New Ulm, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
New Ulm's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 31.1 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 28°C, 789 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNew Ulm (2 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00215887
- Location44.30°N 94.49°W
- Elevation890 ft (271 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population13,970
On October 23, the normal high in New Ulm is 56°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for New Ulm.
- Jan 24° 7°
- Feb 29° 11°
- Mar 41° 24°
- Apr 57° 36°
- May 69° 49°
- Jun 79° 59°
- Jul 82° 63°
- Aug 80° 60°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 60° 39°
- Nov 43° 26°
- 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 New Ulm each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.04 in), the least in January (0.67 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 7°F | 15.3°F | 0.67 | 7.8 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 11°F | 19.9°F | 0.93 | 6.9 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 24°F | 32.6°F | 1.57 | 6.0 | 8 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 36°F | 46.6°F | 2.94 | 1.5 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 49°F | 58.9°F | 4.07 | 0.1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 59°F | 68.8°F | 5.04 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 63°F | 72.3°F | 4.07 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 60°F | 69.7°F | 3.66 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.7°F | 3.31 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 39°F | 49.3°F | 2.40 | 0.5 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 26°F | 34.2°F | 1.51 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 13°F | 20.9°F | 0.90 | 9.0 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 37°F | 45.9°F | 31.07 | 38.3 | 101 | 7 | 155 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.3°C | 17 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.7°C | 24 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | 0.3°C | 40 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 8.1°C | 75 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 17.1°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 61 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 1.2°C | 38 mm | 17 cm |
| December | −2°C | −10°C | −6.2°C | 23 mm | 23 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00215887; 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 New Ulm?
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 (8).
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 USC00215887.
When is the last frost in New Ulm?
In New Ulm, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 29 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 22 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
- April 291 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 22; 9 in 10 before October 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 161 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 18 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts New Ulm in zone 5a in ZIP code 56073, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, New Ulm's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (19 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 USC00215887; 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 New Ulm?
In a normal year in New Ulm, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 155 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 101 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 155a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 74high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 101a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 13a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 111°F, on July 15, 1936; the lowest is −37°F, on January 15, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1968, with 43.43 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 101.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00215887; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00215887. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is New Ulm?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around New Ulm, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.9 |
| February | 80% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 83% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 78% | 4.2 |
| October | 71% | 2.8 |
| November | 69% | 1.8 |
| December | 66% | 1.4 |
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 New Ulm need?
A normal year in New Ulm brings 7,585 heating degree days, 41% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 676 cooling degree days, 26% 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 2,767 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,542 | 0 |
| February | 1,261 | 0 |
| March | 1,005 | 0 |
| April | 557 | 4 |
| May | 228 | 39 |
| June | 39 | 153 |
| July | 9 | 236 |
| August | 21 | 167 |
| September | 138 | 69 |
| October | 493 | 8 |
| November | 926 | 0 |
| December | 1,367 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,585 | 676 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00215887. 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.
How does New Ulm's climate compare?
New Ulm is warmer than 117 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 72. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.9°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, New Ulm 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 New Ulm 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.
- Sleepy Eye, MN3,489 people · 12 mi W
- Courtland, MN724 people · 8 mi E
- Lafayette, MN469 people · 11 mi NE
- Hanska, MN385 people · 11 mi S
- Searles, MN211 people · 6 mi SE
- Essig, MN49 people · 6 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do New Ulm's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near New Ulm. This page uses New Ulm (2 mi SE); the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Ulm (3 mi SE) USC00215888 | 3 mi E | 925 ft | 44.2°F | 4°F | 81°F | 32.8 | – | May 2 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about New Ulm's climate
What is the coldest month in New Ulm?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in New Ulm?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in New Ulm?
June, with 5.04 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.67 in.
What plant hardiness zone is New Ulm in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts New Ulm in zone 5a in ZIP code 56073, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at New Ulm's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in New Ulm?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 29; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gaylord, MN22 miles from this station, 44.9°F a year
- St. James, MN22 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Springfield, MN25 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Mankato, MN25 miles from this station, 45.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made