Rhinelander, WI Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rhinelander's primary NOAA station, RHINELANDER - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Rhinelander
Winter sets the terms in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. A pronounced 55.5°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 40°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 40°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 34.4"
- annual precipitation · 62" snow
- 125 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Rhinelander: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00477113 · Rhinelander, WI 40°F mean · 34.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 40°F
- RANK-COOL #343
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Grand Rpds Fore…
- PRCP-MID 34.4"
- SWING-WIDE 56°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,301 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00477113
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Grand Rpds Forest Lab, MN (+ 0.1 °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 WI station list.
- Rhinelander (this station) 40°F
- Cold Ishpeming Wwtp, MI 40°F
- Hot Scobey, MT 40°F
- Near Grand Rpds Fore…, MN 40°F
- Near Ironwood, MI 40°F
Climate Living Index · Rhinelander
Rhinelander: 26/100 · grade F
Rhinelander publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Rhinelander, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 34.4 in · 0.6 from 35 in | 95/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 192 calendar days | 18/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 62.2 inches/year | 14/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 125 days/year | 9/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 40.0°F · 27.5° from 67.5°F | 5/100 · F |
Rhinelander · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rhinelander is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 10.8°F and warmest-month mean 66.3°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 66.3°F
- Coldest month
- 10.8°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 Rhinelander sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rhinelander's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 95%
- Among 6,861 stations, Rhinelander sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 47th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 93%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Rhinelander is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rhinelander compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rhinelander's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 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
Rhinelander's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 87 complete annual observations from 1908 to 2025, RHINELANDER warmed at a fitted rate of 0.14°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Rhinelander primary station fitted change +0.14 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F (-6°C) | 0°F (-18°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 1.2" | 12.0" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 26°F (-3°C) | 2°F (-17°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 1.2" | 12.3" | 27.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 38°F (3°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 1.8" | 7.5" | 28.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (10°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 3.0" | 7.4" | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 3.8" | 0.1" | 5.3 | 0.2 |
| June | 74°F (23°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| July | 78°F (26°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| August | 76°F (24°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 1.7 | 0.1 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.4" | 1.1" | 13.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 38°F (3°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 1.9" | 7.0" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 26°F (-3°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 1.6" | 14.8" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 78°F around July 18, short of 90°F on every date, while 192 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -1°F near January 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 26, then returns to freezing around October 18, covering 192 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 June 6, when 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 16 at 28%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 131 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 19 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rhinelander.
Where Rhinelander Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 192 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Rhinelander earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 12.0"
10.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.3"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.5"
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.4"
10.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
13.1 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
12.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.0"
10.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.8"
10.9 days with precipitation
Rhinelander runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Rhinelander's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 4.5", on a wide 55.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, September, taking 38% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 1.2".
- Winter share: 12% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Rhinelander's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 131 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 34.4" between them, or roughly 0.26 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Rhinelander
Rhinelander averages 62.2 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 37 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 62.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 37 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 18% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 24
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 22
50% probability date
Growing Season
125 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,301
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
240
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WI closest to Rhinelander 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 (40°F here).
- Ada, MN 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Cass Lake, MN 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Yakutat, AK 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Detroit Lakes, MN 40°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (34.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Frankfort, MI 34.3" · 0.0" off
- Harlan, IA 34.3" · 0.0" off
- Nixon, TX 34.4" · 0.0" off
- Chester, CA 34.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rhinelander
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Rhinelander logs 9,301 heating degree days, more than twice its 240 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 55.5°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Only about 125 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Rhinelander coldest normal
January
Averaging 11°F (-12°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Rhinelander typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rhinelander snow peak
December
Rhinelander averages 62.2 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rhinelander's climate
How much snow does Rhinelander get? ▼
How cold does Rhinelander get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rhinelander? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rhinelander's primary station: RHINELANDER (USC00477113). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Rhinelander area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 5567200). Match rule for Rhinelander: 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 Rhinelander 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.