Tower, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tower's normal year runs from −7°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 28.2 inches of precipitation and 69 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 2.7°C, January lows of −22°C, July highs of 25°C, 716 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTower (2 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00218311
- Location47.78°N 92.28°W
- Elevation1,430 ft (436 m)
- Population421
On October 22, the normal high in Tower is 48°F and the normal low 29°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 Tower.
- Jan 17° -7°
- Feb 23° -5°
- Mar 36° 9°
- Apr 50° 24°
- May 63° 36°
- Jun 73° 47°
- Jul 77° 51°
- Aug 76° 48°
- Sep 67° 42°
- Oct 51° 31°
- Nov 35° 18°
- Dec 22° 3°
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 Tower each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −7°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.31 in), the least in February (0.75 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°F | −7°F | 4.9°F | 0.76 | 13.4 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 23°F | −5°F | 9.1°F | 0.75 | 10.8 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 36°F | 9°F | 22.7°F | 0.91 | 7.9 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 24°F | 37.0°F | 1.85 | 8.0 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 63°F | 36°F | 49.9°F | 3.01 | 0.4 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 73°F | 47°F | 59.7°F | 3.96 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 16 h |
| July | 77°F | 51°F | 64.0°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 76°F | 48°F | 61.9°F | 3.46 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 67°F | 42°F | 54.0°F | 3.92 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 51°F | 31°F | 41.0°F | 2.75 | 2.4 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 11 h |
| November | 35°F | 18°F | 26.4°F | 1.55 | 11.0 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 22°F | 3°F | 12.5°F | 0.95 | 14.8 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 49°F | 25°F | 36.9°F | 28.18 | 68.7 | 116 | 4 | 220 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −22°C | −15.1°C | 19 mm | 34 cm |
| February | −5°C | −20°C | −12.7°C | 19 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 2°C | −13°C | −5.2°C | 23 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 10°C | −4°C | 2.8°C | 47 mm | 20 cm |
| May | 17°C | 2°C | 9.9°C | 76 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 23°C | 8°C | 15.4°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 9°C | 16.6°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | 5°C | 12.2°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11°C | −1°C | 5.0°C | 70 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 2°C | −8°C | −3.1°C | 39 mm | 28 cm |
| December | −6°C | −16°C | −10.8°C | 24 mm | 38 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218311; 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 Tower?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00218311.
How hot and how cold does it get in Tower?
In a normal year in Tower, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 220 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 116 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 220a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 102high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 116a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 27a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1895) is 101°F, on June 17, 1995; the lowest is −52°F, on January 17, 1982.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1977, with 41.37 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 121.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00218311; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00218311. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tower?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tower, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 1.4 |
| February | 74% | 2.5 |
| March | 73% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 67% | 5.3 |
| June | 70% | 5.8 |
| July | 78% | 6.1 |
| August | 76% | 5.1 |
| September | 71% | 3.7 |
| October | 63% | 2.3 |
| November | 59% | 1.4 |
| December | 57% | 1.0 |
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 Tower need?
A normal year in Tower brings 10,348 heating degree days, 93% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 159 cooling degree days, 82% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,452 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,863 | 0 |
| February | 1,565 | 0 |
| March | 1,310 | 0 |
| April | 842 | 0 |
| May | 477 | 7 |
| June | 188 | 29 |
| July | 98 | 68 |
| August | 137 | 41 |
| September | 342 | 14 |
| October | 745 | 1 |
| November | 1,157 | 0 |
| December | 1,626 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,348 | 159 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218311. 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 Tower been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 37.9°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 36.9°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39.4°F | +2.5°F | 25.66 | 50.1 |
| 2022 | 34.5°F | −2.4°F | 38.23 | 93.1 |
| 2023 | 39.1°F | +2.2°F | 28.13 | 57.8 |
| 2025 | 37.9°F | +1.0°F | 31.35 | 60.2 |
Over 43 complete years from 1963 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.0°F per century (+0.33°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00218311; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Tower's climate compare?
Tower is warmer than 4 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 41. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 36.9°F is warmer than 2%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tower 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 Tower share this climate record?
Soudan has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Soudan, MN434 people · 3 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 Tower's climate
What is the coldest month in Tower?
January, with a normal high of 17°F and a normal low of −7°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Tower?
Yes: 69 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (14.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Tower?
July, with 4.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.75 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tower in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tower in zone 3a in ZIP code 55782, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Tower's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −37°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 3a.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Embarrass, MN10 miles from this station, 36.4°F a year
- Cook, MN14 miles from this station, 38.0°F a year
- Babbitt, MN16 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Ely, MN22 miles from this station, 38.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made