North La Crosse in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), North La Crosse sees average daytime highs around 29°F and overnight lows near 14°F, with 4.1 in of precipitation over about 20 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 29°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is North La Crosse's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see North La Crosse's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
29°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
14°F
Precipitation
4.1 in
20 wet days
Avg wind
8 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in North La Crosse in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 29°F.

A typical winter day in North La Crosse reaches about 29°F and drops to 14°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

20°40°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in North La Crosse

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.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
90 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

North La Crosse 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan26° / 11°1.376.59.10.0
Feb30° / 15°1.365.210.20.0
Mar43° / 26°2.38.94.211.60.8
Apr56° / 38°3.811.5213.23.6
May68° / 50°4.2130.114.55.8
Jun77° / 60°4.712.1015.26.4
Jul81° / 64°3.910.5014.96.5
Aug78° / 62°3.49.8013.86.8
Sep71° / 53°3.29.4012.36.8
Oct58° / 41°2.88.60.410.84.4
Nov43° / 29°2.07.22.89.50.7
Dec30° / 17°1.6768.80.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

North La Crosse gets around 4.1 in of rain and snow over 20 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 8 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.1 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit North La Crosse?

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.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in North La Crosse.

What to pack for North La Crosse in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, North La Crosse sees daytime highs around 29°F and nights near 14°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 20 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in North La Crosse in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in North La Crosse peaks around June 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 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 14UV 9Jan 11UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul7High
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in North La Crosse in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in North La Crosse is worst in July — around 15 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (October, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodJul 1915 µg/m³Oct 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar13Moderate
Apr11Good
May12Good
Jun13Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is North La Crosse?

North La Crosse sits at 43.8°N, 91.2°W, 646 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Onalaska, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around North La Crosse

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of North La Crosse.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around North La Crosse has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 505 ft around an average of 650 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 725 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 860 ft.

The land around North La Crosse is covered by artificial surfaces (32%) and trees (30%) within 2 miles, trees (52%) within 10 miles, and trees (53%) and cropland (34%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
505 ft
10 miles
725 ft
50 miles
860 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Onalaska 2.5 mi · La Crosse 3.1 mi · Winona 24 mi · Rochester 62 mi · Eau Claire 68 mi · Marshfield 78 mi · Menomonie 78 mi · Wisconsin Rapids 80 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 North La Crosse (43.8464°, -91.2482°, elevation 646 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.