Red Lake Falls, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Red Lake Falls's normal year runs from −3°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 24.3 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.3°C, January lows of −19°C, July highs of 26°C, 618 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRed Lake Falls
- Station IDUSC00216787
- Location47.88°N 96.28°W
- Elevation1,038 ft (316 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,327
On October 24, the normal high in Red Lake Falls is 48°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Red Lake Falls.
- Jan 15° -3°
- Feb 20° 0°
- Mar 34° 15°
- Apr 51° 30°
- May 66° 43°
- Jun 75° 55°
- Jul 79° 58°
- Aug 78° 56°
- Sep 69° 47°
- Oct 53° 34°
- Nov 35° 19°
- Dec 21° 6°
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 Red Lake Falls each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −3°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.49 in), the least in February (0.57 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°F | −3°F | 6.0°F | 0.60 | 10.1 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 20°F | 0°F | 10.0°F | 0.57 | 8.6 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 34°F | 15°F | 24.4°F | 0.89 | 7.8 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 30°F | 40.6°F | 1.32 | 3.8 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 66°F | 43°F | 54.3°F | 2.85 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 75°F | 55°F | 64.6°F | 4.49 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 79°F | 58°F | 68.7°F | 3.58 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 78°F | 56°F | 67.0°F | 3.50 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 69°F | 47°F | 57.9°F | 2.81 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 34°F | 43.5°F | 2.09 | 1.5 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 35°F | 19°F | 27.2°F | 0.85 | 5.6 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 21°F | 6°F | 13.5°F | 0.78 | 12.4 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 30°F | 39.8°F | 24.33 | 49.9 | 105 | 5 | 182 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −9°C | −19°C | −14.4°C | 15 mm | 26 cm |
| February | −7°C | −18°C | −12.2°C | 14 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 1°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 23 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 4.8°C | 34 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.1°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 1°C | 6.4°C | 53 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 2°C | −7°C | −2.7°C | 22 mm | 14 cm |
| December | −6°C | −15°C | −10.3°C | 20 mm | 31 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216787; 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 Red Lake Falls?
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 USC00216787.
When is the last frost in Red Lake Falls?
In Red Lake Falls, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 16 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 91 year in 10 after May 24; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 16; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 142 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 161 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Red Lake Falls in zone 3b in ZIP code 56750, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Red Lake Falls's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (24 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 USC00216787; 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 Red Lake Falls?
In a normal year in Red Lake Falls, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 182 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 105 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
- 182a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 104high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 105a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1913) is 110°F, on July 12, 1936; the lowest is −50°F, on January 21, 1954.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1981, with 36.50 in; the snowiest season is 1966–67, with 70.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00216787; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00216787. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Red Lake Falls?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Red Lake Falls, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (86%) and November the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80% | 1.7 |
| February | 86% | 3.0 |
| March | 78% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 80% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 3.9 |
| October | 68% | 2.5 |
| November | 65% | 1.5 |
| December | 66% | 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 Red Lake Falls need?
A normal year in Red Lake Falls brings 9,524 heating degree days, 77% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 386 cooling degree days, 57% 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 2,088 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,827 | 0 |
| February | 1,540 | 0 |
| March | 1,260 | 0 |
| April | 731 | 1 |
| May | 349 | 19 |
| June | 89 | 77 |
| July | 32 | 145 |
| August | 52 | 114 |
| September | 243 | 29 |
| October | 669 | 2 |
| November | 1,136 | 0 |
| December | 1,598 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,524 | 386 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216787. 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 Red Lake Falls been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 41.0°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 39.8°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.3°F | +2.5°F | 19.04 | – |
| 2022 | 37.4°F | −2.4°F | 25.76 | – |
| 2023 | 40.9°F | +1.1°F | 17.84 | – |
| 2024 | 43.1°F | +3.3°F | 27.65 | 20.1 |
| 2025 | 41.0°F | +1.2°F | – | – |
Over 68 complete years from 1915 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.9°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00216787; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Red Lake Falls's climate compare?
Red Lake Falls is warmer than 24 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.8°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Red Lake Falls 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 Red Lake Falls share this climate record?
3 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.
- Plummer, MN273 people · 11 mi E
- Brooks, MN117 people · 14 mi E
- Mentor, MN103 people · 14 mi SE
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 Red Lake Falls's climate
What is the coldest month in Red Lake Falls?
January, with a normal high of 15°F and a normal low of −3°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Red Lake Falls?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 36 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (12.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Red Lake Falls?
June, with 4.49 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.57 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Red Lake Falls in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Red Lake Falls in zone 3b in ZIP code 56750, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Red Lake Falls's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Red Lake Falls?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 24. Waiting until May 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Crookston, MN16 miles from this station, 40.1°F a year
- Thief River Falls 2, MN18 miles from this station, 39.9°F a year
- Warren, MN32 miles from this station, 39.1°F a year
- Agassiz Refuge, MN32 miles from this station, 40.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made