Madeline Island, Wisconsin climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Madeline Island's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 31.5 inches of precipitation and 74 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 25°C, 800 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMadeline Island
- Station IDUSC00474953
- Location46.78°N 90.77°W
- Elevation660 ft (201 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Madeline Island is 51°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Madeline Island.
- Jan 22° 7°
- Feb 26° 7°
- Mar 37° 16°
- Apr 48° 28°
- May 61° 38°
- Jun 71° 49°
- Jul 77° 56°
- Aug 76° 56°
- Sep 68° 48°
- Oct 54° 37°
- Nov 40° 26°
- Dec 28° 16°
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 Madeline Island each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.75 in), the least in February (1.12 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 7°F | 14.4°F | 1.49 | 18.8 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 7°F | 16.5°F | 1.12 | 14.1 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 16°F | 26.5°F | 1.75 | 11.5 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 48°F | 28°F | 38.0°F | 2.92 | 5.3 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 61°F | 38°F | 49.7°F | 3.31 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 15 h |
| June | 71°F | 49°F | 59.7°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 77°F | 56°F | 66.4°F | 3.75 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 76°F | 56°F | 65.9°F | 3.17 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 48°F | 58.1°F | 3.06 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 37°F | 45.4°F | 3.19 | 0.7 | 12 | <1 | 9 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 26°F | 32.9°F | 2.33 | 6.4 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 28°F | 16°F | 21.5°F | 1.82 | 16.4 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 32°F | 41.3°F | 31.50 | 73.5 | 120 | 3 | 181 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.8°C | 38 mm | 48 cm |
| February | −3°C | −14°C | −8.6°C | 28 mm | 36 cm |
| March | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 44 mm | 29 cm |
| April | 9°C | −2°C | 3.3°C | 74 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 84 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 9°C | 14.5°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 3°C | 7.4°C | 81 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 4°C | −3°C | 0.5°C | 59 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −2°C | −9°C | −5.8°C | 46 mm | 42 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00474953; 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 Madeline Island?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00474953.
When is the last frost at Madeline Island?
In Madeline Island, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 20 in half of years and after June 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 25 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 201 year in 10 after June 3; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 140 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Madeline Island in zone 5a in ZIP code 54814, 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 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00474953; 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 Madeline Island?
In a normal year in Madeline Island, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 181 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 120 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
- 181a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 85high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 120a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1944) is 102°F, on July 28, 1988; the lowest is −35°F, on February 17, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1953, with 41.77 in; the snowiest season is 1975–76, with 135.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00474953; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00474953. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Madeline Island?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Madeline Island, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.3 |
| February | 66% | 2.3 |
| March | 68% | 3.5 |
| April | 67% | 4.5 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 78% | 6.2 |
| August | 76% | 5.1 |
| September | 72% | 3.8 |
| October | 63% | 2.4 |
| November | 58% | 1.4 |
| December | 52% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Madeline Island record?
A normal year at Madeline Island brings 8,855 heating degree days, 65% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 244 cooling degree days, 73% 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 1,731 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,568 | 0 |
| February | 1,358 | 0 |
| March | 1,194 | 0 |
| April | 809 | 0 |
| May | 477 | 4 |
| June | 190 | 30 |
| July | 58 | 101 |
| August | 55 | 85 |
| September | 229 | 23 |
| October | 610 | 1 |
| November | 962 | 0 |
| December | 1,347 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,855 | 244 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00474953. 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 Madeline Island been warmer than normal?
Over 47 complete years from 1945 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.12°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 Madeline Island's climate compare?
Madeline Island is warmer than 15 of the 165 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.3°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Madeline Island 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.
Questions about Madeline Island's climate
What is the coldest month at Madeline Island?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow at Madeline Island?
Yes: 74 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (18.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Madeline Island?
July, with 3.75 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.12 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Madeline Island in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Madeline Island in zone 5a in ZIP code 54814, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Madeline Island?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 20; in one year in ten it comes after June 3. Waiting until June 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bayfield, WI5 miles from this station, 41.0°F a year
- Ashland, WI17 miles from this station, 41.5°F a year
- Saxon, WI25 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Mellen, WI29 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made