Climate and average weather in Eau Claire
In Eau Claire, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Eau Claire typically varies from 8°F to 80°F, and is rarely below -12°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 Eau Claire for warm-weather activities is from mid May to early October.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 80°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 8°
- Wettest
- Jun
- 4.5 in
- Driest
- Feb
- 1.1 in
- Rain / yr
- 33.8 in
- 111 wet days
- Daylight
- 8.6–15.4 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 787 ft
- 44.8°N
- Clearest
- Jul
- 53% cloud
Eau Claire is city in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties in Wisconsin, United States, that is the county seat of Eau Claire County.
- Density
- 766/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1856
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Eau Claire 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
Daily average highs and lows in Eau Claire, 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 14 to September 25, with daily high temperatures above 66°F. The hottest month of the year in Eau Claire is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 62°F.
The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 29 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 35°F. The coldest month of the year in Eau Claire is January, with an average low of 8°F and high of 24°F.
Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 19°F) in May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 24 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 41 | 29 |
| Avg low (°F) | 8 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 58 | 62 | 60 | 52 | 39 | 27 | 15 |
| Avg high (°F) | Avg low (°F) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 8 |
| Feb | 29 | 12 |
| Mar | 41 | 24 |
| Apr | 55 | 36 |
| May | 67 | 48 |
| Jun | 77 | 58 |
| Jul | 80 | 62 |
| Aug | 78 | 60 |
| Sep | 71 | 52 |
| Oct | 57 | 39 |
| Nov | 41 | 27 |
| Dec | 29 | 15 |
How hot and cold Eau Claire really feels
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 -5°F (around January 18), with roughly 182 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) — 110 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°F) | 24 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 41 | 29 |
| Air high (°F) | 24 | 29 | 41 | 55 | 67 | 77 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 57 | 41 | 29 |
| Feels-like low (°F) | -4 | 0 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 58 | 62 | 60 | 50 | 34 | 19 | 4 |
| Air low (°F) | 8 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 58 | 62 | 60 | 52 | 39 | 27 | 15 |
| Feels-like high (°F) | Air high (°F) | Feels-like low (°F) | Air low (°F) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 24 | -4 | 8 |
| Feb | 29 | 29 | 0 | 12 |
| Mar | 41 | 41 | 15 | 24 |
| Apr | 55 | 55 | 30 | 36 |
| May | 67 | 67 | 45 | 48 |
| Jun | 77 | 77 | 58 | 58 |
| Jul | 81 | 80 | 62 | 62 |
| Aug | 78 | 78 | 60 | 60 |
| Sep | 71 | 71 | 50 | 52 |
| Oct | 57 | 57 | 34 | 39 |
| Nov | 41 | 41 | 19 | 27 |
| Dec | 29 | 29 | 4 | 15 |
Average hourly temperature in Eau Claire
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 8°F.
Eau Claire weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°F) | Rainfall (inches) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24° / 8° | 1.2 | 6.8 | 6.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 29° / 12° | 1.1 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 10.1 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 41° / 24° | 2.1 | 8.5 | 4.5 | 11.6 | 0.6 |
| Apr | 55° / 36° | 3.5 | 11.5 | 2.6 | 13.2 | 3.4 |
| May | 67° / 48° | 4.3 | 12.8 | 0.1 | 14.6 | 5.7 |
| Jun | 77° / 58° | 4.5 | 12.1 | 0 | 15.3 | 6.4 |
| Jul | 80° / 62° | 3.3 | 10.6 | 0 | 15 | 6.5 |
| Aug | 78° / 60° | 4.0 | 10 | 0 | 13.9 | 6.8 |
| Sep | 71° / 52° | 3.3 | 9.7 | 0 | 12.3 | 6.7 |
| Oct | 57° / 39° | 2.9 | 9 | 0.5 | 10.7 | 4.0 |
| Nov | 41° / 27° | 2.1 | 6.9 | 3.6 | 9.4 | 0.5 |
| Dec | 29° / 15° | 1.5 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 8.7 | 0.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Eau Claire gets about 33.8 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 6.5 months, from around Mar 26 to Oct 9, peaking in June at about 42% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 7.
