Walker, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Walker's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 28.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.3°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 26°C, 711 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWalker
- Station IDUSC00218618
- Location47.09°N 94.57°W
- Elevation1,430 ft (436 m)
- Population982
On October 22, the normal high in Walker is 50°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Walker.
- Jan 19° 1°
- Feb 25° 4°
- Mar 38° 18°
- Apr 52° 31°
- May 66° 44°
- Jun 75° 55°
- Jul 79° 59°
- Aug 77° 57°
- Sep 68° 49°
- Oct 53° 36°
- Nov 37° 22°
- Dec 25° 8°
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 Walker each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.29 in), the least in February (0.74 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | 1°F | 10.0°F | 0.75 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 25°F | 4°F | 14.8°F | 0.74 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 18°F | 27.7°F | 1.18 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 2.18 | 7 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 44°F | 55.2°F | 3.32 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 15 h |
| June | 75°F | 55°F | 64.6°F | 4.29 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 79°F | 59°F | 69.0°F | 4.11 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 57°F | 67.0°F | 3.21 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 49°F | 58.4°F | 3.37 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 36°F | 44.8°F | 2.75 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 37°F | 22°F | 29.5°F | 1.26 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 25°F | 8°F | 16.5°F | 0.82 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 32°F | 41.6°F | 27.98 | 100 | 2 | 174 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −17°C | −12.2°C | 19 mm |
| February | −4°C | −15°C | −9.6°C | 19 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 30 mm |
| April | 11°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 55 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 84 mm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.1°C | 109 mm |
| July | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 104 mm |
| August | 25°C | 14°C | 19.4°C | 82 mm |
| September | 20°C | 9°C | 14.7°C | 86 mm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 7.1°C | 70 mm |
| November | 3°C | −6°C | −1.4°C | 32 mm |
| December | −4°C | −13°C | −8.6°C | 21 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Leech Lake (20 miles away), gets 48 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218618; 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 Walker?
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 (9).
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 USC00218618.
When is the last frost in Walker?
In Walker, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 23 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 41 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 155 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 176 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 25 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Walker in zone 4a in ZIP code 56484, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Walker's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (19 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 USC00218618; 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 Walker?
In a normal year in Walker, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 174 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 100 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 174a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 96high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 100a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1907) is 103°F, on July 28, 1917; the lowest is −44°F, on February 2, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1953, with 37.71 in; the snowiest season is 1953–54, with 102.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00218618; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00218618. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Walker?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Walker, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 1.6 |
| February | 80% | 2.8 |
| March | 75% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 4.8 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 79% | 6.2 |
| August | 78% | 5.2 |
| September | 72% | 3.8 |
| October | 65% | 2.4 |
| November | 62% | 1.4 |
| December | 62% | 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 Walker need?
A normal year in Walker brings 8,875 heating degree days, 65% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 381 cooling degree days, 58% 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 2,129 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,705 | 0 |
| February | 1,406 | 0 |
| March | 1,156 | 0 |
| April | 707 | 1 |
| May | 322 | 18 |
| June | 89 | 77 |
| July | 25 | 151 |
| August | 45 | 107 |
| September | 225 | 26 |
| October | 627 | 1 |
| November | 1,065 | 0 |
| December | 1,503 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,875 | 381 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218618. 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 Walker been warmer than normal lately?
Over 81 complete years from 1913 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.2°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Walker's climate compare?
Walker is warmer than 43 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 36. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.6°F is warmer than 9%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Walker 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 Walker 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.
- Akeley, MN418 people · 10 mi SW
- Laporte, MN142 people · 12 mi NW
- Whipholt, MN69 people · 10 mi SE
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 Walker's climate
What is the coldest month in Walker?
January, with a normal high of 19°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Walker?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Walker's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Leech Lake (20 miles away), records 48 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Walker?
June, with 4.29 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.74 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Walker in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Walker in zone 4a in ZIP code 56484, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Walker's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −27°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Walker?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Deep Portage, MN16 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Leech Lake, MN20 miles from this station, 40.7°F a year
- Cass Lake, MN21 miles from this station, 40.0°F a year
- Park Rapids, MN27 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