Menominee County Climate Profile

Menominee County is located in the northeastern part of Wisconsin. The county’s land cover is a blend of forests, wetlands, and freshwater lakes. Some of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin call the county home, after the reservation was established in 1854. The present-day reservation covers most of Menominee County. Menominee County became Wisconsin’s 72nd county in 1959, and in 1973 the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin regained its federal recognition. Menominee County has a humid continental climate, characterized by precipitation year-round and summers that are warm to hot.

Records are computed using all years of data from 1951-2025 based on the daily county-level averages for high temperature, low temperature, and precipitation. Locally higher values are possible (Source: NCEI nClimGrid).

Averages for freeze dates are computed for the most recent 30 years (1995-2024; Source: ACIS).

Temperatures have been increasing since 1950 in Menominee County on the annual and seasonal time scales, which is the case for most of Wisconsin. Since 1950, annual average temperatures in Menominee County have increased at a rate of 0.5°F/decade, which translates to an increase of 1°F every 20 years. This increase in temperature has been most pronounced in the winter months and less pronounced in the summer months. When average temperatures are split into daily high and low temperatures, low temperatures have been warming at a faster rate compared to high temperatures. In particular, winter minimum temperatures have been increasing by 1°F every 11 years since 1950.

With temperatures warming, this does not mean that every year will be warmer than the last, or that more recent years will all have above-average (1895-2025) temperatures. However, Menominee County is experiencing more years that are above average than it did in the past. For example, since 2000, Menominee County has experienced only five years with below-average temperatures. Similarly, if we rank the top ten warmest years in Menominee County since 1895 (black circles on the above chart), seven have occurred since 2000. The top ten coldest years (black squares) are more concentrated in the earlier years of this time period, with all of the top ten years occurring before 1975.

On the annual timescale, precipitation has been increasing at a rate of 0.4″ per decade since 1950, which translates to an increase of one inch approximately every 25 years. At the seasonal level, precipitation has been increasing across all seasons. Spring is the season of largest increase in precipitation in terms of inches per decade (0.14”/decade), with winter and spring tied for the season with the largest percentage increase from average annual precipitation in the early 1950’s (12%).

Annual precipitation shows a lot of year-to-year variability, which is normal within a long-term trend. However, there are two notable trends that come from this dataset. First, precipitation is increasing at a rate of 0.26 inches per decade from 1895 to 2025. That’s an increase of one inch approximately every 38 years. Second, if we look at the top ten wettest years since 1895 (black circles), they are very spread out over this time period. However, all of the top ten driest years (black squares) occurred prior to 1990, and 12 of the past 13 years have had precipitation at or above the long-term average.

Menominee County is no stranger to sweltering summer heat, where daytime temperatures can top 90°F or even 100°F. But when are these hot days most likely to occur in Menominee County? The State Climatology Office analyzed the likelihood of a “hot day” (daily high temperature ≥ 90°F) or “warm night” (daily low temperature ≥ 70°F) occurring between two calendar dates using historical climate data for Menominee County. Based on this analysis, hot days have occurred most frequently between July 11 to 20. Warm nights are most common between July 1-10 and August 1-10. Over the past 20 years (2006-2025), Menominee County experienced, on average, four hot days per year and less than one warm night per year.

Have Menominee County summers been getting hotter? Since 1950, summertime average temperatures have warmed by about 2°F, but have not warmed as much compared to other seasons in Menominee County. Summertime low temperatures have warmed by about 4°F since 1950. By comparison, summer high temperatures in Menominee County have not warmed as much (<1°F). You can read more about trends in summertime temperatures in Wisconsin in this blog post.

Menominee County can get quite chilly once winter rolls around! Some of our coldest days of the year in Wisconsin are when the overnight low temperatures dip below 0°F. The State Climatology Office performed an analysis on the likelihood of a “very cold day” (daily high temperature ≤ 10°F) or “very cold night” (daily low temperature ≤ 0°F) occurring between two calendar dates using historical climate data for Menominee County. Based on this analysis, very cold days and nights have occurred most frequently between January 21 to 31. Over the past 20 years (2006-2025), Menominee County experienced, on average, eight very cold days per year and 29 very cold nights per year.

Across all four seasons, winter has warmed the most in Menominee County since 1950, a trend that holds true across most of Wisconsin. Since 1950, average winter temperatures in Menominee County have warmed by approximately 6°F. Over this same time period, low temperatures in winter have warmed a bit more than the average temperatures (7°F).

Heavy precipitation days, which for this publication refers to a one-day liquid precipitation total of two inches or more, can impact Menominee County at all times of the year. Extreme precipitation in the winter is measured by the amount of liquid that would be present if you melted down all of the snow that fell that day. Although heavy precipitation events are uncommon in winter, they cannot be ruled out as we observed during the blizzard of March 15-17, 2026. The vast majority of these heavy precipitation days (73 percent) have occurred from June through September. June is the month that has historically had the most heavy precipitation days in Menominee County. In general, summer is the wettest season in Menominee County, with winter being the driest season. Over the past 20 years (2006-2025), the county experienced, on average, six heavy precipitation days per decade.

Future climate projections from the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) indicate that by mid-century (2041-2060) under a moderate greenhouse gas emissions scenario, average annual temperatures in Menominee County will continue to increase by approximately 4°F compared to recent averages. Winter is projected to continue to be the season of the largest temperature increase (about 5°F). The number of nights where temperatures drop below 0°F is expected to decrease as winters warm (about 15 per year), and the number of nights in summer with temperatures staying above 70°F is expected to increase. The frequency of days that top 90°F are projected to increase with a warming climate (25 to 30 days per year). Days that top 100°F have been relatively rare in Menominee County up to 2025, but WICCI projections indicate that temperatures will hit 100°F a few days per year by mid-century.

Annual precipitation is expected to increase by around five percent by mid-century, according to WICCI projections. Winter and spring are projected to be the seasons of greatest precipitation increase in Menominee County (about 10%), with summers projected to be 5% drier by mid-century. Despite projections for drier summers, the frequency of heavy precipitation days (two inches or more) is projected to increase by mid-century. 

To explore more climate projections from WICCI and learn more about future climate modeling, please visit this website.

The data in this publication are a snapshot of the historical climate data for Menominee County. If you have questions about this publication or would like more data on a topic, please contact the Wisconsin State Climatology Office. 

For more information about how climate affects your farm, community, health, and livelihood, please check out these resources from the Division of Extension and the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts.