Pine River Dam, Minnesota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Pine River Dam's normal year runs from −1°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 28.8 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 27°C, 731 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPine River Dam
- Station IDUSC00216547
- Location46.67°N 94.11°W
- Elevation1,250 ft (381 m)
On October 24, the normal high in Pine River Dam is 50°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pine River Dam.
- Jan 19° -1°
- Feb 25° 3°
- Mar 38° 16°
- Apr 52° 30°
- May 66° 44°
- Jun 75° 54°
- Jul 80° 60°
- Aug 78° 57°
- Sep 69° 48°
- Oct 54° 36°
- Nov 38° 22°
- Dec 24° 8°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Pine River Dam 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 June (4.49 in), the least in February (0.73 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | −1°F | 9.1°F | 0.77 | 7.3 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 25°F | 3°F | 13.9°F | 0.73 | 8.0 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 16°F | 27.2°F | 1.37 | 5.9 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 30°F | 40.9°F | 2.10 | 3.0 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 3.66 | 0.1 | 13 | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 54°F | 64.8°F | 4.49 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 80°F | 60°F | 69.7°F | 4.30 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 78°F | 57°F | 67.5°F | 3.17 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 69°F | 48°F | 58.7°F | 2.84 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 36°F | 45.0°F | 2.88 | 1.0 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 22°F | 29.9°F | 1.43 | 4.1 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 24°F | 8°F | 16.2°F | 1.02 | 9.8 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 28.76 | 39.2 | 112 | 5 | 178 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −18°C | −12.7°C | 20 mm | 19 cm |
| February | −4°C | −16°C | −10.1°C | 19 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 3°C | −9°C | −2.7°C | 35 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 53 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.5°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 9°C | 14.8°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 73 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 3°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 36 mm | 10 cm |
| December | −4°C | −13°C | −8.8°C | 26 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216547; 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.
Which months are mildest at Pine River Dam?
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 (11).
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 USC00216547.
When is the last frost at Pine River Dam?
In Pine River Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 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 61 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 152 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 172 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pine River Dam in zone 4a in ZIP code 56442, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −25°F (18 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 USC00216547; 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 at Pine River Dam?
In a normal year in Pine River Dam, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 178 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 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
- 178a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 91high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 104°F, on July 28, 1917; the lowest is −53°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 40.70 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 93.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00216547; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00216547. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Pine River Dam?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Pine River Dam, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 1.6 |
| February | 78% | 2.8 |
| March | 74% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 3.9 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 64% | 1.6 |
| December | 59% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Pine River Dam record?
A normal year at Pine River Dam brings 8,954 heating degree days, 67% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 406 cooling degree days, 55% 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 2,154 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,734 | 0 |
| February | 1,431 | 0 |
| March | 1,173 | 0 |
| April | 725 | 0 |
| May | 340 | 16 |
| June | 85 | 78 |
| July | 22 | 168 |
| August | 37 | 116 |
| September | 219 | 28 |
| October | 621 | 1 |
| November | 1,053 | 0 |
| December | 1,514 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,954 | 406 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216547. 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.
Have recent years at Pine River Dam been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 46.3°F, 4.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.4°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.0°F | +3.6°F | 23.46 | 43.8 |
| 2022 | 41.4°F | at normal | – | – |
| 2024 | 46.3°F | +4.9°F | – | – |
Over 104 complete years from 1888 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.7°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00216547; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pine River Dam's climate compare?
Pine River Dam is warmer than 41 of the 129 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 47. 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, Pine River Dam 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 Pine River Dam share this climate record?
7 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.
- Breezy Point, MN2,750 people · 6 mi SW
- Pequot Lakes, MN2,462 people · 10 mi SW
- Crosslake, MN2,412 people · 1 mi NE
- Emily, MN863 people · 9 mi NE
- Jenkins, MN500 people · 11 mi W
- Fifty Lakes, MN449 people · 7 mi N
- Manhattan Beach, MN63 people · 5 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 Pine River Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Pine River Dam?
January, with a normal high of 19°F and a normal low of −1°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow at Pine River Dam?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 23 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Pine River Dam?
June, with 4.49 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.73 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pine River Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pine River Dam in zone 4a in ZIP code 56442, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −25°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come at Pine River Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Brainerd, MN18 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Deep Portage, MN21 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Gull Lake Dam, MN22 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Aitkin, MN23 miles from this station, 40.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made