Climate and average weather in Beaver Dam

In Beaver Dam, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Beaver Dam typically varies from 12°F to 80°F, and is rarely below -8°F or above 89°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Beaver Dam for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
12°
Wettest
Jun
4.0 in
Driest
Feb
1.5 in
Rain / yr
33.3 in
112 wet days
Daylight
8.8–15.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
879 ft
43.5°N
Clearest
Sep
53% cloud

Beaver Dam is city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States.

Density
782/km²
people per km²
Founded
1852

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Beaver Dam weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Beaver Dam, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.4 months, from May 16 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 67°F. The hottest month of the year in Beaver Dam is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 62°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from December 2 to March 5, with daily high temperatures below 36°F. The coldest month of the year in Beaver Dam is January, with an average low of 12°F and high of 26°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 19°F) in May.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan2612
Feb3015
Mar4226
Apr5537
May6748
Jun7758
Jul8062
Aug7860
Sep7153
Oct5841
Nov4430
Dec3119

How hot and cold Beaver Dam really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -1°F (around January 20), with roughly 177 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 100 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan2626012
Feb3030315
Mar42421626
Apr55553037
May67674548
Jun77775858
Jul81806262
Aug78786060
Sep71715153
Oct58583541
Nov44442130
Dec3131819

Average hourly temperature in Beaver Dam

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 80°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 12°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Beaver Dam weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 12°1.67.86.49.10.0
Feb30° / 15°1.56.65.710.20.0
Mar42° / 26°2.39411.60.7
Apr55° / 37°3.7122.113.23.4
May67° / 48°3.711.40.114.55.9
Jun77° / 58°4.011.3015.26.5
Jul80° / 62°3.310.1014.96.5
Aug78° / 60°3.610.6013.86.7
Sep71° / 53°2.99.1012.36.8
Oct58° / 41°2.99.10.410.84.4
Nov44° / 30°2.182.29.50.8
Dec31° / 19°1.87.45.58.80.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Beaver Dam gets about 33.3 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.2 months, from around Mar 25 to Aug 28, peaking in April at about 41% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 8.

June is the wettest month by volume, with 4.0 in over about 11 wet days; February is the driest, with 1.5 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 17 · 41%Feb 8 · 21%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan258
Feb247
Mar309
Apr3912
May3711
Jun3711
Jul3410
Aug3311
Sep319
Oct309
Nov268
Dec247

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Beaver Dam collects about 33.3 in of rain across 112 wet days — roughly 2.8 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 4.0 in, while February is the driest at just 1.5 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.533.544.55JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.61.52.33.73.74.03.33.62.92.92.11.8
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.686
Feb1.576
Mar2.394
Apr3.7122
May3.7110
Jun4.0110
Jul3.3100
Aug3.6110
Sep2.990
Oct2.990
Nov2.182
Dec1.876

Snow in Beaver Dam

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Beaver Dam averages about 26 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 20 to May 1 — about 6.4 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 12 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 50 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 16
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan612
Feb612
Mar47
Apr26
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov23
Dec610

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Beaver Dam, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 21 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around October 16. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 55% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 17 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around May 20. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 2 · 58%Apr 4 · 32%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3367
Feb3664
Mar3862
Apr3565
May4159
Jun4753
Jul5545
Aug5545
Sep5446
Oct4357
Nov3565
Dec3268

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 15 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.17:314:38
Feb10.27:035:17
Mar11.66:165:54
Apr13.25:206:31
May14.54:377:07
Jun15.24:197:32
Jul14.94:337:29
Aug13.85:056:54
Sep12.35:415:58
Oct10.86:175:04
Nov9.56:574:24
Dec8.87:284:15

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Beaver Dam averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around May 30 to Oct 19. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is April, down near 7 sunny days — about 43% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedSep 512 daysApr 36 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan7Gloomy
Feb7Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun9Mixed
Jul10Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep12Mixed
Oct9Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec7Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Beaver Dam, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.9 months, from around May 27 to September 21. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 56% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 22 to May 26, and March is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 9 · 100%Jul 20 · 41%oppressivemuggyhumiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar991000
Apr982000
May839620
Jun432417142
Jul202426237
Aug242625214
Sep60181481
Oct934210
Nov1000000
Dec1000000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Beaver Dam is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.8 months, from around Sep 27 to May 21. The windiest month is April, averaging about 9 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 22 to Sep 26, with August the calmest month at about 7 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyApr 12 · 10 mphAug 9 · 7 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan9light breeze
Feb9light breeze
Mar9light breeze
Apr9light breeze
May9light breeze
Jun8light breeze
Jul7calm
Aug7calm
Sep8light breeze
Oct9light breeze
Nov9light breeze
Dec9light breeze

Best time to visit Beaver Dam

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Beaver Dam throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late May, Beaver Dam is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Beaver Dam for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 4 · 7.2

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.7poor
Apr3.4poor
May5.8good
Jun6.5good
Jul6.5good
Aug6.8good
Sep6.7good
Oct4.4fair
Nov0.9poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Beaver Dam for hot-weather activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 12 · 6.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Beaver Dam, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 80°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 26°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Beaver Dam sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 62°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Beaver Dam by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Beaver Dam peaks around June 18 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 18UV 8Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Beaver Dam

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar30
Apr60
May7.54
Jun8.55
Jul84.5
Aug7.54
Sep5.50
Oct10
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Beaver Dam by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Beaver Dam is worst in July — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.0× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodJul 1415 µg/m³Nov 118 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Moderate
Mar13Moderate
Apr12Good
May13Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Beaver Dam typically lasts about 222 days, from around April 2 to November 9 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 29 to October 11.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 1810%Apr 250%Apr 2990%Oct 1190%Nov 950%Jan 510%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan831
Feb1028
Mar2931
Apr7326
May970
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep990
Oct8520
Nov4130
Dec1531

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Beaver Dam banks about 2,419 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr4
May232
Jun523
Jul662
Aug599
Sep355
Oct44
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Beaver Dam receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.6 and 6.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 14 to Sep 20. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.6 kWh/m² — roughly 75% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 296.4 kWhDec 191.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.0Bright
Apr4.9Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.3Intense
Jul6.2Intense
Aug5.3Bright
Sep4.2Bright
Oct2.9Moderate
Nov1.9Dim
Dec1.6Dim

Where is Beaver Dam?

Beaver Dam sits at 43.5°N, 88.8°W, 879 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Watertown, 19 mi away.

Topography around Beaver Dam

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Beaver Dam.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Beaver Dam has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 135 ft around an average of 879 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 249 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,050 ft.

The land around Beaver Dam is covered by water (23%), grassland (21%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 2 miles, cropland (63%) within 10 miles, and cropland (44%) and trees (30%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
135 ft
10 miles
249 ft
50 miles
1,050 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Watertown 19 mi · Sun Prairie 27 mi · Oconomowoc 29 mi · Fond du Lac 30 mi · West Bend 33 mi · Madison 39 mi · Germantown 40 mi · Menomonee Falls 41 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Beaver Dam (43.4578°, -88.8373°, elevation 879 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).