° 23°
- Dec 28° 10°
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 Little Falls each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.34 in), the least in February (0.66 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 4°F | 13.7°F | 0.76 | 9.5 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 29°F | 7°F | 18.0°F | 0.66 | 9.7 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 43°F | 20°F | 31.4°F | 1.27 | 8.5 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 33°F | 45.3°F | 2.26 | 4.1 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 71°F | 45°F | 58.1°F | 3.34 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 80°F | 55°F | 67.6°F | 4.34 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 85°F | 60°F | 72.5°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 82°F | 58°F | 70.0°F | 3.25 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 75°F | 50°F | 62.1°F | 2.96 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 37°F | 48.1°F | 2.45 | 0.9 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 23°F | 32.4°F | 1.26 | 8.2 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 28°F | 10°F | 19.2°F | 0.90 | 11.9 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 34°F | 44.9°F | 27.18 | 52.8 | 83 | 14 | 167 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −16°C | −10.2°C | 19 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −2°C | −14°C | −7.8°C | 17 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 6°C | −6°C | −0.3°C | 32 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.4°C | 57 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 22°C | 7°C | 14.5°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.5°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 14°C | 21.1°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 62 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5°C | −5°C | 0.2°C | 32 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −2°C | −12°C | −7.1°C | 23 mm | 30 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214793; 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 Little Falls?
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 (7).
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 USC00214793.
When is the last frost in Little Falls?
In Little Falls, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 22 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 41 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 22; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 173 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Little Falls in zone 4a in ZIP code 56345, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Little Falls's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −25°F (17 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 USC00214793; 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 Little Falls?
In a normal year in Little Falls, 14 days a year reach 90°F, 167 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 83 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 167a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 79high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 83a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1905) is 106°F, on July 11, 1936; the lowest is −46°F, on February 16, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 36.47 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 85.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00214793; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00214793. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Little Falls?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Little Falls, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 1.6 |
| February | 78% | 2.8 |
| March | 74% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 3.9 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 64% | 1.6 |
| December | 59% | 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 much heating and cooling does Little Falls need?
A normal year in Little Falls brings 7,950 heating degree days, 48% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 657 cooling degree days, 28% 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 2,666 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,590 | 0 |
| February | 1,316 | 0 |
| March | 1,042 | 0 |
| April | 592 | 1 |
| May | 247 | 34 |
| June | 55 | 134 |
| July | 14 | 245 |
| August | 23 | 180 |
| September | 146 | 58 |
| October | 528 | 6 |
| November | 976 | 0 |
| December | 1,421 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,950 | 657 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00214793. 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 Little Falls's climate compare?
Little Falls is warmer than 101 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.9°F is warmer than 19%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Little Falls 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 Little Falls share this climate record?
9 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.
- Pierz, MN1,461 people · 12 mi E
- Randall, MN614 people · 10 mi NW
- Sobieski, MN218 people · 9 mi SW
- Flensburg, MN210 people · 10 mi SW
- Lastrup, MN123 people · 14 mi E
- Harding, MN122 people · 17 mi NE
- Elmdale, MN115 people · 14 mi SW
- Fort Ripley, MN82 people · 11 mi N
- Genola, MN70 people · 11 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 Little Falls's climate
What is the coldest month in Little Falls?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Little Falls?
Yes: 53 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (11.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Little Falls?
June, with 4.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.66 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Little Falls in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Little Falls in zone 4a in ZIP code 56345, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Little Falls's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −25°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Little Falls?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; 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
- Rice, MN18 miles from this station, 41.6°F a year
- Long Prairie, MN26 miles from this station, 40.1°F a year
- Gull Lake Dam, MN28 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Collegeville St John's, MN29 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made