PlainClimate
NOAA 1991–2020 normals Station-mapped location · no exact Census place match 1 NOAA station · Primary-station record

Waterloo, OH 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 Waterloo's primary NOAA station, WATERLOO.

The climate verdict for Waterloo

Water is the standout signal in Waterloo, Ohio: 45.7 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 53°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.

53°F
annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
64/100
comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
45.7"
annual precipitation · 14" snow
168 days
frost-free days per growing season

Waterloo: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.

Normals record plate

Sheet USC00338810 · Waterloo, OH 53°F mean · 45.7" precip

TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL

Nearest mean-temperature peer: Eisenhower Nhs, PA (+ 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 OH station list.

Climate Living Index · Waterloo

Waterloo: 53/100 · grade D

Waterloo publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.

D
53/100Climate Living Index

PlainClimate-derived for Waterloo, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.

Waterloo Living Index dimension scores
DimensionStation valueScore
Precipitation balance 45.7 in · 10.7 from 35 in 62/100 · C
Snowfall burden 13.6 inches/year 58/100 · C
Annual temperature balance 52.8°F · 14.7° from 67.5°F 52/100 · D
Normal heat + freeze calendar 144 calendar days 51/100 · D
Frost-free season 168 days/year 40/100 · D

Waterloo · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.

Waterloo is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa

Coldest-month mean 30.7°F and warmest-month mean 74.0°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
74.0°F
Coldest month
30.7°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 Waterloo sits across the climate record

Three NOAA fields for Waterloo's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.

Annual temperature
52nd percentile warmth
Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
Annual precipitation
Top 30% wettest
Waterloo's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
Seasonal temperature swing
50th percentile swing
Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.

How Waterloo compares across U.S. station-mapped locations

Waterloo'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. This location 0 100 every station-mapped location, bucketed by value
  1. 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  2. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  3. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
  4. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
  5. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
  6. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
  7. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
  8. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
  9. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
  10. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more station-mapped locations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Monthly Temperatures

Average daily high and low temperatures by month

Month Avg High Avg Low Mean
January 41°F (5°C) 20°F (-6°C) 31°F (-1°C)
February 45°F (7°C) 22°F (-5°C) 34°F (1°C)
March 54°F (12°C) 29°F (-2°C) 42°F (5°C)
April 67°F (19°C) 38°F (3°C) 52°F (11°C)
May 75°F (24°C) 49°F (9°C) 62°F (17°C)
June 83°F (28°C) 58°F (14°C) 70°F (21°C)
July 86°F (30°C) 62°F (17°C) 74°F (23°C)
August 85°F (30°C) 60°F (16°C) 73°F (23°C)
September 79°F (26°C) 52°F (11°C) 66°F (19°C)
October 68°F (20°C) 40°F (4°C) 54°F (12°C)
November 55°F (13°C) 30°F (-1°C) 43°F (6°C)
December 46°F (8°C) 25°F (-4°C) 35°F (2°C)

The year, day by day

Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 11, short of 90°F on every date, while 144 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 19°F near January 22.

Normal daily high and low temperature for Waterloo, January through December Peaks 86°F around July 11. Bottoms 19°F around January 22. 10 30 50 70 90 freezing JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal daily high and low across the calendar year. NOAA 1991–2020 daily normals, WATERLOO.

The freezing stretch

The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 28, then returns to freezing around November 6, covering 144 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 16, when 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 3 at 32%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 147 wet dates a year.

The widest day

April 15 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 30°F between the normal high and the normal low.

Look up any date

Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Waterloo.

Monthly Precipitation

Average monthly rainfall and snowfall

January 3.3"

Snow: 5.0"

12.7 days with precipitation

February 3.1"

Snow: 3.9"

12.5 days with precipitation

March 4.2"

Snow: 2.2"

13.4 days with precipitation

April 3.7"

Snow: 0.1"

13.1 days with precipitation

May 4.5"

14.9 days with precipitation

June 4.0"

13.4 days with precipitation

July 5.6"

12.2 days with precipitation

August 3.7"

11.1 days with precipitation

September 3.9"

10.4 days with precipitation

October 3.1"

9.7 days with precipitation

November 2.9"

Snow: 0.4"

10.1 days with precipitation

December 3.7"

Snow: 2.0"

13.0 days with precipitation

Waterloo spreads its precipitation across the year

Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Waterloo has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.3°F seasonal spread.

The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 5.6" and November 2.9". The three wettest months together take 31% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.

Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.

How Waterloo's precipitation splits across the calendar

About 147 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 45.7" between them, or roughly 0.31 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.

Wet days a year
147
Wettest month by days
May
Driest month by days
October

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.

Winter brings real snow to Waterloo

Waterloo averages 13.6 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 11 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.

NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.

Frost Dates & Growing Season

First Fall Freeze

October 15

50% probability date

Last Spring Freeze

April 30

50% probability date

Growing Season

168 days

Heating & Cooling Degree Days

Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling

Heating Degree Days

5,275

Higher = more heating needed

Cooling Degree Days

873

Higher = more cooling needed

Warmest Month

July

Coldest Month

January

Nationwide similar cities

Other rankable U.S. places outside OH closest to Waterloo 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 (53°F here).

Closest by annual precipitation

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (45.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.

Ohio climate overview →

Snow and freeze rhythm

When cold and snow define Waterloo

heating led · wet · mid swing

Waterloo's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,275 annual heating degree days against 873 for cooling. Its 43.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.

Waterloo's frost-free season lasts about 168 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.

  1. 1. Waterloo coldest normal

    January

    The monthly mean of 31°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.

  2. 2. Waterloo typical freeze period

    January through December

    The station reports average freezing days from January through December.

  3. 3. Waterloo snow peak

    January

    Waterloo averages 13.6 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.

Questions about Waterloo's climate

How much snow does Waterloo get?
Waterloo averages 13.6 inches of snow a year, most of it in January, within 45.7 inches of total precipitation. Snowfall is depth on the ground; the precipitation total counts its liquid equivalent, so the two are not additive.
How cold does Waterloo get in winter?
Waterloo records about 132 days a year with a low at or below freezing, with January the coldest month on the normals, and an annual average daily low of 40°F.
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Waterloo?
Waterloo has 5,275 heating degree days and 873 cooling degree days annually, a heating-dominated climate. Degree-day definitions: reading weather data.

Data Sources

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Waterloo's primary station: WATERLOO (USC00338810). 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 Waterloo; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainClimate

On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Waterloo 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.