Sparta, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sparta's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 35.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.0°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 904 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSparta
- Station IDUSC00477997
- Location43.94°N 90.82°W
- Elevation782 ft (238 m)
- Population9,963
On October 23, the normal high in Sparta is 55°F and the normal low 33°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 Sparta.
- Jan 25° 6°
- Feb 30° 9°
- Mar 42° 21°
- Apr 56° 33°
- May 68° 45°
- Jun 78° 56°
- Jul 82° 59°
- Aug 80° 57°
- Sep 72° 48°
- Oct 59° 36°
- Nov 43° 24°
- Dec 30° 13°
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 Sparta each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.31 in), the least in February (1.10 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 6°F | 15.0°F | 1.14 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 30°F | 9°F | 19.4°F | 1.10 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 21°F | 31.5°F | 1.77 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 3.66 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 45°F | 56.6°F | 4.64 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 56°F | 66.9°F | 5.31 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 59°F | 70.8°F | 4.07 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 57°F | 68.5°F | 4.30 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 48°F | 60.2°F | 3.73 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 36°F | 47.0°F | 2.58 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 24°F | 33.6°F | 2.00 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 30°F | 13°F | 21.5°F | 1.29 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 34°F | 44.6°F | 35.59 | 112 | 11 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −15°C | −9.4°C | 29 mm |
| February | −1°C | −13°C | −7.0°C | 28 mm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.3°C | 45 mm |
| April | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 93 mm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 118 mm |
| June | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 135 mm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.6°C | 103 mm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 109 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 95 mm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 66 mm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 51 mm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −5.8°C | 33 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Cashton (13 miles away), gets 55 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477997; 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 Sparta?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00477997.
When is the last frost in Sparta?
In Sparta, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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 91 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 13
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 29 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sparta in zone 4b in ZIP code 54656, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Sparta's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (30 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 USC00477997; 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 Sparta?
In a normal year in Sparta, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 67high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 106°F, on July 13, 1936; the lowest is −48°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 48.09 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 72.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00477997; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00477997. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Sparta?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sparta, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 75% | 2.9 |
| March | 72% | 3.9 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 74% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 67% | 1.8 |
| December | 62% | 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 Sparta need?
A normal year in Sparta brings 7,935 heating degree days, 48% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 536 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 2,443 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,548 | 0 |
| February | 1,277 | 0 |
| March | 1,041 | 0 |
| April | 626 | 2 |
| May | 287 | 28 |
| June | 62 | 117 |
| July | 17 | 195 |
| August | 34 | 142 |
| September | 191 | 47 |
| October | 562 | 4 |
| November | 942 | 0 |
| December | 1,348 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,935 | 536 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00477997. 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 Sparta been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 47.0°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.6°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.4°F | +1.8°F | 33.92 |
| 2023 | 47.0°F | +2.4°F | 28.10 |
Over 72 complete years from 1937 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00477997; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sparta's climate compare?
Sparta is warmer than 66 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 100. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.6°F is warmer than 18%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sparta 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 Sparta 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.
- Rockland, WI755 people · 5 mi W
- Cataract, WI174 people · 10 mi N
- Tunnel City, WI105 people · 13 mi E
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 Sparta's climate
What is the coldest month in Sparta?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Sparta?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Sparta's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Cashton (13 miles away), records 55 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Sparta?
June, with 5.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.10 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sparta in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sparta in zone 4b in ZIP code 54656, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Sparta's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Sparta?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; 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
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cashton, WI14 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- La Crosse, WI22 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- La Crescent, MN25 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Viroqua, WI26 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made