Prentice, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Prentice's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 32.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.8°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 26°C, 822 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPrentice #2
- Station IDUSC00476859
- Location45.54°N 90.30°W
- Elevation1,540 ft (469 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population565
On October 23, the normal high in Prentice is 52°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Prentice.
- Jan 21° 1°
- Feb 27° 3°
- Mar 39° 15°
- Apr 52° 29°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 75° 51°
- Jul 79° 54°
- Aug 77° 52°
- Sep 69° 45°
- Oct 55° 33°
- Nov 39° 21°
- Dec 26° 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 Prentice each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.05 in), the least in January (0.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 1°F | 10.9°F | 0.97 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 27°F | 3°F | 14.6°F | 1.02 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 39°F | 15°F | 26.7°F | 1.65 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 29°F | 40.6°F | 2.70 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.4°F | 3.89 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 75°F | 51°F | 62.8°F | 4.05 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 54°F | 66.5°F | 3.55 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 77°F | 52°F | 64.6°F | 3.86 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 69°F | 45°F | 56.8°F | 3.93 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 33°F | 44.0°F | 3.50 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 21°F | 30.2°F | 1.75 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 26°F | 9°F | 17.5°F | 1.50 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 29°F | 40.7°F | 32.37 | 104 | 2 | 190 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.7°C | 25 mm |
| February | −3°C | −16°C | −9.7°C | 26 mm |
| March | 4°C | −10°C | −2.9°C | 42 mm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.8°C | 69 mm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 11.9°C | 99 mm |
| June | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 103 mm |
| July | 26°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 90 mm |
| August | 25°C | 11°C | 18.1°C | 98 mm |
| September | 21°C | 7°C | 13.8°C | 100 mm |
| October | 13°C | 1°C | 6.7°C | 89 mm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −1.0°C | 44 mm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −8.1°C | 38 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Willow Reservoir (25 miles away), gets 55 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00476859; 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 Prentice?
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 USC00476859.
When is the last frost in Prentice?
In Prentice, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 23 in half of years and before September 5 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 231 year in 10 after June 6; 9 in 10 after May 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 231 year in 10 before September 5; 9 in 10 before October 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 124 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 146 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Prentice in zone 4a in ZIP code 54556, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00476859; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Prentice?
In a normal year in Prentice, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 190 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 190a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 89high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1898) is 107°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −47°F, on January 12, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1942, with 48.58 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 97.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00476859; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00476859. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Prentice?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Prentice, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 1.7 |
| February | 76% | 2.8 |
| March | 73% | 3.9 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 68% | 5.4 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 78% | 6.2 |
| August | 76% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 4.0 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 62% | 1.6 |
| December | 57% | 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 Prentice need?
A normal year in Prentice brings 9,082 heating degree days, 69% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 269 cooling degree days, 70% 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 1,848 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,678 | 0 |
| February | 1,410 | 0 |
| March | 1,187 | 0 |
| April | 734 | 1 |
| May | 374 | 14 |
| June | 124 | 59 |
| July | 54 | 100 |
| August | 82 | 70 |
| September | 270 | 24 |
| October | 651 | 1 |
| November | 1,044 | 0 |
| December | 1,474 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,082 | 269 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00476859. 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 Prentice's climate compare?
Prentice is warmer than 9 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.7°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Prentice 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 Prentice 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.
- Phillips, WI1,489 people · 11 mi NW
- Ogema, WI259 people · 6 mi S
- Westboro, WI204 people · 13 mi S
- Kennan, WI143 people · 14 mi W
- Catawba, WI139 people · 11 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.
Questions about Prentice's climate
What is the coldest month in Prentice?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Prentice?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Prentice's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Willow Reservoir (25 miles away), records 55 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Prentice?
June, with 4.05 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Prentice in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Prentice in zone 4a in ZIP code 54556, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Prentice?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 6. Waiting until June 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Willow Reservoir, WI25 miles from this station, 40.2°F a year
- Jump River (3 mi E), WI25 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2, WI27 miles from this station, 40.7°F a year
- Park Falls, WI28 miles from this station, 40.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made