River Falls, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
River Falls's normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 34.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.3°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 865 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRiver Falls
- Station IDUSC00477226
- Location44.85°N 92.61°W
- Elevation940 ft (287 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population17,802
On October 22, the normal high in River Falls is 54°F and the normal low 34°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for River Falls.
- Jan 22° 4°
- Feb 27° 8°
- Mar 40° 20°
- Apr 55° 32°
- May 68° 43°
- Jun 77° 54°
- Jul 82° 58°
- Aug 79° 56°
- Sep 71° 49°
- Oct 57° 36°
- Nov 41° 24°
- Dec 27° 12°
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 River Falls each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.03 in), the least in February (0.85 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 4°F | 13.2°F | 0.90 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 27°F | 8°F | 17.3°F | 0.85 | – | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 40°F | 20°F | 29.9°F | 1.67 | – | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 32°F | 43.4°F | 3.08 | – | <1 | 16 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 43°F | 55.5°F | 4.29 | – | 1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 54°F | 65.4°F | 5.03 | – | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 58°F | 69.9°F | 4.39 | – | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 56°F | 67.7°F | 4.68 | – | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 49°F | 60.2°F | 3.56 | – | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 36°F | 46.7°F | 2.95 | – | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 41°F | 24°F | 32.3°F | 1.58 | – | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 27°F | 12°F | 19.6°F | 1.08 | – | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 33°F | 43.4°F | 34.06 | – | 7 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −15°C | −10.4°C | 23 mm |
| February | −3°C | −14°C | −8.2°C | 22 mm |
| March | 5°C | −7°C | −1.2°C | 42 mm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 78 mm |
| May | 20°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 109 mm |
| June | 25°C | 12°C | 18.6°C | 128 mm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 112 mm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 119 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 90 mm |
| October | 14°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 75 mm |
| November | 5°C | −5°C | 0.2°C | 40 mm |
| December | −3°C | −11°C | −6.9°C | 27 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Baldwin (13 miles away), gets 43 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477226; 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 River Falls?
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 USC00477226.
When is the last frost in River Falls?
In River Falls, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 11 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 19 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 111 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 162 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts River Falls in zone 4b in ZIP code 54022, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, River Falls's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00477226; 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 River Falls?
In a normal year in River Falls, 7 days a year reach 90°F and 170 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
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 77high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1918) is 109°F, on July 15, 1936; the lowest is −47°F, on February 16, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1942, with 43.86 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 84.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00477226; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00477226. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is River Falls?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around River Falls, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 1.8 |
| February | 77% | 2.9 |
| March | 72% | 3.8 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 6.0 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.1 |
| October | 68% | 2.7 |
| November | 65% | 1.7 |
| December | 61% | 1.3 |
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 River Falls need?
A normal year in River Falls brings 8,281 heating degree days, 54% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 459 cooling degree days, 49% 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 2,305 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,607 | 0 |
| February | 1,334 | 0 |
| March | 1,090 | 0 |
| April | 650 | 2 |
| May | 317 | 22 |
| June | 78 | 91 |
| July | 19 | 171 |
| August | 38 | 122 |
| September | 190 | 46 |
| October | 572 | 4 |
| November | 981 | 0 |
| December | 1,406 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,281 | 459 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477226. 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 River Falls been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 45.7°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.4°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.5°F | +2.1°F | 25.61 |
| 2022 | 42.0°F | −1.4°F | 26.25 |
| 2023 | 45.7°F | +2.3°F | – |
Over 80 complete years from 1922 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.1°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00477226; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does River Falls's climate compare?
River Falls is warmer than 43 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 65. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.4°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, River 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 River Falls share this climate record?
6 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.
- Woodbury, MNalso near: St. Paul (7 mi, 46.5°F a year); Stillwater (10 mi, 44.3°F a year)80,596 people · 16 mi W
- Afton, MN2,949 people · 11 mi W
- Lakeland, MN1,664 people · 10 mi NW
- Lake St. Croix Beach, MN1,005 people · 9 mi NW
- St. Marys Point, MN342 people · 9 mi NW
- Lakeland Shores, MN330 people · 10 mi NW
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 River Falls's climate
What is the coldest month in River Falls?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in River Falls?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for River Falls's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Baldwin (13 miles away), records 43 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in River Falls?
June, with 5.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.85 in.
What plant hardiness zone is River Falls in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts River Falls in zone 4b in ZIP code 54022, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at River Falls's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in River Falls?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ellsworth, WI11 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Baldwin, WI13 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Hastings, MN14 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Red Wing, MN17 miles from this station, 45.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made