Rantoul, IL Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rantoul's primary NOAA station, RANTOUL.
The climate verdict for Rantoul
Rantoul, Illinois has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 52°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 52°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 40.4"
- yearly precipitation total
- 180 days
- frost-free growing season
Rantoul: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00014806 · Rantoul, IL 52°F mean · 40.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,431
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sheridan Lake
- PRCP-MID 40.4"
- SWING-WIDE 51°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,719 HDD
- STN-1 USW00014806
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sheridan Lake, CO (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every IL station list.
- Rantoul (this station) 52°F
- Hot Wallace, KS 52°F
- Near Sheridan Lake, CO 52°F
- Near Cosby, MO 52°F
- Near Quinter, KS 52°F
Climate Living Index · Rantoul
Rantoul: 59/100 · grade C
Rantoul publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Rantoul, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 40.4 in · 5.4 from 35 in | 81/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 132 calendar days | 58/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.3°F · 15.2° from 67.5°F | 50/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 180 days/year | 50/100 · D |
Rantoul · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rantoul is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 25.1°F and warmest-month mean 75.8°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 75.8°F
- Coldest month
- 25.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Rantoul sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rantoul's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 50th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 59th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 83%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Rantoul is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rantoul compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rantoul's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Rantoul's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 45 complete annual observations from 1949 to 2023, RANTOUL warmed at a fitted rate of 0.03°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Rantoul primary station fitted change +0.03 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F (1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 2.5" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 2.0" | 24.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 51°F (11°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 2.6" | 20.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 64°F (18°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 4.0" | 6.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 75°F (24°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 4.3" | 0.2 | 2.3 |
| June | 85°F (29°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.6" | 0.0 | 8.4 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.4" | 0.0 | 10.8 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.9" | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| September | 81°F (27°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.3" | 0.1 | 4.2 |
| October | 67°F (20°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.3" | 4.6 | 0.3 |
| November | 52°F (11°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 3.2" | 17.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 40°F (4°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 2.2" | 26.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 88°F around July 4, short of 90°F on every date, while 132 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 15°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 24, then returns to freezing around November 14, covering 132 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 1, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 14 at 22%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 102 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 25 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rantoul.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
8.2 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
Rantoul spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 32% of the annual total and December through February 17%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Rantoul has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 50.7°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 4.6" and February 2.0". The three wettest months together take 33% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Rantoul, it arrives in quantity
40.4" of precipitation falls across only about 102 wet days here, averaging 0.39 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 102 a year, 28% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.39 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 11
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 7
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 18
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 21
50% probability date
Growing Season
180 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,719
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,145
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IL closest to Rantoul on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (52°F here).
- Albany, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Avondale, PA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Benkelman, NE 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Bremerton, WA 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (40.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Everett, PA 40.4" · 0.0" off
- Van Wert, OH 40.4" · 0.0" off
- Wabash, IN 40.3" · 0.0" off
- Beaver Falls, PA 40.3" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Rantoul's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Rantoul's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,719 annual heating degree days against 1,145 for cooling. Its 50.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Rantoul's frost-free season lasts about 180 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Rantoul's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 50.7°F. The annual average is 52°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Rantoul's 40.4 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Rantoul's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Rantoul, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Rantoul's climate
How much rain does Rantoul get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Rantoul get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rantoul? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rantoul's primary station: RANTOUL (USW00014806). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 1762783). Match rule for Rantoul: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Rantoul comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.