Olivia, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Olivia's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 27.9 inches of precipitation and 38 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.2°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 28°C, 709 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOlivia (3 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00216152
- Location44.76°N 94.93°W
- Elevation1,100 ft (335 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population2,306
On October 23, the normal high in Olivia is 55°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Olivia.
- Jan 21° 2°
- Feb 27° 5°
- Mar 39° 19°
- Apr 56° 31°
- May 69° 44°
- Jun 79° 56°
- Jul 82° 59°
- Aug 79° 56°
- Sep 73° 47°
- Oct 59° 34°
- Nov 42° 21°
- Dec 27° 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 Olivia each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.94 in), the least in January (0.63 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 2°F | 11.7°F | 0.63 | 6.6 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 27°F | 5°F | 16.0°F | 0.83 | 8.7 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 19°F | 28.7°F | 1.37 | 6.7 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 31°F | 43.5°F | 2.47 | 2.4 | 7 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 44°F | 56.7°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 79°F | 56°F | 67.2°F | 4.94 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 59°F | 70.5°F | 3.34 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 56°F | 67.8°F | 3.66 | 0.0 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 73°F | 47°F | 60.1°F | 2.94 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 34°F | 46.4°F | 2.20 | 0.1 | 6 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 21°F | 31.3°F | 1.27 | 3.8 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 27°F | 9°F | 18.0°F | 1.02 | 9.4 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 32°F | 43.1°F | 27.93 | 37.7 | 72 | 10 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.3°C | 16 mm | 17 cm |
| February | −3°C | −15°C | −8.9°C | 21 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 4°C | −7°C | −1.8°C | 35 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 63 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 21°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.6°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.6°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 8.0°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.4°C | 32 mm | 10 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −7.8°C | 26 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216152; 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 Olivia?
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 (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 USC00216152.
When is the last frost in Olivia?
In Olivia, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 15 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 61 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 165 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Olivia in zone 4b in ZIP code 56277, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Olivia's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (21 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 USC00216152; 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 Olivia?
In a normal year in Olivia, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 72 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
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 82high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 72a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1892) is 108°F, on August 1, 1988; the lowest is −33°F, on February 9, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 36.21 in; the snowiest season is 1983–84, with 71.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00216152; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00216152. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Olivia?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Olivia, 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 Olivia need?
A normal year in Olivia brings 8,436 heating degree days, 57% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 513 cooling degree days, 44% 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 2,403 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,652 | 0 |
| February | 1,373 | 0 |
| March | 1,126 | 0 |
| April | 648 | 1 |
| May | 288 | 30 |
| June | 55 | 121 |
| July | 15 | 185 |
| August | 37 | 125 |
| September | 193 | 46 |
| October | 580 | 4 |
| November | 1,011 | 0 |
| December | 1,458 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,436 | 513 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216152. 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 Olivia's climate compare?
Olivia is warmer than 62 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 34. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.1°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Olivia 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 Olivia 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.
- Renville, MN1,271 people · 14 mi W
- Hector, MN994 people · 11 mi E
- Bird Island, MN986 people · 2 mi E
- Danube, MN447 people · 9 mi W
- Lake Lillian, MN243 people · 13 mi N
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 Olivia's climate
What is the coldest month in Olivia?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Olivia?
Yes: 38 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Olivia?
June, with 4.94 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.63 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Olivia in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Olivia in zone 4b in ZIP code 56277, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Olivia's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Olivia?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Redwood Falls, MN17 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Willmar, MN24 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Brownton, MN29 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Hutchinson, MN29 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made