Two Harbors, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Two Harbors's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 75°F August afternoons, with 31.7 inches of precipitation and 61 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −14°C, August highs of 24°C, 806 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTwo Harbors
- Station IDUSC00218419
- Location47.03°N 91.67°W
- Elevation625 ft (191 m)
- Population3,456
On October 22, the normal high in Two Harbors is 51°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Two Harbors.
- Jan 24° 7°
- Feb 28° 10°
- Mar 37° 21°
- Apr 48° 31°
- May 58° 39°
- Jun 67° 46°
- Jul 75° 55°
- Aug 75° 56°
- Sep 67° 49°
- Oct 54° 38°
- Nov 40° 26°
- Dec 29° 14°
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 Two Harbors each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.23 in), the least in January (1.04 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 7°F | 15.6°F | 1.04 | 12.4 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 28°F | 10°F | 19.0°F | 1.16 | 13.6 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 37°F | 21°F | 28.7°F | 1.51 | 9.1 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 48°F | 31°F | 39.1°F | 2.65 | 4.3 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 58°F | 39°F | 48.4°F | 3.30 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| June | 67°F | 46°F | 56.3°F | 4.23 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 75°F | 55°F | 64.8°F | 4.05 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 75°F | 56°F | 65.3°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 67°F | 49°F | 57.8°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 38°F | 45.9°F | 3.03 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 26°F | 33.0°F | 2.18 | 5.9 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 29°F | 14°F | 21.4°F | 1.56 | 15.5 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 33°F | 41.3°F | 31.72 | 61.0 | 128 | 1 | 164 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.1°C | 26 mm | 31 cm |
| February | −2°C | −12°C | −7.2°C | 29 mm | 35 cm |
| March | 3°C | −6°C | −1.8°C | 38 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 9°C | −1°C | 3.9°C | 67 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 15°C | 4°C | 9.1°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 19°C | 8°C | 13.5°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 13°C | 18.2°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 13°C | 18.5°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | 9°C | 14.3°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 3°C | 7.7°C | 77 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 4°C | −3°C | 0.6°C | 55 mm | 15 cm |
| December | −2°C | −10°C | −5.9°C | 40 mm | 39 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218419; 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 Two Harbors?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USC00218419.
When is the last frost in Two Harbors?
In Two Harbors, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 19 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 121 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 174 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Two Harbors in zone 4b in ZIP code 55609, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Two Harbors's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (29 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 USC00218419; 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 Two Harbors?
In a normal year in Two Harbors, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 164 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 164a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 77high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 20a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1894) is 99°F, on July 20, 1901; the lowest is −36°F, on January 23, 1935.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1909, with 43.24 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 127.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00218419; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00218419. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Two Harbors?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Two Harbors, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 58% | 1.2 |
| February | 63% | 2.1 |
| March | 66% | 3.3 |
| April | 69% | 4.6 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 71% | 5.9 |
| July | 78% | 6.1 |
| August | 77% | 5.1 |
| September | 72% | 3.7 |
| October | 63% | 2.3 |
| November | 57% | 1.3 |
| December | 55% | 0.9 |
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 Two Harbors need?
A normal year in Two Harbors brings 8,778 heating degree days, 63% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 161 cooling degree days, 82% 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 1,492 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,533 | 0 |
| February | 1,289 | 0 |
| March | 1,125 | 0 |
| April | 776 | 0 |
| May | 516 | 0 |
| June | 269 | 9 |
| July | 79 | 72 |
| August | 60 | 67 |
| September | 228 | 12 |
| October | 592 | 0 |
| November | 959 | 0 |
| December | 1,353 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,778 | 161 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218419. 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 Two Harbors been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 42.0°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.3°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.0°F | +1.7°F | 26.87 | 55.3 |
| 2022 | 38.2°F | −3.1°F | 32.51 | 74.7 |
| 2023 | 42.0°F | +0.7°F | 30.59 | 52.2 |
Over 95 complete years from 1895 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00218419; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Two Harbors's climate compare?
Two Harbors is warmer than 40 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 80. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.3°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Two Harbors 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 Two Harbors share this climate record?
Knife River 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.
- Knife River, MN98 people · 8 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.
What do Two Harbors's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Two Harbors. This page uses Two Harbors; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two Harbors (7 mi NW) USC00218421 | 7 mi N | 1,355 ft | 39.3°F | 1°F | 77°F | 33.6 | 94 | May 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Two Harbors's climate
What is the coldest month in Two Harbors?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is August (75°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Two Harbors?
Yes: 61 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (15.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Two Harbors?
June, with 4.23 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.04 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Two Harbors in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Two Harbors in zone 4b in ZIP code 55609, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Two Harbors's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Two Harbors?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 30. Waiting until May 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Brimson (2 mi S), MN18 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- Island Lake (4 mi E), MN19 miles from this station, 38.9°F a year
- Port Wing, WI22 miles from this station, 41.1°F a year
- Superior, WI28 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made