Sandstone, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sandstone's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 33.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 26°C, 847 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSandstone (6 mi W)
- Station IDUSW00054932
- Location46.11°N 92.99°W
- Elevation1,130 ft (344 m)
- Population2,466
On October 24, the normal high in Sandstone is 51°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Sandstone.
- Jan 20° 2°
- Feb 26° 6°
- Mar 38° 18°
- Apr 52° 30°
- May 66° 41°
- Jun 75° 52°
- Jul 79° 56°
- Aug 77° 54°
- Sep 69° 46°
- Oct 55° 35°
- Nov 39° 22°
- Dec 25° 10°
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 Sandstone each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.55 in), the least in January (0.76 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°F | 2°F | 11.2°F | 0.76 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 26°F | 6°F | 15.7°F | 1.14 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 18°F | 28.1°F | 1.70 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 30°F | 41.3°F | 2.91 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 41°F | 53.8°F | 3.41 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 52°F | 63.1°F | 4.37 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 56°F | 67.5°F | 5.55 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 54°F | 65.6°F | 3.74 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 69°F | 46°F | 57.6°F | 3.47 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 55°F | 35°F | 45.1°F | 3.05 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 22°F | 30.5°F | 1.85 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 25°F | 10°F | 17.3°F | 1.39 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 33.34 | 121 | 2 | 177 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −17°C | −11.6°C | 19 mm |
| February | −4°C | −15°C | −9.1°C | 29 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.2°C | 43 mm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 74 mm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 87 mm |
| June | 24°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 111 mm |
| July | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 141 mm |
| August | 25°C | 12°C | 18.7°C | 95 mm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 88 mm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 77 mm |
| November | 4°C | −5°C | −0.8°C | 47 mm |
| December | −4°C | −12°C | −8.2°C | 35 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Hinckley (8 miles away), gets 45 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054932; 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 Sandstone?
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 (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 USW00054932.
When is the last frost in Sandstone?
In Sandstone, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after May 28 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 131 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 291 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 137 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 161 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sandstone in zone 4a in ZIP code 55704, 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 USW00054932; 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 Sandstone?
In a normal year in Sandstone, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 177 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 121 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a 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
- 89high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 121a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00054932.
How sunny is Sandstone?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sandstone, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 1.6 |
| February | 76% | 2.7 |
| March | 73% | 3.8 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 77% | 5.2 |
| September | 72% | 3.8 |
| October | 65% | 2.4 |
| November | 63% | 1.5 |
| December | 60% | 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 much heating and cooling does Sandstone need?
A normal year in Sandstone brings 8,836 heating degree days, 64% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 266 cooling degree days, 71% 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 1,916 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,669 | 0 |
| February | 1,379 | 0 |
| March | 1,144 | 0 |
| April | 713 | 0 |
| May | 357 | 10 |
| June | 103 | 46 |
| July | 33 | 108 |
| August | 60 | 77 |
| September | 248 | 24 |
| October | 616 | 1 |
| November | 1,037 | 0 |
| December | 1,479 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,836 | 266 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054932. 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 Sandstone been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 42.8°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.4°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 40.0°F | −1.4°F | – |
| 2024 | 45.8°F | +4.4°F | 30.92 |
| 2025 | 42.8°F | +1.4°F | 22.55 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00054932. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sandstone's climate compare?
Sandstone is warmer than 41 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 97. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.4°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sandstone 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 Sandstone share this climate record?
3 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.
- Finlayson, MN333 people · 7 mi NE
- Askov, MN331 people · 11 mi NE
- Rutledge, MN212 people · 11 mi NE
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 Sandstone's climate
What is the coldest month in Sandstone?
January, with a normal high of 20°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Sandstone?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Sandstone's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Hinckley (8 miles away), records 45 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Sandstone?
July, with 5.55 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sandstone in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sandstone in zone 4a in ZIP code 55704, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Sandstone?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 13; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hinckley, MN9 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Mora, MN22 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Moose Lake, MN25 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Bruno, MN25 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made