Milford, Iowa climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Milford's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 29.5 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.8°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 749 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMilford (4 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00135493
- Location43.38°N 95.18°W
- Elevation1,402 ft (427 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population3,258
On October 23, the normal high in Milford is 56°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Milford.
- Jan 24° 8°
- Feb 29° 12°
- Mar 42° 24°
- Apr 57° 35°
- May 70° 48°
- Jun 79° 59°
- Jul 83° 62°
- Aug 80° 60°
- Sep 74° 52°
- Oct 60° 39°
- Nov 43° 25°
- Dec 29° 13°
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 Milford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.47 in), the least in January (0.70 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 8°F | 15.9°F | 0.70 | 8.7 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 12°F | 20.3°F | 0.74 | 9.3 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 24°F | 32.7°F | 1.61 | 5.3 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 3.25 | 2.5 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 48°F | 58.6°F | 4.21 | 0.1 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 59°F | 68.8°F | 4.47 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 62°F | 72.5°F | 3.40 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 60°F | 70.0°F | 3.47 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 52°F | 62.8°F | 3.21 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 39°F | 49.3°F | 2.22 | 0.5 | 6 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 25°F | 33.8°F | 1.38 | 3.0 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 13°F | 21.1°F | 0.84 | 8.6 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 36°F | 46.0°F | 29.50 | 38.0 | 88 | 10 | 159 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −14°C | −8.9°C | 18 mm | 22 cm |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.5°C | 19 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | 0.4°C | 41 mm | 13 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 83 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 14.8°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.1°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 17.1°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 56 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 1.0°C | 35 mm | 8 cm |
| December | −2°C | −10°C | −6.1°C | 21 mm | 22 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00135493; 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 Milford?
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 (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 USC00135493.
When is the last frost in Milford?
In Milford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 24 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 11 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 158 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 178 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 21 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Milford in zone 5a in ZIP code 51331, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Milford's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Iowa · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00135493; 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 Milford?
In a normal year in Milford, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 159 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 88 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 159a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 73high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 88a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1919) is 103°F, on July 31, 1955; the lowest is −34°F, on January 3, 2010.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 51.37 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 67.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00135493; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00135493. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Milford?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Milford, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.0 |
| February | 79% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 70% | 4.9 |
| May | 70% | 5.6 |
| June | 76% | 6.3 |
| July | 84% | 6.6 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 3.0 |
| November | 72% | 2.0 |
| December | 69% | 1.6 |
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 Milford need?
A normal year in Milford brings 7,569 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 684 cooling degree days, 25% 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 2,777 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,520 | 0 |
| February | 1,253 | 0 |
| March | 1,000 | 0 |
| April | 568 | 4 |
| May | 237 | 38 |
| June | 37 | 150 |
| July | 7 | 240 |
| August | 19 | 174 |
| September | 136 | 71 |
| October | 495 | 6 |
| November | 936 | 0 |
| December | 1,361 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,569 | 684 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00135493. 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 Milford been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.9°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.0°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.0°F | +1.0°F | 25.61 | 27.0 |
| 2023 | 48.6°F | +2.6°F | 24.81 | 29.4 |
| 2024 | 50.0°F | +4.0°F | 39.29 | 19.6 |
| 2025 | 46.9°F | +0.9°F | 32.34 | 34.9 |
Over 66 complete years from 1945 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.1°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00135493; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Milford's climate compare?
Milford is warmer than 17 of the other 131 places with their own NOAA record in Iowa, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.0°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Milford 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 Milford 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.
- Arnolds Park, IA1,214 people · 3 mi SE
- Wahpeton, IA337 people · 1 mi SE
- West Okoboji, IA311 people · 3 mi S
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 Milford's climate
What is the coldest month in Milford?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Milford?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (9.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Milford?
June, with 4.47 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.70 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Milford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Milford in zone 5a in ZIP code 51331, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Milford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Milford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Iowa climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Spirit Lake, IA4 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Lake Park, IA8 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Spencer, IA15 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Estherville, IA22 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made