Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2, Wisconsin climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 31.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.8°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 25°C, 801 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRice Reservoir Tomahawk-2
- Station IDUSC00477142
- Location45.54°N 89.73°W
- Elevation1,460 ft (445 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 is 50°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2.
- Jan 21° 2°
- Feb 26° 3°
- Mar 37° 15°
- Apr 50° 29°
- May 64° 43°
- Jun 73° 53°
- Jul 77° 57°
- Aug 74° 55°
- Sep 66° 48°
- Oct 53° 36°
- Nov 38° 23°
- Dec 26° 11°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.16 in), the least in February (1.08 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 2°F | 11.3°F | 1.18 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 3°F | 14.5°F | 1.08 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 15°F | 25.8°F | 1.81 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 29°F | 39.4°F | 2.86 | 12 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 64°F | 43°F | 53.3°F | 3.60 | 13 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 73°F | 53°F | 62.8°F | 4.16 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 77°F | 57°F | 66.9°F | 3.68 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 74°F | 55°F | 64.8°F | 3.43 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 66°F | 48°F | 57.1°F | 3.57 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 36°F | 44.4°F | 2.96 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 23°F | 30.6°F | 1.76 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 26°F | 11°F | 18.2°F | 1.44 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 31°F | 40.7°F | 31.53 | 132 | 1 | 177 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −17°C | −11.5°C | 30 mm |
| February | −4°C | −16°C | −9.7°C | 27 mm |
| March | 3°C | −10°C | −3.4°C | 46 mm |
| April | 10°C | −2°C | 4.1°C | 73 mm |
| May | 18°C | 6°C | 11.8°C | 91 mm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.1°C | 106 mm |
| July | 25°C | 14°C | 19.4°C | 93 mm |
| August | 24°C | 13°C | 18.2°C | 87 mm |
| September | 19°C | 9°C | 13.9°C | 91 mm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 6.9°C | 75 mm |
| November | 3°C | −5°C | −0.8°C | 45 mm |
| December | −4°C | −12°C | −7.7°C | 37 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Willow Reservoir (13 miles away), gets 55 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477142; 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.
Which months are mildest at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00477142.
When is the last frost at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
In Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 21 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 27; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 166 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 in zone 4a in ZIP code 54487, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (18 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00477142; 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 at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
In a normal year in Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 177 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 132 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 177a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 91high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 132a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00477142.
How sunny is it at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.6 |
| February | 73% | 2.6 |
| March | 73% | 3.8 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 6.0 |
| July | 78% | 6.1 |
| August | 76% | 5.1 |
| September | 73% | 3.9 |
| October | 65% | 2.5 |
| November | 61% | 1.5 |
| December | 56% | 1.1 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 record?
A normal year at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 brings 9,051 heating degree days, 68% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 251 cooling degree days, 72% 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 1,853 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,663 | 0 |
| February | 1,415 | 0 |
| March | 1,217 | 0 |
| April | 767 | 0 |
| May | 375 | 10 |
| June | 115 | 50 |
| July | 46 | 103 |
| August | 71 | 65 |
| September | 259 | 21 |
| October | 642 | 1 |
| November | 1,032 | 0 |
| December | 1,451 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,051 | 251 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477142. 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.
Have recent years at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 45.2°F, 4.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 40.7°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.9°F | +2.2°F | 30.06 |
| 2022 | 39.9°F | −0.8°F | 27.37 |
| 2024 | 45.2°F | +4.5°F | 31.09 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00477142. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2's climate compare?
Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 is warmer than 9 of the 165 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.7°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 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 Reservoir Tomahawk-2 share this climate record?
Tomahawk has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Tomahawk, WI3,390 people · 4 mi S
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 Reservoir Tomahawk-2's climate
What is the coldest month at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Willow Reservoir (13 miles away), records 55 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
June, with 4.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2 in zone 4a in ZIP code 54487, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come at Rice Reservoir Tomahawk-2?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Willow Reservoir, WI13 miles from this station, 40.2°F a year
- Rhinelander, WI14 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Minocqua, WI24 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
- North Pelican, WI25 miles from this station, 39.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made