Rice, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rice's normal year runs from 0°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 30.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.3°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 27°C, 763 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRice
- Station IDUSC00216920
- Location45.76°N 94.21°W
- Elevation1,060 ft (323 m)
- Population2,207
On October 23, the normal high in Rice is 52°F and the normal low 32°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rice.
- Jan 20° 0°
- Feb 25° 3°
- Mar 38° 17°
- Apr 54° 29°
- May 67° 42°
- Jun 76° 54°
- Jul 80° 58°
- Aug 78° 55°
- Sep 71° 47°
- Oct 56° 35°
- Nov 39° 21°
- Dec 25° 9°
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 Rice each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 0°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.60 in), the least in January (0.73 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 0°F | 9.6°F | 0.73 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 25°F | 3°F | 14.2°F | 0.77 | – | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 17°F | 27.6°F | 1.47 | – | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 29°F | 41.4°F | 2.62 | – | <1 | 20 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 42°F | 54.7°F | 3.50 | – | 1 | 4 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 76°F | 54°F | 65.0°F | 4.60 | – | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 80°F | 58°F | 69.2°F | 4.10 | – | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 78°F | 55°F | 66.8°F | 3.94 | – | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 47°F | 58.9°F | 3.07 | – | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 35°F | 45.3°F | 2.72 | – | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 21°F | 30.0°F | 1.52 | – | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 25°F | 9°F | 16.9°F | 1.01 | – | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 31°F | 41.6°F | 30.05 | – | 7 | 180 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −18°C | −12.4°C | 19 mm |
| February | −4°C | −16°C | −9.9°C | 20 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 37 mm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 67 mm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 89 mm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.3°C | 117 mm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.7°C | 104 mm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 100 mm |
| September | 22°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 78 mm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 69 mm |
| November | 4°C | −6°C | −1.1°C | 39 mm |
| December | −4°C | −13°C | −8.4°C | 26 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Collegeville St John's (15 miles away), gets 57 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216920; 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 Rice?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00216920.
When is the last frost in Rice?
In Rice, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 29 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 101 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 140 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rice in zone 4a in ZIP code 56367, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00216920; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Rice?
In a normal year in Rice, 7 days a year reach 90°F and 180 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- 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
- 180a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 89high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00216920.
How sunny is Rice?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rice, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 1.8 |
| February | 81% | 3.0 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.1 |
| October | 69% | 2.6 |
| November | 67% | 1.7 |
| December | 61% | 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 Rice need?
A normal year in Rice brings 8,855 heating degree days, 65% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 380 cooling degree days, 58% 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 2,144 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,716 | 0 |
| February | 1,421 | 0 |
| March | 1,161 | 0 |
| April | 708 | 0 |
| May | 335 | 16 |
| June | 76 | 75 |
| July | 21 | 151 |
| August | 47 | 101 |
| September | 219 | 36 |
| October | 613 | 2 |
| November | 1,050 | 0 |
| December | 1,489 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,855 | 380 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00216920. 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 Rice been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.1°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.2°F | +2.6°F | 27.24 |
| 2022 | 40.1°F | −1.5°F | 27.96 |
| 2023 | 44.2°F | +2.6°F | 23.77 |
| 2024 | 45.8°F | +4.2°F | 30.07 |
| 2025 | 43.1°F | +1.5°F | 27.55 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00216920. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rice's climate compare?
Rice is warmer than 43 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 62. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.6°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rice 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 Rice share this climate record?
5 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.
- Royalton, MN1,280 people · 7 mi NW
- St. Stephen, MN812 people · 5 mi SW
- Buckman, MN309 people · 11 mi NE
- Bowlus, MN271 people · 11 mi NW
- Gilman, MN219 people · 13 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.
Questions about Rice's climate
What is the coldest month in Rice?
January, with a normal high of 20°F and a normal low of 0°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Rice?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Rice's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Collegeville St John's (15 miles away), records 57 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Rice?
June, with 4.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.73 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rice in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rice in zone 4a in ZIP code 56367, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Rice?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Collegeville St John's, MN15 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- St. Cloud, MN17 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Little Falls, MN18 miles from this station, 44.9°F a year
- Santiago (3 mi E), MN26 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made