Wells, Minnesota climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wells's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 34.5 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.5°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 877 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWells
- Station IDUSC00218808
- Location43.75°N 93.74°W
- Elevation1,135 ft (346 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,401
On October 24, the normal high in Wells is 55°F and the normal low 34°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 Wells.
- Jan 24° 5°
- Feb 29° 10°
- Mar 41° 23°
- Apr 56° 35°
- May 69° 48°
- Jun 79° 59°
- Jul 82° 62°
- Aug 80° 60°
- Sep 74° 51°
- Oct 60° 38°
- Nov 43° 24°
- Dec 29° 12°
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 Wells each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.45 in), the least in January (0.71 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°F | 5°F | 14.3°F | 0.71 | 8.5 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 10°F | 19.1°F | 0.73 | 8.6 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 23°F | 32.1°F | 1.65 | 5.8 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 3.39 | 2.9 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 48°F | 58.4°F | 4.60 | 0.4 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 59°F | 68.8°F | 5.45 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 82°F | 62°F | 72.0°F | 4.86 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 60°F | 69.6°F | 4.13 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 51°F | 62.4°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 38°F | 48.6°F | 2.50 | 0.4 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 24°F | 33.8°F | 1.66 | 2.6 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 29°F | 12°F | 20.8°F | 1.11 | 10.9 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 36°F | 45.5°F | 34.51 | 40.1 | 106 | 10 | 161 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −15°C | −9.8°C | 18 mm | 22 cm |
| February | −2°C | −12°C | −7.2°C | 19 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 42 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 86 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 14.7°C | 117 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.2°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.9°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 64 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 1.0°C | 42 mm | 7 cm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −6.2°C | 28 mm | 28 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218808; 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 Wells?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00218808.
When is the last frost in Wells?
In Wells, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 24 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
- April 301 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 158 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wells in zone 4b in ZIP code 56097, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wells's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (20 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 USC00218808; 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 Wells?
In a normal year in Wells, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 161 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 106 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 161a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 71high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 106a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 15a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1968) is 101°F, on May 15, 2013; the lowest is −32°F, on January 2, 2010.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2024, with 49.69 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 78.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00218808; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00218808. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wells?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wells, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 1.9 |
| February | 76% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 69% | 4.8 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.2 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.3 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 69% | 1.9 |
| December | 65% | 1.4 |
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 Wells need?
A normal year in Wells brings 7,753 heating degree days, 44% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 668 cooling degree days, 26% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,720 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,573 | 0 |
| February | 1,284 | 0 |
| March | 1,022 | 0 |
| April | 585 | 3 |
| May | 244 | 39 |
| June | 42 | 156 |
| July | 9 | 226 |
| August | 23 | 164 |
| September | 150 | 72 |
| October | 515 | 8 |
| November | 938 | 0 |
| December | 1,370 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,753 | 668 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00218808. 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 Wells been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 49.0°F, 3.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.5°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.3°F | +1.8°F | 25.79 | 34.3 |
| 2022 | 44.1°F | −1.4°F | 27.02 | 46.0 |
| 2023 | 47.9°F | +2.4°F | 27.74 | 22.5 |
| 2024 | 49.0°F | +3.5°F | 49.69 | 14.7 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00218808. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wells's climate compare?
Wells is warmer than 111 of the other 128 places with their own NOAA record in Minnesota, and wetter than 104. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.5°F is warmer than 21%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wells is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot 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 Wells share this climate record?
7 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.
- Minnesota Lake, MN660 people · 8 mi NW
- Alden, MN575 people · 10 mi SE
- Hartland, MN311 people · 13 mi E
- Freeborn, MN257 people · 9 mi E
- Rake, IA179 people · 21 mi SW
- Easton, MN177 people · 8 mi W
- Walters, MN70 people · 10 mi S
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 Wells's climate
What is the coldest month in Wells?
January, with a normal high of 24°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Wells?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 21 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Wells?
June, with 5.45 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.71 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wells in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wells in zone 4b in ZIP code 56097, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Wells's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Wells?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Minnesota climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Winnebago, MN22 miles from this station, 45.6°F a year
- Amboy, MN24 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Albert Lea, MN24 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Waseca, MN25 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made