Medford, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Medford's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 34.2 inches of precipitation and 57 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.4°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 26°C, 869 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMedford
- Station IDUSC00475255
- Location45.13°N 90.34°W
- Elevation1,470 ft (448 m)
- Population4,604
On October 23, the normal high in Medford is 51°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Medford.
- Jan 21° 2°
- Feb 26° 6°
- Mar 38° 18°
- Apr 52° 31°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 75° 53°
- Jul 79° 57°
- Aug 77° 55°
- Sep 69° 47°
- Oct 55° 35°
- Nov 39° 23°
- Dec 26° 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 Medford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.84 in), the least in January (1.09 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 2°F | 11.4°F | 1.09 | 12.8 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 26°F | 6°F | 15.7°F | 1.10 | 13.9 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 18°F | 28.0°F | 1.67 | 6.0 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 31°F | 41.5°F | 2.98 | 4.0 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.5°F | 3.68 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 75°F | 53°F | 64.0°F | 4.84 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 57°F | 68.0°F | 4.02 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 77°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | 4.30 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 69°F | 47°F | 58.3°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 35°F | 44.7°F | 3.25 | 0.5 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 23°F | 30.9°F | 1.94 | 4.5 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 26°F | 10°F | 18.1°F | 1.43 | 15.2 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 32°F | 41.8°F | 34.20 | 57.0 | 124 | 3 | 177 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −16°C | −11.4°C | 28 mm | 33 cm |
| February | −3°C | −15°C | −9.1°C | 28 mm | 35 cm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.2°C | 42 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 5.3°C | 76 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.5°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.8°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 20.0°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 1°C | 7.1°C | 83 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 4°C | −5°C | −0.6°C | 49 mm | 11 cm |
| December | −3°C | −12°C | −7.7°C | 36 mm | 39 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00475255; 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 Medford?
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 (11).
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 USC00475255.
When is the last frost in Medford?
In Medford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 11 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 17 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 111 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Medford in zone 4a in ZIP code 54451, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Medford's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (28 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 Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00475255; 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 Medford?
In a normal year in Medford, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 177 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 124 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
- 177a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 90high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 124a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 104°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −40°F, on January 6, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1938, with 46.27 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 104.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00475255; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00475255. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Medford?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Medford, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 1.7 |
| February | 76% | 2.8 |
| March | 73% | 3.9 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 68% | 5.4 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 78% | 6.2 |
| August | 76% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 4.0 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 62% | 1.6 |
| December | 57% | 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 Medford need?
A normal year in Medford brings 8,763 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 334 cooling degree days, 63% 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 2,038 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,660 | 0 |
| February | 1,380 | 0 |
| March | 1,147 | 0 |
| April | 707 | 0 |
| May | 340 | 16 |
| June | 97 | 69 |
| July | 35 | 128 |
| August | 54 | 90 |
| September | 233 | 30 |
| October | 632 | 2 |
| November | 1,025 | 0 |
| December | 1,454 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,763 | 334 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00475255. 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 Medford been warmer than normal lately?
Over 97 complete years from 1891 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.9°F per century (+0.16°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 Medford's climate compare?
Medford is warmer than 28 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 70. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.8°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Medford 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 Medford share this climate record?
6 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.
- Athens, WI1,064 people · 15 mi SE
- Rib Lake, WI913 people · 15 mi NE
- Dorchester, WI840 people · 9 mi S
- Stetsonville, WI556 people · 4 mi S
- Whittlesey, WI93 people · 6 mi N
- Chelsea, WI80 people · 11 mi N
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 Medford's climate
What is the coldest month in Medford?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Medford?
Yes: 57 inches in a normal year, falling on 26 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (15.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Medford?
June, with 4.84 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Medford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Medford in zone 4a in ZIP code 54451, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Medford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Medford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Owen, WI16 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Jump River (3 mi E), WI25 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Prentice, WI29 miles from this station, 40.7°F a year
- Stanley, WI31 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made