Climate and average weather in Winona

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

Best: late May to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Winona typically varies from 10°F to 80°F, and is rarely below -10°F or above 88°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 Winona for warm-weather activities is from late May to early October.

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
10°
Wettest
Jun
5.1 in
Driest
Jan
1.2 in
Rain / yr
35.4 in
111 wet days
Daylight
8.7–15.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
666 ft
44.0°N
Clearest
Sep
52% cloud

Winona is city and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States.

Density
433/km²
people per km²
Founded
1805

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

Winona 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 late May to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.5 months, from May 14 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 67°F. The hottest month of the year in Winona is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 63°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 29 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 36°F. The coldest month of the year in Winona is January, with an average low of 10°F and high of 25°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan2510
Feb2913
Mar4225
Apr5637
May6749
Jun7659
Jul8063
Aug7860
Sep7152
Oct5740
Nov4228
Dec2916

How hot and cold Winona 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 -3°F (around January 16), with roughly 178 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 106 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)
Jan2525-210
Feb3029213
Mar42421625
Apr56563137
May67674749
Jun77765959
Jul80806363
Aug78786060
Sep71715152
Oct57573540
Nov42422028
Dec2929516

Average hourly temperature in Winona

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 10°F.

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

Winona 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
Jan25° / 10°1.26.76.39.10.0
Feb29° / 13°1.26.15.210.20.0
Mar42° / 25°2.394.311.60.6
Apr56° / 37°3.711.6213.23.5
May67° / 49°4.513.10.114.55.7
Jun76° / 59°5.112.4015.26.3
Jul80° / 63°4.110.60156.6
Aug78° / 60°3.79.3013.86.9
Sep71° / 52°3.39.3012.36.8
Oct57° / 40°2.98.90.510.84.2
Nov42° / 28°2.06.93.39.40.6
Dec29° / 16°1.57.368.80.0

Chance of rain

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

Winona gets about 35.4 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 4.3 months, from around Mar 23 to Jul 30, peaking in May at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 6.

June is the wettest month by volume, with 5.1 in over about 12 wet days; January is the driest, with 1.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 28 · 43%Feb 6 · 20%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan227
Feb226
Mar299
Apr3912
May4113
Jun4212
Jul3511
Aug309
Sep319
Oct289
Nov247
Dec237

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Winona collects about 35.4 in of rain across 111 wet days — roughly 3.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 5.1 in, while January is the driest at just 1.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.21.22.33.74.55.14.13.73.32.92.01.5
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.276
Feb1.265
Mar2.394
Apr3.7122
May4.5130
Jun5.1120
Jul4.1110
Aug3.790
Sep3.390
Oct2.991
Nov2.073
Dec1.576

Snow in Winona

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.

Winona averages about 28 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 14 to Apr 30 — about 6.5 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 11 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 54 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 22
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan611
Feb510
Mar410
Apr27
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct11
Nov35
Dec610

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Winona, 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 11 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around October 20. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 57% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 21 and lasts for 7.7 months, ending around June 10. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 67% 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 3 · 61%Dec 21 · 32%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3466
Feb3862
Mar4060
Apr3862
May3961
Jun4654
Jul5743
Aug5644
Sep5545
Oct4654
Nov3763
Dec3367

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 13, brings about 15 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 8 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.17:444:47
Feb10.27:165:27
Mar11.66:286:05
Apr13.25:306:43
May14.54:467:19
Jun15.24:287:45
Jul15.04:427:42
Aug13.85:157:06
Sep12.35:526:10
Oct10.86:295:14
Nov9.47:104:34
Dec8.87:414:24

Sunny days

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

Winona averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.2 months, from around Jun 20 to Oct 24. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is December, down near 7 sunny days — about 45% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedSep 413 daysDec 236 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan7Gloomy
Feb7Mixed
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun8Mixed
Jul11Mixed
Aug12Mixed
Sep12Mixed
Oct10Mixed
Nov8Mixed
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 Winona, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.8 months, from around May 28 to September 20. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 61% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 21 to May 27, 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 8 · 100%Jul 20 · 36%oppressivemuggyhumiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan10000000
Feb10000000
Mar9910000
Apr9820000
May81116200
Jun3626231420
Jul1425272491
Aug2027272050
Sep601814710
Oct9442100
Nov10000000
Dec10000000

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 Winona is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 8.0 months, from around Sep 20 to May 22. The windiest month is April, averaging about 9 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 23 to Sep 19, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyApr 10 · 9 mphAug 6 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan8light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr9light breeze
May8light breeze
Jun7calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep8light breeze
Oct8light breeze
Nov8light breeze
Dec8light breeze

Best time to visit Winona

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Winona 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 Winona 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 2 · 7.3

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
Apr3.5poor
May5.7good
Jun6.3good
Jul6.6good
Aug7.0good
Sep6.7good
Oct4.2fair
Nov0.7poor
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 Winona for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 30 · 6.7

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 Winona, 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 25°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Winona sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 63°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Winona 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 Winona peaks around June 14 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateLowJun 14UV 9Jan 12UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr5High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul7High
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Winona

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
Apr5.50
May84.5
Jun8.55
Jul7.53.5
Aug73.5
Sep60
Oct1.50
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Winona typically lasts about 218 days, from around April 2 to November 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 28 to October 8.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2110%Apr 250%Apr 2890%Oct 890%Nov 550%Dec 1810%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan631
Feb928
Mar2831
Apr7324
May980
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep990
Oct8223
Nov3530
Dec1131

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. Winona banks about 2,445 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
Apr7
May251
Jun538
Jul670
Aug597
Sep349
Oct34
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.

Winona receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.5 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 July, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 75% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 26.4 kWhDec 191.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.0Bright
Apr4.9Bright
May5.6Bright
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.4Bright
Sep4.2Bright
Oct2.8Moderate
Nov1.9Dim
Dec1.5Dim

Where is Winona?

Winona sits at 44.0°N, 91.6°W, 666 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Onalaska, 23 mi away.

Topography around Winona

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Winona has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 610 ft around an average of 722 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 833 ft.

The land around Winona is covered by trees (42%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 2 miles, trees (52%) and cropland (27%) within 10 miles, and trees (46%) and cropland (42%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
610 ft
10 miles
725 ft
50 miles
833 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Onalaska 23 mi · North La Crosse 24 mi · La Crosse 26 mi · Rochester 41 mi · Eau Claire 53 mi · Red Wing 57 mi · Menomonie 58 mi · Austin 71 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 Winona (44.05°, -91.6393°, elevation 666 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).