Minnesota City Dam, MN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Minnesota City Dam's primary NOAA station, MINNESOTA CITY DAM 5.
The climate verdict for Minnesota City Dam
Winter sets the terms in Minnesota City Dam, Minnesota. A pronounced 57.9°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 46°F. Its climate comfort score of 59/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 46°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 59/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 35.4"
- annual precipitation · 36" snow
- 176 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Minnesota City Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00215488 · Minnesota City Dam, MN 46°F mean · 35.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,647
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Mission Ridge
- PRCP-MID 35.4"
- SWING-WIDE 58°F
- COMF-MID 59/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,512 HDD
- STN-1 USC00215488
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Mission Ridge, SD ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MN station list.
- Minnesota City… (this station) 46°F
- Cold Mission Ridge, SD 46°F
- Hot Boysen Dam, WY 46°F
- Near Greybull S Big…, WY 46°F
- Near Centerville, SD 46°F
Minnesota City Dam sits in Minnesota, the #3 coldest U.S. state at 42.2°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Minnesota City Dam
Minnesota City Dam: 47/100 · grade D
Minnesota City Dam publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Minnesota City Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 59/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 35.4 in · 0.4 from 35 in | 95/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 176 days/year | 47/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 149 calendar days | 47/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 36.0 inches/year | 32/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.3°F · 21.2° from 67.5°F | 24/100 · F |
Minnesota City Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Minnesota City Dam is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 15.4°F and warmest-month mean 73.3°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 73.3°F
- Coldest month
- 15.4°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Minnesota City Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Minnesota City Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 76%
- Among 6,861 stations, Minnesota City Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 49th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 96%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Minnesota City Dam is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Minnesota City Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Minnesota City Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
59 37th percentile score exceeds 37% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F (-5°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 1.1" | 8.8" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 29°F (-2°C) | 11°F (-11°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 1.1" | 9.2" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 42°F (5°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 2.0" | 5.6" | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.7" | 1.5" | 7.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 4.6" | 0.1" | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.9 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 2.5" | 0.1" | 4.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 41°F (5°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.9" | 1.7" | 19.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 28°F (-2°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 1.2" | 9.0" | 28.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 19, short of 90°F on every date, while 149 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 7°F near January 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 2, then returns to freezing around November 6, covering 149 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 28, when 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 12 at 26%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 118 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 13 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Minnesota City Dam.
Where Minnesota City Dam Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Minnesota City Dam earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 8.8"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.2"
7.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.6"
9.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
11.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
13.4 days with precipitation
12.4 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
10.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.7"
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.0"
8.6 days with precipitation
Minnesota City Dam runs a summer-peaked wet season
38% of Minnesota City Dam's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 5.1", on a wide 57.9°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, May, August, taking 40% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 1.1".
- Winter share: 10% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Minnesota City Dam's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 118 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 35.4" between them, or roughly 0.30 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Minnesota City Dam
Minnesota City Dam averages 36.0 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 19 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 36.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 19 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 16
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 23
50% probability date
Growing Season
176 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,512
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
727
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MN closest to Minnesota City Dam on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (46°F here).
- Binghamton, NY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Chewelah, WA 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Delanson, NY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Douglas, WY 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (35.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Northwood, IA 35.5" · 0.0" off
- Allison, IA 35.4" · 0.0" off
- Luling, TX 35.4" · 0.0" off
- Arlington, WI 35.5" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Minnesota City Dam
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Minnesota City Dam logs 7,512 heating degree days, more than twice its 727 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 57.9°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Minnesota City Dam's frost-free season lasts about 176 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Minnesota City Dam coldest normal
January
Averaging 15°F (-9°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Minnesota City Dam typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Minnesota City Dam snow peak
February
Minnesota City Dam averages 36.0 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Minnesota City Dam's climate
How much snow does Minnesota City Dam get? ▼
How cold does Minnesota City Dam get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Minnesota City Dam? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Minnesota City Dam's primary station: MINNESOTA CITY DAM 5 (USC00215488). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Minnesota City Dam; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Minnesota City Dam comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.