Racine, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Racine's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 31.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.1°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 807 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRacine Batten Airport
- Station IDUSW00094818
- Location42.76°N 87.81°W
- Elevation674 ft (205 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population78,057
On October 23, the normal high in Racine is 58°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Racine.
- Jan 31° 16°
- Feb 34° 19°
- Mar 43° 28°
- Apr 54° 37°
- May 66° 46°
- Jun 76° 57°
- Jul 81° 63°
- Aug 80° 63°
- Sep 73° 55°
- Oct 61° 43°
- Nov 47° 32°
- Dec 36° 22°
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 Racine each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.99 in), the least in February (1.10 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 16°F | 23.3°F | 1.25 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 34°F | 19°F | 26.0°F | 1.10 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 28°F | 35.4°F | 2.07 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 37°F | 45.3°F | 3.70 | 12 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 46°F | 56.0°F | 3.49 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 57°F | 66.4°F | 3.99 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 63°F | 72.2°F | 2.88 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 63°F | 71.1°F | 3.35 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 55°F | 64.0°F | 3.23 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 43°F | 52.1°F | 2.93 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 32°F | 39.7°F | 2.18 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 36°F | 22°F | 28.9°F | 1.60 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 40°F | 48.4°F | 31.77 | 118 | 7 | 126 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −9°C | −4.8°C | 32 mm |
| February | 1°C | −7°C | −3.3°C | 28 mm |
| March | 6°C | −2°C | 1.9°C | 53 mm |
| April | 12°C | 3°C | 7.4°C | 94 mm |
| May | 19°C | 8°C | 13.3°C | 89 mm |
| June | 24°C | 14°C | 19.1°C | 101 mm |
| July | 27°C | 17°C | 22.3°C | 73 mm |
| August | 26°C | 17°C | 21.7°C | 85 mm |
| September | 23°C | 13°C | 17.8°C | 82 mm |
| October | 16°C | 6°C | 11.2°C | 74 mm |
| November | 8°C | 0°C | 4.3°C | 55 mm |
| December | 2°C | −5°C | −1.7°C | 41 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Racine's own co-op station Racine station does: 41 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094818; 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 Racine?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USW00094818.
When is the last frost in Racine?
In Racine, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 24 in half of years and before October 10 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 241 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 241 year in 10 before October 10; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 205 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Racine in zones 5b to 6a across its 5 ZIP code areas (6a in 53405, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Racine's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00094818; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Racine ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Racine's 5 ZIP code areas run from zone 5b to 6a: 1 in 5b and 4 in 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Racine?
In a normal year in Racine, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 126 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 118 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
- 126a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 51high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 118a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 104°F, on July 4, 2012; the lowest is −17°F, on January 5, 1999.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 42.77 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094818; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094818. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Racine?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Racine, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and January the cloudiest (53%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 428th (with 16 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 53% | 1.4 |
| February | 58% | 2.3 |
| March | 65% | 3.4 |
| April | 67% | 4.5 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 74% | 5.9 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 67% | 2.7 |
| November | 62% | 1.8 |
| December | 54% | 1.2 |
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 Racine need?
A normal year in Racine brings 6,682 heating degree days, 24% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 654 cooling degree days, 28% 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 2,703 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,294 | 0 |
| February | 1,091 | 0 |
| March | 918 | 0 |
| April | 594 | 2 |
| May | 302 | 23 |
| June | 72 | 116 |
| July | 9 | 234 |
| August | 9 | 198 |
| September | 106 | 74 |
| October | 409 | 8 |
| November | 758 | 0 |
| December | 1,121 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,682 | 654 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094818. 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 Racine been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.8°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.4°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.4°F | +2.0°F | – |
| 2022 | 48.6°F | +0.2°F | 32.36 |
| 2023 | 51.2°F | +2.8°F | 33.10 |
| 2024 | 52.5°F | +4.1°F | 37.97 |
| 2025 | 48.8°F | +0.4°F | 26.00 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094818. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Racine's climate compare?
Racine is warmer than 157 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 23. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.4°F is warmer than 34%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Racine 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 Racine 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.
- Mount Pleasant, WI28,184 people · 5 mi SW
- Caledonia, WI25,240 people · 4 mi NW
- Sturtevant, WI6,855 people · 6 mi SW
- Wind Point, WI1,622 people · 2 mi NE
- Elmwood Park, WI499 people · 5 mi S
- North Bay, WI204 people · 2 mi E
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 Racine's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Racine. This page uses Racine Batten Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Racine station USC00476922 | 2 mi SE | 595 ft | 47.0°F | 15°F | 79°F | 37.0 | 41 | April 20 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Racine's climate
What is the coldest month in Racine?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Racine?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Racine's NOAA station; Racine's own co-op station Racine station records 41 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Racine?
June, with 3.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.10 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Racine in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Racine in zones 5b to 6a across its 5 ZIP code areas (6a in 53405, the largest). By the same method at Racine's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Racine?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Racine in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- South Milwaukee, WI10 miles from this station, 48.4°F a year
- Union Grove, WI12 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Kenosha, WI13 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Milwaukee, WI14 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made