Preston, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Preston's normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 36.8 inches of precipitation and 42 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.6°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 27°C, 934 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPreston
- Station IDUSC00216654
- Location43.67°N 92.07°W
- Elevation930 ft (284 m)
- Population1,316
On October 22, the normal high in Preston is 56°F and the normal low 32°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 Preston.
- Jan 24° 4°
- Feb 28° 8°
- Mar 41° 21°
- Apr 55° 32°
- May 68° 44°
- Jun 78° 54°
- Jul 81° 58°
- Aug 79° 56°
- Sep 73° 47°
- Oct 59° 35°
- Nov 43° 23°
- Dec 29° 12°
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 Preston each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.95 in), the least in January (1.09 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 4°F | 13.8°F | 1.09 | 11.0 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 28°F | 8°F | 18.1°F | 1.18 | 8.2 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 21°F | 30.7°F | 2.00 | 7.5 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 32°F | 43.7°F | 3.84 | 2.5 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 55.7°F | 4.52 | 0.3 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 54°F | 65.9°F | 5.95 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 81°F | 58°F | 69.6°F | 4.17 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 56°F | 67.5°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 47°F | 59.9°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 35°F | 46.7°F | 2.73 | 0.3 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 23°F | 33.0°F | 1.89 | 2.6 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 12°F | 20.5°F | 1.44 | 9.8 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 33°F | 43.8°F | 36.78 | 42.2 | 119 | 8 | 166 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −15°C | −10.1°C | 28 mm | 28 cm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.7°C | 30 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.7°C | 51 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 98 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 115 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 151 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.5°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 69 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 48 mm | 7 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −6.4°C | 37 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216654; 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 Preston?
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 (10).
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 USC00216654.
When is the last frost in Preston?
In Preston, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 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 141 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 136 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 154 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 4 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Preston in zone 4b in ZIP code 55965, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Preston's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (25 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 USC00216654; 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 Preston?
In a normal year in Preston, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 166 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 119 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 166a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 69high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 119a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1952) is 101°F, on July 18, 1964; the lowest is −45°F, on February 3, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 49.15 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 75.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00216654; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00216654. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Preston?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Preston, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 68% | 1.9 |
| December | 63% | 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 Preston need?
A normal year in Preston brings 8,153 heating degree days, 52% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 452 cooling degree days, 50% 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 2,307 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,585 | 0 |
| February | 1,313 | 0 |
| March | 1,062 | 0 |
| April | 640 | 2 |
| May | 311 | 22 |
| June | 72 | 97 |
| July | 22 | 166 |
| August | 41 | 118 |
| September | 196 | 43 |
| October | 571 | 4 |
| November | 962 | 0 |
| December | 1,378 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,153 | 452 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216654. 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 Preston been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 42.5°F, 1.3°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 43.8°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 42.5°F | −1.3°F | 39.52 | 30.9 |
Over 48 complete years from 1954 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.5°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00216654; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Preston's climate compare?
Preston is warmer than 72 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 114. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.8°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Preston 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 Preston 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.
- Chatfield, MN3,023 people · 13 mi NW
- Lanesboro, MN712 people · 6 mi NE
- Lime Springs, IA467 people · 19 mi SW
- Wykoff, MN430 people · 10 mi W
- Fountain, MN406 people · 6 mi NW
- Whalan, MN69 people · 9 mi NE
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 Preston's climate
What is the coldest month in Preston?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Preston?
Yes: 42 inches in a normal year, falling on 30 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (11.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Preston?
June, with 5.95 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Preston in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Preston in zone 4b in ZIP code 55965, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Preston's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Preston?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rushford, MN19 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Mabel, MN19 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Cresco, IA20 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Grand Meadow, MN25 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made