June is the wettest month by volume, with 4.5 in over about 12 wet days; February is the driest, with 1.1 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 22 | 21 | 27 | 38 | 41 | 41 | 35 | 32 | 32 | 29 | 23 | 22 |
| Rain days | 7 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 7 |
| Feb | 21 | 6 |
| Mar | 27 | 9 |
| Apr | 38 | 12 |
| May | 41 | 13 |
| Jun | 41 | 12 |
| Jul | 35 | 11 |
| Aug | 32 | 10 |
| Sep | 32 | 10 |
| Oct | 29 | 9 |
| Nov | 23 | 7 |
| Dec | 22 | 7 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Eau Claire collects about 33.8 in of rain across 111 wet days — roughly 2.8 in in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 4.5 in, while February is the driest at just 1.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Rain days | 7 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 |
| Snow days | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Rainfall (in) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.2 | 7 | 7 |
| Feb | 1.1 | 6 | 5 |
| Mar | 2.1 | 9 | 5 |
| Apr | 3.5 | 12 | 3 |
| May | 4.3 | 13 | 0 |
| Jun | 4.5 | 12 | 0 |
| Jul | 3.3 | 11 | 0 |
| Aug | 4.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Sep | 3.3 | 10 | 0 |
| Oct | 2.9 | 9 | 1 |
| Nov | 2.1 | 7 | 4 |
| Dec | 1.5 | 7 | 6 |
Snow in Eau Claire
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.
Eau Claire averages about 30 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 14 to May 4 — about 6.7 months.
January is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 12 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 55 in of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Snowfall (in) | 12 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (in) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 12 |
| Feb | 5 | 11 |
| Mar | 5 | 10 |
| Apr | 3 | 6 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 |
| Oct | 1 | 1 |
| Nov | 4 | 6 |
| Dec | 6 | 10 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Eau Claire, 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 June 17 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around October 18. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around October 19 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around June 16. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 69% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 33 | 36 | 39 | 37 | 38 | 43 | 56 | 54 | 53 | 43 | 34 | 31 |
| Cloudier (%) | 67 | 64 | 61 | 63 | 62 | 57 | 44 | 46 | 47 | 57 | 66 | 69 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 67 |
| Feb | 36 | 64 |
| Mar | 39 | 61 |
| Apr | 37 | 63 |
| May | 38 | 62 |
| Jun | 43 | 57 |
| Jul | 56 | 44 |
| Aug | 54 | 46 |
| Sep | 53 | 47 |
| Oct | 43 | 57 |
| Nov | 34 | 66 |
| Dec | 31 | 69 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
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 14, brings about 15 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 8 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 48 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.0 | 10.1 | 11.6 | 13.2 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.3 | 10.7 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:46 | 7:17 | 6:27 | 5:29 | 4:44 | 4:25 | 4:39 | 5:13 | 5:51 | 6:29 | 7:12 | 7:44 |
| Sunset (PM) | 4:44 | 5:25 | 6:04 | 6:44 | 7:21 | 7:48 | 7:44 | 7:07 | 6:10 | 5:13 | 4:31 | 4:21 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.0 | 7:46 | 4:44 |
| Feb | 10.1 | 7:17 | 5:25 |
| Mar | 11.6 | 6:27 | 6:04 |
| Apr | 13.2 | 5:29 | 6:44 |
| May | 14.6 | 4:44 | 7:21 |
| Jun | 15.3 | 4:25 | 7:48 |
| Jul | 15.0 | 4:39 | 7:44 |
| Aug | 13.9 | 5:13 | 7:07 |
| Sep | 12.3 | 5:51 | 6:10 |
| Oct | 10.7 | 6:29 | 5:13 |
| Nov | 9.4 | 7:12 | 4:31 |
| Dec | 8.7 | 7:44 | 4:21 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Eau Claire 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 4.2 months, from around Jun 17 to Oct 21. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).
The greyest month is December, down near 6 sunny days — about 44% fewer than the September peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 7 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 8 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 7 | Gloomy |
| May | 7 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 8 | Mixed |
| Jul | 10 | Mixed |
| Aug | 11 | Mixed |
| Sep | 11 | Mixed |
| Oct | 9 | Mixed |
| Nov | 7 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 6 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
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 Eau Claire, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.
The more humid part of the year lasts 3.7 months, from around May 29 to September 19. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 53% of the time.
The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 20 to May 28, and March is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 99 | 98 | 85 | 43 | 20 | 27 | 63 | 94 | 100 | 100 |
| Comfortable (%) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 26 | 28 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Humid (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 28 | 26 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Muggy (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oppressive (%) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dry (%) | Comfortable (%) | Humid (%) | Muggy (%) | Oppressive (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 99 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr | 98 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 85 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| Jun | 43 | 25 | 21 | 11 | 1 |
| Jul | 20 | 26 | 28 | 20 | 5 |
| Aug | 27 | 28 | 26 | 16 | 3 |
| Sep | 63 | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Oct | 94 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 Eau Claire is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies little with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 3.6 months, from around Feb 5 to May 24. The windiest month is April, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).
The calmer part of the year runs from around May 25 to Sep 16, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (mph) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Feels | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | calm | calm | calm | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze | light breeze |
| Wind speed (mph) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | light breeze |
| Feb | 8 | light breeze |
| Mar | 8 | light breeze |
| Apr | 8 | light breeze |
| May | 8 | light breeze |
| Jun | 7 | calm |
| Jul | 7 | calm |
| Aug | 6 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | light breeze |
| Oct | 8 | light breeze |
| Nov | 8 | light breeze |
| Dec | 8 | light breeze |
Best time to visit Eau Claire
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Eau Claire throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late May, Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.
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).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 3.4 | 5.7 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | good | good | good | good | good | fair | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | poor |
| Feb | 0.0 | poor |
| Mar | 0.6 | poor |
| Apr | 3.4 | poor |
| May | 5.7 | good |
| Jun | 6.4 | good |
| Jul | 6.5 | good |
| Aug | 6.8 | good |
| Sep | 6.6 | good |
| Oct | 4.0 | fair |
| Nov | 0.6 | poor |
| Dec | 0.0 | poor |
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 Eau Claire for hot-weather activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.
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 Eau Claire, by month
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 24°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.
In July, Eau Claire sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 62°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Eau Claire by month
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 Eau Claire peaks around June 16 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 12 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 2 | Low |
| Mar | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 5 | High |
| May | 7 | Very high |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 7 | Very high |
| Aug | 7 | Very high |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Average hourly UV index in Eau Claire
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 8 | 7 | 5.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 0 | 0 |
| Mar | 3 | 0 |
| Apr | 5.5 | 0 |
| May | 7.5 | 4 |
| Jun | 8.5 | 5 |
| Jul | 8 | 4 |
| Aug | 7 | 3.5 |
| Sep | 5.5 | 0 |
| Oct | 1 | 0 |
| Nov | 0 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Growing season
The growing season in Eau Claire typically lasts about 213 days, from around April 5 to November 3 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 1 to October 5.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 6 | 7 | 25 | 69 | 97 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 98 | 79 | 32 | 10 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 30 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | 31 |
| Feb | 7 | 28 |
| Mar | 25 | 31 |
| Apr | 69 | 29 |
| May | 97 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 98 | 0 |
| Oct | 79 | 26 |
| Nov | 32 | 30 |
| Dec | 10 | 31 |
Growing degree days
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. Eau Claire banks about 2,369 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°F·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 239 | 523 | 659 | 584 | 332 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°F·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 5 |
| May | 239 |
| Jun | 523 |
| Jul | 659 |
| Aug | 584 |
| Sep | 332 |
| Oct | 26 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
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.
Eau Claire receives about 3.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.4 and 6.3 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 14 to Sep 19. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 1.4 kWh/m² — roughly 76% less than the July peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 1.8 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 |
| Level | Dim | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Bright | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Dim | Dim |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.8 | Dim |
| Feb | 2.8 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4.0 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4.9 | Bright |
| May | 5.6 | Bright |
| Jun | 6.1 | Intense |
| Jul | 6.2 | Intense |
| Aug | 5.3 | Bright |
| Sep | 4.1 | Bright |
| Oct | 2.7 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1.8 | Dim |
| Dec | 1.4 | Dim |
Where is Eau Claire?
Eau Claire sits at 44.8°N, 91.5°W, 787 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Menomonie, 21 mi away.
Topography around Eau Claire
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Eau Claire.
Within 2 miles, the terrain around Eau Claire has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 305 ft around an average of 850 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 472 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,099 ft.
The land around Eau Claire is covered by trees (43%) and artificial surfaces (37%) within 2 miles, trees (45%) and cropland (30%) within 10 miles, and trees (53%) and cropland (34%) within 50 miles.
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
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 Eau Claire (44.8113°, -91.4985°, elevation 787 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).