Forest Lake in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Forest Lake sees average daytime highs around 25°F and overnight lows near 11°F, with 3.3 in of precipitation over about 17 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Forest Lake's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Forest Lake's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 25°F
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 11°F
- Precipitation
- 3.3 in
- 17 wet days
- Avg wind
- 8 mph
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Forest Lake in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 25°F.
A typical winter day in Forest Lake reaches about 25°F and drops to 11°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Forest Lake
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Forest Lake weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°F) | Rainfall (inches) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22° / 8° | 0.9 | 5.8 | 6 | 8.9 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 27° / 11° | 1.0 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 10.1 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 40° / 23° | 2.0 | 7.4 | 4.1 | 11.6 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 55° / 36° | 3.3 | 10.5 | 2.5 | 13.2 | 3.4 |
| May | 67° / 49° | 4.2 | 11.5 | 0.2 | 14.6 | 5.9 |
| Jun | 77° / 59° | 4.4 | 11.8 | 0 | 15.4 | 6.4 |
| Jul | 81° / 63° | 3.6 | 10.5 | 0 | 15.1 | 6.5 |
| Aug | 79° / 61° | 3.8 | 10 | 0 | 13.9 | 6.8 |
| Sep | 71° / 53° | 3.4 | 9.1 | 0 | 12.3 | 6.7 |
| Oct | 56° / 40° | 2.7 | 8.9 | 0.8 | 10.7 | 3.9 |
| Nov | 40° / 27° | 1.9 | 7.1 | 3.6 | 9.3 | 0.4 |
| Dec | 27° / 14° | 1.4 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 8.6 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Forest Lake gets around 3.3 in of rain and snow over 17 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 8 mph across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 48 min in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Forest Lake?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Forest Lake.
What to pack for Forest Lake in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Forest Lake sees daytime highs around 25°F and nights near 11°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 17 days see rain.
UV index in Forest Lake in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Forest Lake peaks around June 18 at about 8 (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 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | 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 | Moderate |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 7 | Very high |
| Sep | 5 | High |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Forest Lake?
Forest Lake sits at 45.3°N, 93.0°W, 912 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Lino Lakes, 9.3 mi away.
Topography around Forest Lake
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Forest Lake.
Within 2 miles, the terrain around Forest Lake has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 108 ft around an average of 909 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 243 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 860 ft.
The land around Forest Lake is covered by trees (35%), grassland (22%) and water (21%) within 2 miles, trees (42%) and grassland (35%) within 10 miles, and trees (45%), cropland (27%) and grassland (20%) 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 Forest Lake (45.2789°, -92.9852°, elevation 912 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.