Forest Lake climate — normals and trends
Forest Lake (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 6.9 °C and it receives 838 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (22.3 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-10.6 °C). Rainfall peaks in June.
Forest Lake averages 149 frost days, 18 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 106 rainy days per year.
Forest Lake has warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.24 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 158 to 140 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 38.5 °C (on 15 July 1988) and the coldest -36.6 °C (on 30 January 1951).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
Forest LakeMinnesota
- coords
- 45.28°, -92.99°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
6.9°C
Average daily high
11.7°C
Average daily low
2.3°C
Annual rainfall
838mm
Sunshine / day
8.7h
Mean relative humidity
71%
Average peak wind
18.1km/h
Seasonal range
32.9°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
149 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
18 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
106 d/yr
Annual snowfall
94.5 cm
Average feels-like high
9.2 °C
Average feels-like low
-1.0 °C
Average peak gust
37.4 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
14 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.1 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.1 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.33 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
38.5 °C
15 July 1988
Coldest day
-36.6 °C
30 January 1951
Wettest day
132 mm
1 August 2024
Windiest day
60.0 km/h
10 October 1949
Strongest gust
117.0 km/h
10 October 1949
Hottest feels-like
43.1 °C
1 July 2011
Coldest feels-like
-42.2 °C
30 January 1951
Snowiest day
28.4 cm
1 November 1991
Sunniest day
15.1 h
19 June 2025
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -5.5 °C | +0.7 °C | 10 mm | -16 mm |
| Feb | -4.7 °C | -1.4 °C | 22 mm | -4 mm |
| Mar | 8.9 °C | +5.4 °C | 65 mm | +10 mm |
| Apr | 13.2 °C | +0.8 °C | 112 mm | +29 mm |
| May | 20.9 °C | +1.2 °C | 80 mm | -23 mm |
| Jun | 24.8 °C | 0.0 °C | 224 mm | +108 mm |
| Jul | 28.0 °C | +0.6 °C | 89 mm | -5 mm |
| Aug | 25.7 °C | -0.3 °C | 94 mm | -9 mm |
| Sep | 23.5 °C | +2.4 °C | 67 mm | -22 mm |
| Oct | 16.2 °C | +2.2 °C | 30 mm | -33 mm |
| Nov | 6.9 °C | +2.8 °C | 39 mm | -12 mm |
| Dec | -4.1 °C | -0.6 °C | 44 mm | +12 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Forest Lake?
Forest Lake has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 6.9 °C and it receives 838 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Forest Lake?
The hottest day measured in Forest Lake between 1940 and 2025 was 15 July 1988, reaching 38.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Forest Lake?
The coldest day measured in Forest Lake between 1940 and 2025 was 30 January 1951, at -36.6 °C.
Does it snow in Forest Lake?
Yes. Forest Lake gets on average 94.5 cm of snow per year and has around 149 frost days.
Has the climate of Forest Lake warmed?
Yes: Forest Lake warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Forest Lake?
The wettest day measured in Forest Lake between 1940 and 2025 was 1 August 2024, with 132 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Forest Lake?
The windiest day measured in Forest Lake between 1940 and 2025 was 10 October 1949, with winds reaching 60.0 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Forest Lake?
The warmest month in Forest Lake is July (22.3 °C on average); the coldest is January (-10.6 °C).
How much does it rain in Forest Lake?
Forest Lake receives on average 838 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 106 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Forest Lake?
Forest Lake gets on average 8.7 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,175 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Forest Lake?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Forest Lake between 1940 and 2025 was 1 November 1991, with 28.4 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Forest Lake?
Yes: Forest Lake has on average 14 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Forest Lake?
In Forest Lake, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 43.1 °C on 1 July 2011, and the lowest was -42.2 °C on 30 January 1951.
Compare Forest Lake with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Forest Lake