Whitewater, Wisconsin climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Whitewater's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 36.2 inches of precipitation and 34 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.3°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 28°C, 920 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWhitewater
- Station IDUSC00479190
- Location42.85°N 88.72°W
- Elevation875 ft (267 m)
- Population16,076
On October 23, the normal high in Whitewater is 57°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Whitewater.
- Jan 27° 12°
- Feb 31° 15°
- Mar 43° 25°
- Apr 57° 35°
- May 69° 47°
- Jun 78° 57°
- Jul 82° 61°
- Aug 80° 59°
- Sep 74° 51°
- Oct 61° 40°
- Nov 46° 29°
- Dec 33° 18°
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 Whitewater each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.96 in), the least in February (1.53 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 12°F | 19.5°F | 1.58 | 8.5 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 31°F | 15°F | 23.0°F | 1.53 | 9.9 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 25°F | 34.1°F | 1.88 | 4.4 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 35°F | 45.9°F | 3.52 | 0.7 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 47°F | 57.6°F | 4.19 | 0.1 | 14 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 78°F | 57°F | 67.7°F | 4.96 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 82°F | 61°F | 71.4°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 59°F | 69.4°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 74°F | 51°F | 62.0°F | 3.52 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 40°F | 50.1°F | 3.01 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 29°F | 37.2°F | 2.22 | 1.2 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 18°F | 25.6°F | 1.75 | 9.0 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 37°F | 47.0°F | 36.23 | 33.9 | 128 | 9 | 152 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −11°C | −6.9°C | 40 mm | 22 cm |
| February | 0°C | −10°C | −5.0°C | 39 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 1.2°C | 48 mm | 11 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.7°C | 89 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 4°C | 10.1°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 56 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 1°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 44 mm | 23 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00479190; 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 Whitewater?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00479190.
When is the last frost in Whitewater?
In Whitewater, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 25 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 21 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Whitewater in zone 5b in ZIP code 53190, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Whitewater's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Wisconsin · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00479190; 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 Whitewater?
In a normal year in Whitewater, 9 days a year reach 90°F, 152 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 9a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 152a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 59high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 102°F, on July 7, 2012; the lowest is −37°F, on January 30, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 51.70 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 79.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00479190; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00479190. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Whitewater?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Whitewater, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 63% | 1.7 |
| February | 67% | 2.6 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 78% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.8 |
| November | 66% | 1.9 |
| December | 61% | 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 Whitewater need?
A normal year in Whitewater brings 7,158 heating degree days, 33% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 621 cooling degree days, 32% 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 2,646 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,412 | 0 |
| February | 1,176 | 0 |
| March | 957 | 1 |
| April | 575 | 3 |
| May | 266 | 38 |
| June | 56 | 137 |
| July | 13 | 211 |
| August | 26 | 162 |
| September | 151 | 63 |
| October | 470 | 7 |
| November | 836 | 0 |
| December | 1,221 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,158 | 621 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00479190. 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 Whitewater been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 47.2°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.0°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.2°F | +1.2°F | 23.23 | 24.9 |
| 2022 | 45.8°F | −1.2°F | 32.83 | 24.8 |
| 2023 | 48.6°F | +1.6°F | 33.47 | 28.3 |
| 2024 | 49.8°F | +2.8°F | 39.92 | 29.9 |
| 2025 | 47.2°F | +0.2°F | 36.40 | 25.5 |
Over 62 complete years from 1952 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.8°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00479190; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Whitewater's climate compare?
Whitewater is warmer than 138 of the other 164 places with their own NOAA record in Wisconsin, and wetter than 112. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.0°F is warmer than 28%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Whitewater 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 Whitewater share this climate record?
2 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.
- Lauderdale Lakes, WI1,337 people · 9 mi SE
- Hebron, WI381 people · 5 mi N
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 Whitewater's climate
What is the coldest month in Whitewater?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Whitewater?
Yes: 34 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (9.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Whitewater?
June, with 4.96 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.53 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Whitewater in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Whitewater in zone 5b in ZIP code 53190, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Whitewater's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Whitewater?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; 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
- Wisconsin climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fort Atkinson, WI7 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Jefferson, WI11 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Sullivan, WI12 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Delavan, WI15 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made