Markesan, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Markesan's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 35.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 28°C, 904 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMarkesan
- Station IDUSC00475096
- Location43.70°N 89.00°W
- Elevation861 ft (262 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,385
On October 22, the normal high in Markesan is 57°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Markesan.
- Jan 26° 9°
- Feb 30° 10°
- Mar 42° 21°
- Apr 56° 33°
- May 68° 45°
- Jun 78° 55°
- Jul 82° 59°
- Aug 80° 56°
- Sep 72° 48°
- Oct 59° 37°
- Nov 44° 26°
- Dec 32° 15°
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 Markesan each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.58 in), the least in January (1.38 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 9°F | 17.3°F | 1.38 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 30°F | 10°F | 20.0°F | 1.39 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 21°F | 31.6°F | 2.00 | 8 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 3.45 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 45°F | 56.6°F | 4.29 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 55°F | 66.5°F | 4.58 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 59°F | 70.3°F | 4.29 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 4.15 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 48°F | 60.4°F | 3.27 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 37°F | 48.2°F | 2.93 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 26°F | 34.9°F | 2.23 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 32°F | 15°F | 23.4°F | 1.65 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 35°F | 45.1°F | 35.61 | 126 | 7 | 162 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −13°C | −8.2°C | 35 mm |
| February | −1°C | −12°C | −6.7°C | 35 mm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.2°C | 51 mm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 88 mm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 109 mm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 116 mm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 109 mm |
| August | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 105 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.8°C | 83 mm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 9.0°C | 74 mm |
| November | 7°C | −3°C | 1.6°C | 57 mm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.8°C | 42 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Dalton (11 miles away), gets 46 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00475096; 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 Markesan?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00475096.
When is the last frost in Markesan?
In Markesan, 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 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 81 year in 10 after May 23; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 165 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Markesan in zone 5a in ZIP code 53946, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00475096; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Markesan?
In a normal year in Markesan, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 162 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 days bring measurable precipitation.
- 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
- 162a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 68high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 126a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00475096.
How sunny is Markesan?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Markesan, 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 | 63% | 1.6 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 70% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 68% | 2.7 |
| November | 66% | 1.8 |
| December | 59% | 1.3 |
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 Markesan need?
A normal year in Markesan brings 7,683 heating degree days, 43% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 480 cooling degree days, 47% 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 2,396 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,477 | 0 |
| February | 1,260 | 0 |
| March | 1,034 | 0 |
| April | 623 | 1 |
| May | 286 | 25 |
| June | 55 | 100 |
| July | 17 | 179 |
| August | 32 | 127 |
| September | 182 | 44 |
| October | 526 | 4 |
| November | 902 | 0 |
| December | 1,290 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,683 | 480 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00475096. 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 Markesan been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 45.3°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.8°F | +1.7°F | 28.79 |
| 2022 | 44.0°F | −1.1°F | 36.78 |
| 2023 | 47.3°F | +2.1°F | 28.68 |
| 2024 | 48.2°F | +3.1°F | 38.74 |
| 2025 | 45.3°F | +0.2°F | 27.55 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00475096. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Markesan's climate compare?
Markesan is warmer than 81 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 101. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.1°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Markesan 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 Markesan share this climate record?
3 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.
- Green Lake, WI1,043 people · 10 mi N
- Fairwater, WI347 people · 7 mi NE
- Alto, WI119 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 Markesan's climate
What is the coldest month in Markesan?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Markesan?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Markesan's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Dalton (11 miles away), records 46 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Markesan?
June, with 4.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.38 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Markesan in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Markesan in zone 5a in ZIP code 53946, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Markesan?
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
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Dalton, WI11 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Montello, WI17 miles from this station, 45.6°F a year
- Town Of Westford, WI17 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Ripon, WI18 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made