Minneapolis, MN climate: monthly averages and frost dates
Minneapolis, MN has very cold winters and warm summers by this site's scale, with moderate annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00014922 (MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL AP), 6 mi (9 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 83.4°F
- July
- Coldest month mean
- 16.2°F
- January
- Precipitation
- 31.6 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 51.2 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- April 23
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- October 18
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in Minneapolis
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23.6 | 8.8 | 16.2 | 0.89 | 11.0 | 9.6 | 0.0 | 30.5 |
| February | 28.5 | 12.7 | 20.6 | 0.87 | 9.5 | 7.8 | 0.0 | 26.8 |
| March | 41.7 | 24.9 | 33.3 | 1.68 | 8.2 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 23.8 |
| April | 56.6 | 37.5 | 47.1 | 2.91 | 3.5 | 11.2 | 0.1 | 9.0 |
| May | 69.2 | 49.9 | 59.5 | 3.91 | 0.0 | 12.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| June | 79.0 | 60.4 | 69.7 | 4.58 | 0.0 | 11.8 | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| July | 83.4 | 65.3 | 74.3 | 4.06 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 5.4 | 0.0 |
| August | 80.7 | 62.8 | 71.8 | 4.34 | 0.0 | 9.8 | 2.4 | 0.0 |
| September | 72.9 | 54.2 | 63.5 | 3.02 | 0.0 | 9.3 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| October | 58.1 | 40.9 | 49.5 | 2.58 | 0.8 | 9.5 | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| November | 41.9 | 27.7 | 34.8 | 1.61 | 6.8 | 8.3 | 0.0 | 20.9 |
| December | 28.8 | 15.2 | 22.0 | 1.17 | 11.4 | 9.7 | 0.0 | 29.7 |
| Year | 55.4 | 38.4 | 46.9 | 31.62 | 51.2 | 118.8 | 12.5 | 147.3 |
How cold is winter in Minneapolis?
Winters in Minneapolis are very cold by this site's scale (coldest-month mean below 20°F). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 16.2°F (−8.8°C), a normal daily high of 23.6°F (−4.7°C) and a normal daily low of 8.8°F (−12.9°C).
The station averages 147.3 nights a year at or below 32°F and 72.3 days when the high stays at or below 32°F.
The normal daily low is at or below freezing in November to March.
How hot is summer in Minneapolis?
Summers in Minneapolis are warm by this site's scale (hottest-month high 80 to under 90°F). July has the highest normal daily high, 83.4°F (28.6°C), with nights averaging 65.3°F (18.5°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 12.5 days in a normal year.
What is the wettest month in Minneapolis?
Minneapolis gets 31.62 in (803 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as moderate (20 to under 40 in a year). The wettest month is June with 4.58 in (116 mm); the driest is February with 0.87 in (22 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 118.8 days a year.
Does it snow in Minneapolis?
Normal annual snowfall in Minneapolis is 51.2 in (130 cm), which this site classes as heavy (36 to under 72 in a year).
December is the snowiest month, with 11.4 in (29 cm).
A day with 1.0 in or more of snowfall comes 14.6 times a year on average.
Which months are mild in Minneapolis?
5 months in Minneapolis meet this site's comfort thresholds (normal high 65–85°F, low 45°F or higher, fewer than 10 days with 0.10 in or more of precipitation): May to September.
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in Minneapolis
In Minneapolis the median last spring night at or below 32°F is April 23, and the median first autumn one is October 18 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 176 days. NOAA takes that median over each year's own season, so it need not equal the 178 days between the two median dates.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after May 7, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by October 1.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after April 8 is 90%.
For a hard freeze (28°F or lower) the median dates are April 13 in spring and October 29 in autumn.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | May 7 | October 1 | 196 |
| 20% | May 2 | October 7 | 189 |
| 30% | April 30 | October 11 | 184 |
| 40% | April 26 | October 15 | 180 |
| 50% | April 23 | October 18 | 176 |
| 60% | April 20 | October 21 | 172 |
| 70% | April 17 | October 23 | 168 |
| 80% | April 13 | October 27 | 164 |
| 90% | April 8 | October 31 | 158 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | May 3 | October 6 | 155 |
| 32°F | April 23 | October 18 | 176 |
| 28°F | April 13 | October 29 | 197 |
| 24°F | April 4 | November 6 | 214 |
| 20°F | March 29 | November 13 | 230 |
| 16°F | March 20 | November 20 | 245 |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 25% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 89% | 100% | 100% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to Minneapolis by station distance are Fargo, ND at 223 mi (358 km), Chicago, IL at 332 mi (535 km) and Kansas City, MO at 394 mi (633 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of Minneapolis's (winter: very cold, summer: warm, precipitation: moderate), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Burlington, VT, Chicago, IL and Fargo, ND.
Compared with Fargo, ND, Minneapolis's peak-month normal high is 1.3°F (0.7°C) higher, its coldest-month mean is 7.0°F (3.9°C) higher, and its annual precipitation is 7.67 in more.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis, MN | this page | – | 16.2 | 83.4 | 31.6 | 51.2 | April 23 |
| Fargo, ND | nearby, similar | 223 mi (358 km) | 9.2 | 82.1 | 23.9 | 51.4 | May 10 |
| Chicago, IL | nearby, similar | 332 mi (535 km) | 25.2 | 84.5 | 37.9 | 38.4 | April 16 |
| Kansas City, MO | nearby | 394 mi (633 km) | 29.0 | 88.3 | 39.3 | 18.2 | April 13 |
| Burlington, VT | similar | 984 mi (1,584 km) | 20.9 | 82.4 | 37.5 | 87.5 | April 29 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for Minneapolis come from NOAA station MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL AP, MN US (USW00014922) at 44.8831, -93.2289, elevation 872 ft (266 m). It lies 6 mi (9 km) in a straight line from the center point of Minneapolis city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 26 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- S: Standard: meets WMO standards for data availability for 24 or more years.
Cite the data as:
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00014922 (MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL AP, MN US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00014922 (MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL AP, MN US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Files used: monthly normals CSV, annual/seasonal normals CSV (retrieved 2026-10-09). The values on this page as JSON: /us/mn/minneapolis/data.json.