Rochester, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rochester's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 34.7 inches of precipitation and 53 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.1°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 27°C, 881 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRochester International Airport
- Station IDUSW00014925
- Location43.90°N 92.49°W
- Elevation1,304 ft (398 m)
- Population123,624
On October 23, the normal high in Rochester is 54°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rochester.
- Jan 23° 7°
- Feb 27° 11°
- Mar 40° 23°
- Apr 55° 35°
- May 68° 47°
- Jun 78° 58°
- Jul 80° 61°
- Aug 78° 58°
- Sep 72° 50°
- Oct 58° 38°
- Nov 42° 26°
- Dec 28° 14°
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 Rochester each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.35 in), the least in January (0.99 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 7°F | 14.7°F | 0.99 | 12.2 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 27°F | 11°F | 18.7°F | 1.02 | 10.7 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 40°F | 23°F | 31.7°F | 2.02 | 8.6 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 35°F | 45.2°F | 3.52 | 3.3 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 47°F | 57.6°F | 4.35 | 0.5 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 58°F | 67.5°F | 5.35 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 61°F | 70.5°F | 4.19 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 78°F | 58°F | 68.2°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 50°F | 61.1°F | 3.60 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 38°F | 47.9°F | 2.43 | 0.9 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 42°F | 26°F | 33.6°F | 1.80 | 4.5 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 28°F | 14°F | 20.8°F | 1.28 | 12.4 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 36°F | 44.8°F | 34.67 | 53.1 | 124 | 5 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.6°C | 25 mm | 31 cm |
| February | −3°C | −12°C | −7.4°C | 26 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 4°C | −5°C | −0.2°C | 51 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 89 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 110 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 25°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 136 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.1°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 3°C | 8.8°C | 62 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 46 mm | 11 cm |
| December | −2°C | −10°C | −6.2°C | 33 mm | 31 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014925; 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 Rochester?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USW00014925.
When is the last frost in Rochester?
In Rochester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 22 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
- April 301 year in 10 after May 13; 9 in 10 after April 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 22; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 159 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 180 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 18 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rochester in zone 4b across its 4 ZIP code areas (4b in 55901, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Rochester's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (30 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 Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014925; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Rochester ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Rochester's 4 ZIP code areas are all in zone 4b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Rochester?
In a normal year in Rochester, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 124 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
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 78high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 124a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
The highest temperature in Rochester's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1886) is 108°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −42°F, on January 7, 1887.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 55.16 in; the snowiest season is 2018–19, with 86.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014925; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record RSTthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Rochester, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 60°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 62°F; the driest air comes in January (11°F). March is the windiest month (13.3 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (74%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°F | 80% | 74% | 12.5 mph | 51% | 37% |
| February | 17°F | 77% | 68% | 12.6 mph | 53% | 37% |
| March | 29°F | 69% | 55% | 13.3 mph | 55% | 32% |
| April | 38°F | 61% | 46% | 12.8 mph | 58% | 28% |
| May | 51°F | 67% | 51% | 11.0 mph | 60% | 22% |
| June | 60°F | 72% | 56% | 10.1 mph | 71% | 13% |
| July | 62°F | 77% | 60% | 8.6 mph | 71% | 12% |
| August | 59°F | 77% | 58% | 9.2 mph | 74% | 11% |
| September | 45°F | 70% | 50% | 10.7 mph | 66% | 22% |
| October | 32°F | 72% | 56% | 12.2 mph | 55% | 36% |
| November | 21°F | 79% | 70% | 12.7 mph | 51% | 39% |
| December | 12°F | 81% | 76% | 12.8 mph | 51% | 40% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014925. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Rochester?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rochester, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (63%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 352nd (with 32 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 68% | 1.9 |
| December | 63% | 1.4 |
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 Rochester need?
A normal year in Rochester brings 7,856 heating degree days, 46% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 533 cooling degree days, 41% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,511 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,558 | 0 |
| February | 1,296 | 0 |
| March | 1,034 | 1 |
| April | 596 | 2 |
| May | 263 | 32 |
| June | 49 | 126 |
| July | 14 | 186 |
| August | 30 | 128 |
| September | 170 | 53 |
| October | 534 | 6 |
| November | 941 | 0 |
| December | 1,370 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,856 | 533 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014925. 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 Rochester been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.4°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.8°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.8°F | +2.0°F | 27.67 | 42.9 |
| 2022 | 43.7°F | −1.1°F | 35.16 | 41.4 |
| 2023 | 47.4°F | +2.6°F | 30.34 | 41.3 |
| 2024 | 48.6°F | +3.8°F | 36.75 | 28.2 |
| 2025 | 46.4°F | +1.6°F | 34.34 | 35.3 |
Over 102 complete years from 1912 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014925; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rochester's climate compare?
Rochester is warmer than 98 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 105. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.8°F is warmer than 18%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rochester 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 Rochester share this climate record?
4 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.
- Stewartville, MN6,919 people · 3 mi S
- Eyota, MN2,025 people · 14 mi NE
- Marion, MN308 people · 7 mi E
- High Forest, MN132 people · 5 mi SW
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 Rochester's climate
What is the coldest month in Rochester?
January, with a normal high of 23°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Rochester?
Yes: 53 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (12.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rochester?
June, with 5.35 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.99 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rochester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rochester in zone 4b across its 4 ZIP code areas (4b in 55901, the largest). By the same method at Rochester's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Rochester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 13. Waiting until May 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Rochester in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Grand Meadow, MN14 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Byron, MN15 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Preston, MN26 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- Zumbrota, MN29 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made