Milaca, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Milaca's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 30.8 inches of precipitation and 49 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.4°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 27°C, 783 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMilaca
- Station IDUSC00215392
- Location45.75°N 93.66°W
- Elevation1,064 ft (324 m)
- Population3,060
On October 22, the normal high in Milaca is 53°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Milaca.
- Jan 20° 1°
- Feb 26° 4°
- Mar 38° 17°
- Apr 53° 30°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 76° 54°
- Jul 80° 59°
- Aug 78° 56°
- Sep 70° 46°
- Oct 56° 34°
- Nov 39° 21°
- Dec 26° 9°
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 Milaca each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.39 in), the least in January (0.77 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 1°F | 10.5°F | 0.77 | 7.4 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 4°F | 14.8°F | 0.85 | 11.1 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 17°F | 27.6°F | 1.43 | 8.4 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 30°F | 41.8°F | 2.74 | 4.4 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.6°F | 3.82 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 76°F | 54°F | 64.7°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 80°F | 59°F | 69.4°F | 4.39 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 78°F | 56°F | 66.9°F | 3.97 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 70°F | 46°F | 58.4°F | 3.19 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 2.82 | 0.8 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 21°F | 30.1°F | 1.41 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 26°F | 9°F | 17.5°F | 1.11 | 10.2 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 53°F | 31°F | 41.8°F | 30.81 | 48.9 | 105 | 5 | 178 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.9°C | 20 mm | 19 cm |
| February | −3°C | −16°C | −9.6°C | 22 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 36 mm | 21 cm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.4°C | 70 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 72 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −1.1°C | 36 mm | 17 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −8.1°C | 28 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00215392; 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 Milaca?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00215392.
When is the last frost in Milaca?
In Milaca, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 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 81 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Milaca in zone 4a in ZIP code 56353, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Milaca's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°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 USC00215392; 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 Milaca?
In a normal year in Milaca, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 178 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 105 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 178a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 85high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 105a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 108°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −48°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1954, with 44.52 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 94.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00215392; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00215392. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Milaca?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Milaca, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 1.8 |
| February | 79% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 6.0 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 75% | 4.0 |
| October | 67% | 2.6 |
| November | 65% | 1.6 |
| 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 Milaca need?
A normal year in Milaca brings 8,808 heating degree days, 64% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 378 cooling degree days, 58% 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 2,122 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,691 | 0 |
| February | 1,404 | 0 |
| March | 1,161 | 0 |
| April | 698 | 1 |
| May | 337 | 16 |
| June | 85 | 76 |
| July | 19 | 154 |
| August | 42 | 101 |
| September | 227 | 29 |
| October | 623 | 1 |
| November | 1,049 | 0 |
| December | 1,472 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,808 | 378 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00215392. 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 Milaca been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 46.2°F, 4.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.8°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 40.3°F | −1.5°F | 30.19 | 59.9 |
| 2023 | 44.3°F | +2.5°F | 32.61 | 72.3 |
| 2024 | 46.2°F | +4.4°F | 34.63 | 29.5 |
Over 76 complete years from 1904 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00215392; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Milaca's climate compare?
Milaca is warmer than 46 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 69. 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, Milaca 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 Milaca share this climate record?
5 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.
- Foreston, MN579 people · 3 mi SW
- Pease, MN243 people · 4 mi S
- Bock, MN80 people · 6 mi E
- Ronneby, MN62 people · 11 mi SW
- Hillman, MN21 people · 21 mi NW
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 Milaca's climate
What is the coldest month in Milaca?
January, with a normal high of 20°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Milaca?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 24 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (11.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Milaca?
July, with 4.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.77 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Milaca in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Milaca in zone 4a in ZIP code 56353, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Milaca's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Milaca?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; 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
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Santiago (3 mi E), MN15 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Mora, MN19 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- St. Cloud, MN24 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Cambridge, MN25 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made