Vadnais Lake, MN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Vadnais Lake's primary NOAA station, VADNAIS LAKE.
The climate verdict for Vadnais Lake
Winter sets the terms in Vadnais Lake, Minnesota. A pronounced 57°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 47°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 47°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 33.1"
- annual precipitation
- 180 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Vadnais Lake: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00218477 · Vadnais Lake, MN 47°F mean · 33.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 47°F
- RANK-COOL #1,852
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Clarion
- PRCP-MID 33.1"
- SWING-WIDE 57°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,327 HDD
- STN-1 USC00218477
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Clarion, IA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every MN station list.
- Vadnais Lake (this station) 47°F
- Cold Spencer, IA 47°F
- Hot Clarion, IA 47°F
- Near Pocahontas, IA 47°F
- Near Chamberlain, SD 47°F
Vadnais Lake sits in Minnesota, the #3 coldest U.S. state at 42.2°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Vadnais Lake
Vadnais Lake: 50/100 · grade D
Vadnais Lake publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Vadnais Lake, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 33.1 in · 1.9 from 35 in | 92/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 180 days/year | 50/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 148 calendar days | 48/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.0°F · 20.5° from 67.5°F | 27/100 · F |
Vadnais Lake · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Vadnais Lake is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 16.5°F and warmest-month mean 73.5°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 73.5°F
- Coldest month
- 16.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Vadnais Lake sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Vadnais Lake's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 73%
- Among 6,861 stations, Vadnais Lake sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 44th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 94%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Vadnais Lake is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Vadnais Lake compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Vadnais Lake's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F (-4°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 17°F (-9°C) | 0.8" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 30°F (-1°C) | 11°F (-11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.8" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 42°F (6°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.5" | 25.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.1" | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 4.3" | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.5" | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 4.5" | 0.0 | 5.3 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 4.5" | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.1" | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| October | 59°F (15°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 3.1" | 7.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 43°F (6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.8" | 21.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 30°F (-1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 1.1" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 16, short of 90°F on every date, while 148 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 7°F near January 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 3, then returns to freezing around November 8, covering 148 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 25, when 38% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 7 at 18%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 98 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 19 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Vadnais Lake.
Where Vadnais Lake Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Vadnais Lake earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
5.9 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
6.2 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
Vadnais Lake runs a summer-peaked wet season
41% of Vadnais Lake's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is June at 4.5", on a wide 57°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: June, July, August, taking 41% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.8".
- Winter share: 8% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Vadnais Lake's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 98 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 33.1" between them, or roughly 0.34 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 23
50% probability date
Growing Season
180 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,327
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
790
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside MN closest to Vadnais Lake on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (47°F here).
- Alma, MI 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Anamosa, IA 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Audubon, IA 47°F · 0.0°F off
- Big Timber, MT 47°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (33.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Essexville, MI 33.1" · 0.0" off
- Anthony, KS 33.1" · 0.0" off
- Marinette, WI 33.1" · 0.0" off
- Norwich, KS 33.1" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Vadnais Lake's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Vadnais Lake logs 7,327 heating degree days, more than twice its 790 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 57.0°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
Vadnais Lake's frost-free season lasts about 180 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
Vadnais Lake's calendar has a pronounced split: July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar, with 57.0°F between them. The annual average is 47°F. That average is context, while the monthly highs, lows, and precipitation totals describe the lived parts of the year.
Vadnais Lake's 33.1 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Vadnais Lake's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Vadnais Lake, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Vadnais Lake's climate
How much rain does Vadnais Lake get? ▼
How cold does Vadnais Lake get in winter? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Vadnais Lake's primary station: VADNAIS LAKE (USC00218477). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Vadnais Lake; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Vadnais Lake comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.