La Crosse climate — normals and trends
La Crosse (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 7.9 °C and it receives 862 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 (22.4 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-8.5 °C). Rainfall peaks in June.
La Crosse averages 138 frost days, 17 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 111 rainy days per year.
La Crosse has warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.23 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 147 to 129 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 38.2 °C (on 16 August 1988) and the coldest -37.0 °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
La CrosseWisconsin
- coords
- 43.80°, -91.24°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
7.9°C
Average daily high
12.6°C
Average daily low
3.5°C
Annual rainfall
862mm
Sunshine / day
8.7h
Mean relative humidity
71%
Average peak wind
17.7km/h
Seasonal range
30.9°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
138 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
17 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
111 d/yr
Annual snowfall
90.1 cm
Average feels-like high
10.4 °C
Average feels-like low
0.4 °C
Average peak gust
38.0 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
17 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.4 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.0 °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
38.2 °C
16 August 1988
Coldest day
-37.0 °C
30 January 1951
Wettest day
82 mm
22 June 2024
Windiest day
50.6 km/h
5 May 1950
Strongest gust
123.8 km/h
13 April 1964
Hottest feels-like
42.5 °C
5 July 2012
Coldest feels-like
-42.3 °C
30 January 1951
Snowiest day
28.1 cm
18 November 1957
Sunniest day
15.0 h
13 June 2019
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 | -3.4 °C | +0.9 °C | 2 mm | -29 mm |
| Feb | -2.2 °C | -0.9 °C | 20 mm | -10 mm |
| Mar | 10.8 °C | +5.6 °C | 114 mm | +50 mm |
| Apr | 14.0 °C | +0.7 °C | 125 mm | +34 mm |
| May | 20.2 °C | +0.4 °C | 90 mm | -14 mm |
| Jun | 26.1 °C | +1.1 °C | 120 mm | +11 mm |
| Jul | 27.8 °C | +0.6 °C | 146 mm | +49 mm |
| Aug | 25.2 °C | -0.8 °C | 101 mm | +10 mm |
| Sep | 23.9 °C | +2.3 °C | 75 mm | -12 mm |
| Oct | 17.1 °C | +2.2 °C | 28 mm | -37 mm |
| Nov | 7.6 °C | +1.9 °C | 53 mm | +1 mm |
| Dec | -2.2 °C | -0.5 °C | 38 mm | -1 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 La Crosse?
La Crosse has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 7.9 °C and it receives 862 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in La Crosse?
The hottest day measured in La Crosse between 1940 and 2025 was 16 August 1988, reaching 38.2 °C.
What is the coldest day in La Crosse?
The coldest day measured in La Crosse between 1940 and 2025 was 30 January 1951, at -37.0 °C.
Does it snow in La Crosse?
Yes. La Crosse gets on average 90.1 cm of snow per year and has around 138 frost days.
Has the climate of La Crosse warmed?
Yes: La Crosse warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in La Crosse?
The wettest day measured in La Crosse between 1940 and 2025 was 22 June 2024, with 82 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in La Crosse?
The windiest day measured in La Crosse between 1940 and 2025 was 5 May 1950, with winds reaching 50.6 km/h.
What is the warmest month in La Crosse?
The warmest month in La Crosse is July (22.4 °C on average); the coldest is January (-8.5 °C).
How much does it rain in La Crosse?
La Crosse receives on average 862 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 111 rainy days.
Is it sunny in La Crosse?
La Crosse 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 La Crosse?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in La Crosse between 1940 and 2025 was 18 November 1957, with 28.1 cm.
Are there tropical nights in La Crosse?
Yes: La Crosse has on average 17 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in La Crosse?
In La Crosse, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 42.5 °C on 5 July 2012, and the lowest was -42.3 °C on 30 January 1951.
Compare La Crosse with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around La Crosse