Santiago (3 mi E), Minnesota climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Santiago (3 mi E)'s normal year runs from 4°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 30.7 inches of precipitation and 49 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.5°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 27°C, 780 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSantiago (3 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00217502
- Location45.55°N 93.76°W
- Elevation1,010 ft (308 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Santiago (3 mi E) is 54°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Santiago (3 mi E).
- Jan 22° 4°
- Feb 27° 8°
- Mar 40° 21°
- Apr 56° 33°
- May 69° 45°
- Jun 77° 55°
- Jul 81° 59°
- Aug 79° 57°
- Sep 72° 49°
- Oct 57° 36°
- Nov 40° 24°
- Dec 27° 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 Santiago (3 mi E) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 4°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.23 in), the least in January (0.77 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 4°F | 13.0°F | 0.77 | 9.8 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 27°F | 8°F | 17.7°F | 0.90 | 9.5 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 40°F | 21°F | 30.4°F | 1.72 | 8.7 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 33°F | 44.3°F | 2.83 | 3.5 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 45°F | 57.1°F | 3.90 | 0.1 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 77°F | 55°F | 65.9°F | 4.23 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 81°F | 59°F | 70.0°F | 3.99 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 57°F | 67.9°F | 4.06 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 72°F | 49°F | 60.2°F | 2.90 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 36°F | 46.7°F | 2.72 | 0.8 | 8 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 24°F | 31.9°F | 1.56 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 27°F | 11°F | 18.9°F | 1.11 | 10.5 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 33°F | 43.7°F | 30.69 | 49.4 | 91 | 7 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −16°C | −10.6°C | 20 mm | 25 cm |
| February | −3°C | −13°C | −7.9°C | 23 mm | 24 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.9°C | 44 mm | 22 cm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 6.8°C | 72 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 69 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 5°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 40 mm | 17 cm |
| December | −3°C | −12°C | −7.3°C | 28 mm | 27 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00217502; 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 Santiago (3 mi E)?
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 (8).
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 USC00217502.
When is the last frost at Santiago (3 mi E)?
In Santiago (3 mi E), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 7 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 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 71 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 144 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Santiago (3 mi E) in zone 4b in ZIP code 56357, 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 (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Minnesota · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00217502; 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 Santiago (3 mi E)?
In a normal year in Santiago (3 mi E), 7 days a year reach 90°F, 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 91 days bring measurable precipitation.
- 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
- 76high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 91a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1961) is 105°F, on July 15, 1988; the lowest is −41°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 43.30 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 90.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00217502; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00217502. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Santiago (3 mi E)?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Santiago (3 mi E), 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 1.8 |
| February | 79% | 2.9 |
| March | 74% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 74% | 6.0 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 75% | 4.0 |
| October | 67% | 2.6 |
| November | 65% | 1.6 |
| December | 61% | 1.2 |
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 Santiago (3 mi E) record?
A normal year at Santiago (3 mi E) brings 8,208 heating degree days, 53% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 464 cooling degree days, 49% 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 2,365 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,613 | 0 |
| February | 1,326 | 0 |
| March | 1,071 | 0 |
| April | 623 | 2 |
| May | 271 | 26 |
| June | 66 | 93 |
| July | 18 | 173 |
| August | 34 | 123 |
| September | 190 | 44 |
| October | 571 | 3 |
| November | 995 | 0 |
| December | 1,431 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,208 | 464 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00217502. 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 Santiago (3 mi E) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 44.9°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.8°F | +2.1°F | 21.90 | 43.9 |
| 2022 | 42.4°F | −1.3°F | 32.27 | 56.1 |
| 2023 | 45.9°F | +2.2°F | – | 55.4 |
| 2024 | 47.6°F | +3.9°F | 34.15 | 36.5 |
| 2025 | 44.9°F | +1.2°F | 24.93 | 41.0 |
Over 49 complete years from 1962 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.4°F per century (+0.35°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00217502; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Santiago (3 mi E)'s climate compare?
Santiago (3 mi E) is warmer than 69 of the 129 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 67. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.7°F is warmer than 14%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Santiago (3 mi E) 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 Santiago (3 mi E) share this climate record?
2 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.
- Princeton, MN5,329 people · 8 mi E
- Becker, MN5,252 people · 13 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 Santiago (3 mi E)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Santiago (3 mi E)?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 4°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at Santiago (3 mi E)?
Yes: 49 inches in a normal year, falling on 22 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Santiago (3 mi E)?
June, with 4.23 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.77 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Santiago (3 mi E) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Santiago (3 mi E) in zone 4b in ZIP code 56357, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −24°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come at Santiago (3 mi E)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 7; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- St. Cloud, MN14 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Milaca, MN15 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Elk River, MN19 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Buffalo, MN24 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made