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Weather extremes

How extreme does Appleton's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Appleton has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Appleton station 2 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Appleton has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day
103°F Aug 16, 1988

That is about 24°F hotter than a normal August afternoon in Appleton (typical high near 79°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 103°F Aug 16, 1988
2 102°F Jul 13, 1995
3 101°F Jun 20, 1988
❄️ Coldest night
-29°F Jan 18, 1994

About 39°F colder than a normal January night in Appleton (typical low near 10°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -29°F Jan 18, 1994
2 -29°F Feb 3, 1996
3 -28°F Jan 15, 1972
🌧️ Most rain in one day
4.45 in Jul 15, 2010

More rain in a single day than Appleton usually gets in the whole month of July (typical July total about 3.8 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 4.45 in Jul 15, 2010
2 4.18 in Jun 23, 1990
3 3.90 in Jul 10, 2020
Most snow in one day
18.2 in Mar 16, 2026

Close to a whole typical March's snow in one day (Appleton averages about 7 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 18.2 in Mar 16, 2026recent
2 13.5 in Mar 14, 1997
3 12.2 in Dec 29, 2015

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

-50°-30°-10°10°30°50°70°90°110°130° all-time high 103°F JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Appleton's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — August's 103°F is about 24°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Appleton's warmest days reach the low 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 10s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 103°F and as low as −29°F. A single day has delivered over 4 inches of rain or close to 18 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.
Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Appleton (NOAA GHCN station USC00470265), about 2 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →