Rockford Gtr Rockford, IL Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rockford Gtr Rockford's primary NOAA station, ROCKFORD GTR ROCKFORD AP.
The climate verdict for Rockford Gtr Rockford
Rockford Gtr Rockford, Illinois has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 49°F. Its climate comfort score of 59/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 49°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 59/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 37.2"
- annual precipitation · 37" snow
- 176 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Rockford Gtr Rockford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00094822 · Rockford Gtr Rockford, IL 49°F mean · 37.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,539
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Dixon
- PRCP-MID 37.2"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-MID 59/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,497 HDD
- STN-1 USW00094822
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Dixon, IL (+ 0 °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 IL station list.
- Hot Galva, IL 50°F
- Rockford Gtr Ro… (this station) 49°F
- Cold Walnut, IL 49°F
- Near Dixon, IL 49°F
- Near Corning, IA 49°F
Climate Living Index · Rockford Gtr Rockford
Rockford Gtr Rockford: 53/100 · grade D
Rockford Gtr Rockford publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Rockford Gtr Rockford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 59/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 37.2 in · 2.2 from 35 in | 91/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 137 calendar days | 55/100 · C |
| Summer moisture balance | 61.3°F mean dew point | 53/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 176 days/year | 47/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 49.4°F · 18.1° from 67.5°F | 38/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 37.1 inches/year | 31/100 · F |
Rockford Gtr Rockford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rockford Gtr Rockford is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 21.8°F and warmest-month mean 73.8°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 73.8°F
- Coldest month
- 21.8°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 Rockford Gtr Rockford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rockford Gtr Rockford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 37th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 52nd percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 86%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Rockford Gtr Rockford is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rockford Gtr Rockford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rockford Gtr Rockford's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
59 37th percentile score exceeds 37% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Rockford Gtr Rockford's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 67 complete annual observations from 1951 to 2025, ROCKFORD GTR ROCKFORD AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.20°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Rockford Gtr Rockford primary station fitted change +0.20 °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 | 29°F (-2°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 1.6" | 10.9" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 33°F (1°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 1.6" | 8.5" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 47°F (8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 2.4" | 4.9" | 21.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (15°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 3.8" | 0.9" | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 71°F (22°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 5.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.4 |
| August | 82°F (28°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| September | 75°F (24°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.6" | 0.2" | 5.3 | 0.1 |
| November | 47°F (8°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 2.3" | 2.3" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 34°F (1°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.9" | 9.4" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 8, short of 90°F on every date, while 137 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near January 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 27, then returns to freezing around November 12, covering 137 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 May 9, when 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 3 at 29%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 121 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 21 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 22°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rockford Gtr Rockford.
Where Rockford Gtr Rockford Stands Nationally
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 22°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Rockford Gtr Rockford 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: 10.9"
10.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.5"
8.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.9"
10.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
11.8 days with precipitation
12.9 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
9.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.3"
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.4"
9.8 days with precipitation
Rockford Gtr Rockford runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Rockford Gtr Rockford'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 5.2", on a wide 52°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, August, May, taking 37% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 1.6".
- Winter share: 14% 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 Rockford Gtr Rockford's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 121 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 37.2" between them, or roughly 0.31 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 Rockford Gtr Rockford
Rockford Gtr Rockford averages 37.1 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 28 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: 37.1 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 28 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% 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
October 17
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 24
50% probability date
Growing Season
176 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,497
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
838
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 9.5 | 27% | 49% |
| February | 71% | 10.1 | 22% | 46% |
| March | 63% | 10.9 | 22% | 44% |
| April | 61% | 10.2 | 24% | 42% |
| May | 65% | 8.4 | 19% | 30% |
| June | 69% | 7.4 | 22% | 22% |
| July | 71% | 6.7 | 26% | 21% |
| August | 73% | 6.9 | 34% | 20% |
| September | 70% | 8.2 | 31% | 28% |
| October | 70% | 9.5 | 28% | 43% |
| November | 75% | 9.5 | 18% | 55% |
| December | 77% | 9.6 | 22% | 51% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside IL closest to Rockford Gtr Rockford 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 (49°F here).
- Adrian, MI 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Albany, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Callaway, NE 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Capulin, NM 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (37.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Red Oak, IA 37.2" · 0.0" off
- Webster City, IA 37.2" · 0.0" off
- Goliad, TX 37.2" · 0.0" off
- Wallace, ID 37.2" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rockford Gtr Rockford
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Rockford Gtr Rockford's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,497 annual heating degree days against 838 for cooling. Its 52.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Rockford Gtr Rockford's frost-free season lasts about 176 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Rockford Gtr Rockford coldest normal
January
Averaging 22°F (-6°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Rockford Gtr Rockford typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rockford Gtr Rockford snow peak
January
Rockford Gtr Rockford averages 37.1 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rockford Gtr Rockford's climate
How much snow does Rockford Gtr Rockford get? ▼
How cold does Rockford Gtr Rockford get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rockford Gtr Rockford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rockford Gtr Rockford's primary station: ROCKFORD GTR ROCKFORD AP (USW00094822). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Rockford Gtr Rockford; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Rockford Gtr Rockford 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.