Moose Lake, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Moose Lake's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 31.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 27°C, 800 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMoose Lake (1 mi SSE)
- Station IDUSC00215598
- Location46.44°N 92.76°W
- Elevation1,110 ft (338 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population3,003
On October 22, the normal high in Moose Lake is 51°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Moose Lake.
- Jan 20° 1°
- Feb 25° 4°
- Mar 38° 17°
- Apr 52° 30°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 75° 51°
- Jul 80° 57°
- Aug 78° 56°
- Sep 69° 48°
- Oct 54° 36°
- Nov 38° 23°
- Dec 25° 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 Moose Lake 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 (4.80 in), the least in January (0.79 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 1°F | 10.3°F | 0.79 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 25°F | 4°F | 14.8°F | 0.92 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 17°F | 27.5°F | 1.39 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 30°F | 41.0°F | 2.57 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.3°F | 3.42 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 51°F | 62.9°F | 4.75 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 80°F | 57°F | 68.8°F | 4.80 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 78°F | 56°F | 67.1°F | 3.73 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 69°F | 48°F | 58.6°F | 3.18 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 36°F | 45.0°F | 3.10 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 23°F | 30.4°F | 1.68 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 25°F | 9°F | 16.8°F | 1.17 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 31.50 | 100 | 5 | 175 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −17°C | −12.1°C | 20 mm |
| February | −4°C | −15°C | −9.6°C | 23 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.5°C | 35 mm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 5.0°C | 65 mm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 87 mm |
| June | 24°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 121 mm |
| July | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 122 mm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.5°C | 95 mm |
| September | 21°C | 9°C | 14.8°C | 81 mm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 79 mm |
| November | 3°C | −5°C | −0.9°C | 43 mm |
| December | −4°C | −13°C | −8.4°C | 30 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Bruno (14 miles away), gets 64 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00215598; 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 Moose Lake?
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 (9).
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 USC00215598.
When is the last frost in Moose Lake?
In Moose Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 20 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 121 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 17
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 30 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Moose Lake in zone 4a in ZIP code 55767, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Moose Lake's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (26 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 USC00215598; 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 Moose Lake?
In a normal year in Moose Lake, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 175 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 100 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
- 175a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 88high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 100a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1913) is 104°F, on July 11, 1936; the lowest is −53°F, on January 15, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1968, with 43.41 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 65.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00215598; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00215598. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Moose Lake?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Moose Lake, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 1.6 |
| February | 76% | 2.7 |
| March | 73% | 3.8 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 77% | 5.2 |
| September | 72% | 3.8 |
| October | 65% | 2.4 |
| November | 63% | 1.5 |
| December | 60% | 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 Moose Lake need?
A normal year in Moose Lake brings 8,916 heating degree days, 66% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 342 cooling degree days, 62% 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 2,012 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,697 | 0 |
| February | 1,406 | 0 |
| March | 1,161 | 0 |
| April | 720 | 0 |
| May | 370 | 9 |
| June | 116 | 53 |
| July | 26 | 142 |
| August | 43 | 108 |
| September | 223 | 29 |
| October | 622 | 1 |
| November | 1,038 | 0 |
| December | 1,494 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,916 | 342 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00215598. 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 Moose Lake been warmer than normal lately?
Over 62 complete years from 1948 to 2018, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.20°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 Moose Lake's climate compare?
Moose Lake is warmer than 41 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 76. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.4°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Moose Lake 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 Moose Lake 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.
- Barnum, MN610 people · 6 mi NE
- Sturgeon Lake, MN468 people · 4 mi SW
- Willow River, MN396 people · 9 mi SW
- Kettle River, MN173 people · 7 mi NW
- Denham, MN39 people · 10 mi SW
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 Moose Lake's climate
What is the coldest month in Moose Lake?
January, with a normal high of 20°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Moose Lake?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Moose Lake's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Bruno (14 miles away), records 64 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Moose Lake?
July, with 4.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.79 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Moose Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Moose Lake in zone 4a in ZIP code 55767, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Moose Lake's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Moose Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; 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
- Bruno, MN14 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Wright, MN19 miles from this station, 38.0°F a year
- Cloquet, MN22 miles from this station, 39.7°F a year
- Foxboro, WI22 miles from this station, 39.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made