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Rochester, Minnesota climate
Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
Rochester has a strongly seasonal cold-temperate climate (Warm-summer humid continental, Köppen Dfb). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 27°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −14°C at night. Precipitation totals about 881 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — June alone averages 136 mm while January barely receives 25 mm. Winters bring significant snowfall (135 cm of snow per year on average).
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsRochester climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | −5 | −3 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 14 | 5 | −2 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −10 | −7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 1 | −6 |
| Avg low (°C) | −14 | −12 | −5 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 3 | −4 | −10 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 25 | 26 | 51 | 89 | 110 | 136 | 106 | 105 | 91 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 31 | 27 | 22 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 11 | 31 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | −5 | −3 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 25 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −10 | −7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 20 |
| Avg low (°C) | −14 | −12 | −5 | 2 | 8 | 14 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 25 | 26 | 51 | 89 | 110 | 136 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 31 | 27 | 22 | 8 | 1 | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 27 | 26 | 22 | 14 | 5 | −2 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 21 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 1 | −6 |
| Avg low (°C) | 16 | 15 | 10 | 3 | −4 | −10 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 106 | 105 | 91 | 62 | 46 | 33 |
| Snowfall (cm) | — | — | — | 2 | 11 | 31 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.7 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 31 | 27 | 24 | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.6 | 9 | 23 | 30 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 0.3 | 1 | 4 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 31 | 27 | 24 | 11 | 1 | — |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | 0.6 | 9 | 23 | 30 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | — | — | — | 0.3 | 1 | 4 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 64 | 62 | 67 | 65 | 66 | 61 | 51 | 52 | 51 | 61 | 65 | 66 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 90 | 87 | 80 | 75 | 75 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 73 | 76 | 82 | 89 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 9.4 | 9.5 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.3 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 64 | 62 | 67 | 65 | 66 | 61 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 15 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 13 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 90 | 87 | 80 | 75 | 75 | 77 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 9.4 | 9.5 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 6.4 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 51 | 52 | 51 | 61 | 65 | 66 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 14 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 9 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 76 | 75 | 73 | 76 | 82 | 89 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 5.8 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 8.3 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Rochester Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00014925), about 13 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.