Wadena, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wadena's normal year runs from −1°F January nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 29.3 inches of precipitation and 51 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.6°C, January lows of −19°C, July highs of 26°C, 745 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWadena (3 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00218579
- Location46.39°N 95.15°W
- Elevation1,372 ft (418 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population4,373
On October 22, the normal high in Wadena is 51°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wadena.
- Jan 18° -1°
- Feb 23° 2°
- Mar 36° 15°
- Apr 52° 29°
- May 65° 42°
- Jun 74° 54°
- Jul 78° 58°
- Aug 77° 55°
- Sep 69° 47°
- Oct 54° 34°
- Nov 37° 20°
- Dec 24° 7°
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 Wadena each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.43 in), the least in February (0.77 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°F | −1°F | 8.1°F | 0.87 | 12.2 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h |
| February | 23°F | 2°F | 12.4°F | 0.77 | 7.9 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 36°F | 15°F | 25.4°F | 1.35 | 8.9 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 29°F | 40.5°F | 2.58 | 4.5 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 42°F | 53.8°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 15 h |
| June | 74°F | 54°F | 63.7°F | 4.43 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 78°F | 58°F | 67.8°F | 4.27 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 55°F | 65.7°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 69°F | 47°F | 57.5°F | 2.86 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 54°F | 34°F | 43.8°F | 2.84 | 1.1 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| November | 37°F | 20°F | 28.7°F | 1.28 | 7.5 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 24°F | 7°F | 15.4°F | 0.90 | 8.7 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 30°F | 40.2°F | 29.32 | 50.8 | 91 | 3 | 183 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°C | −19°C | −13.3°C | 22 mm | 31 cm |
| February | −5°C | −17°C | −10.9°C | 20 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 34 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 66 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 1°C | 6.6°C | 72 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 3°C | −6°C | −1.8°C | 33 mm | 19 cm |
| December | −5°C | −14°C | −9.2°C | 23 mm | 22 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218579; 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 Wadena?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00218579.
When is the last frost in Wadena?
In Wadena, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 17 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 101 year in 10 after May 25; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 161 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wadena in zone 4a in ZIP code 56482, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wadena's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (23 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 USC00218579; 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 Wadena?
In a normal year in Wadena, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 183 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 91 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 183a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 96high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 91a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 112°F, on July 10, 1936; the lowest is −43°F, on February 5, 1907.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 38.00 in; the snowiest season is 1965–66, with 86.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00218579; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00218579. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wadena?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wadena, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 1.6 |
| February | 78% | 2.8 |
| March | 74% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 69% | 5.5 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 3.9 |
| October | 66% | 2.5 |
| November | 64% | 1.6 |
| December | 59% | 1.1 |
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 Wadena need?
A normal year in Wadena brings 9,298 heating degree days, 73% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 318 cooling degree days, 65% 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 1,962 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,762 | 0 |
| February | 1,473 | 0 |
| March | 1,226 | 0 |
| April | 735 | 0 |
| May | 360 | 14 |
| June | 106 | 67 |
| July | 40 | 126 |
| August | 64 | 84 |
| September | 250 | 26 |
| October | 658 | 1 |
| November | 1,089 | 0 |
| December | 1,536 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,298 | 318 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218579. 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.
How does Wadena's climate compare?
Wadena is warmer than 33 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 52. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.2°F is warmer than 6%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wadena 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 Wadena share this climate record?
8 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.
- Staples, MN3,075 people · 16 mi E
- Parkers Prairie, MN1,029 people · 19 mi SW
- Bertha, MN548 people · 10 mi SE
- Verndale, MN512 people · 7 mi E
- Deer Creek, MN332 people · 8 mi W
- Hewitt, MN250 people · 6 mi SE
- Bluffton, MN212 people · 7 mi NW
- Aldrich, MN34 people · 10 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 Wadena's climate
What is the coldest month in Wadena?
January, with a normal high of 18°F and a normal low of −1°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Wadena?
Yes: 51 inches in a normal year, falling on 26 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (12.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Wadena?
June, with 4.43 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.77 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wadena in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wadena in zone 4a in ZIP code 56482, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Wadena's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Wadena?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 25. Waiting until May 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- New York Mills, MN14 miles from this station, 39.8°F a year
- Ottertail, MN19 miles from this station, 40.9°F a year
- Long Prairie, MN32 miles from this station, 40.1°F a year
- Park Rapids, MN35 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made