Pepin County Climate Profile

Pepin County is located in west-central Wisconsin, bordered to the west by the Mississippi River. The county is in the part of Wisconsin known as the Driftless Region, which is known for its steep, rugged topography since it was untouched by glaciers that covered most of Wisconsin during the last ice age. The land cover of Pepin County is primarily a mix of forests, agricultural lands, wetlands, and grasslands/pasture. The Chippewa River flows through the center of the county before emptying into the Mississippi River. Pepin County has a humid continental climate, characterized by precipitation year-round and summers that are warm to hot.

Records are computed using all available station data, some of which goes back to 1895 (Source: ACIS).

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

Temperatures have been increasing since 1950 in Pepin County on the annual and seasonal time scales, which is the case for most of Wisconsin. Since 1950, annual average temperatures in Pepin County have increased at a rate of 0.4°F/decade, which translates to an increase of 1°F every 25 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 14 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, Pepin County is experiencing more years that are above average than it did in the past. For example, since 2000, Pepin County has experienced only six years with below-average temperatures. Similarly, if we rank the top ten warmest years in Pepin County since 1895 (black circles on the above chart), six have occurred since 2000, with 1998 also in the top ten. The top ten coldest years (black squares) are a bit more spread out over time, with all of the top ten years occurring before 2000.

On the annual timescale, precipitation has been increasing at a rate of 0.87″ per decade since 1950, which translates to an increase of one inch approximately every 11 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 (0.28”/decade), but winter is the season with the largest percentage increase from average annual precipitation in the early 1950’s (42 percent).

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 0.34 inches per decade from 1895 to 2025. That’s an increase of one inch approximately every 29 years. Second, if we look at the top ten wettest years since 1895 (black circles), four have occurred since 2000, but overall the top ten wettest years are very spread out over this time period. However, all of the top ten driest years (black squares) occurred prior to 1990.

Pepin 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 Pepin 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 measured temperature data from NOAA stations in Pepin County. Based on this analysis, hot days have occurred most frequently between July 21 to 31. Warm nights have been most common from July 11 to 20. Over the past 20 years (2006-2025), Pepin County experienced, on average, 22 hot days per year and six warm nights per year.

Have Pepin County summers been getting hotter? Since 1950, summertime average temperatures have warmed by less than 1°F, and have not warmed as much compared to other seasons in Pepin County. Summertime low temperatures have warmed by about 1.5°F since 1950. By comparison, summer high temperatures in Pepin County have not warmed as much (less than 1°F). Interestingly, the warmest temperature of the year in Pepin County has shown a slight cooling trend since 1950. You can read more about trends in summertime temperatures in Wisconsin in this blog post. 

Pepin 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 measured temperature data from NOAA stations in Pepin 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), Pepin County experienced, on average, 11 very cold days per year and 34 very cold nights per year.

Across all four seasons, winter has warmed the most in Pepin County since 1950, a trend that holds true across most of Wisconsin. Since 1950, average winter temperatures in Pepin County have warmed by about 4.5°F. Over this same time period, low temperatures in winter have warmed a bit more than the average temperatures (5-6°F). The coldest temperature of the year in Pepin County has shown a warming trend since 1950.

Heavy precipitation days, which for this publication refers to a one-day liquid precipitation total of two inches or more, can impact Pepin 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. The vast majority of these heavy precipitation days (81 percent) have occurred from June through September. June is the month that has historically had the most heavy precipitation days in Pepin County. In general, summer is the wettest season in Pepin County, with winter being the driest season. Over the past 20 years (2006-2025), Pepin County experienced, on average, 14 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 Pepin 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 (10-15 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 (25-35 days per year). Days that top 100°F have been relatively rare in Pepin County up to 2025, but WICCI projections indicate that temperatures will hit 100°F a few days per year by mid-century.

Annual precipitation changes by mid-century are more of a mixed bag, according to WICCI projections. Winter and spring are projected to be the seasons of greatest precipitation increase in Pepin County (about 10 percent), with summers projected to be 5 percent 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 Pepin 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 resources from the Division of Extension and the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts. 

Daily data from meteorological stations were used in order to summarize the frequency of extreme heat, cold, and precipitation events in Pepin County. Due to large gaps in the data at the NWS COOP stations in Pepin and Durand, data from a nearby COOP station in Mondovi (Buffalo County) were included in the analyses.

The data source used for the analyses of annual and seasonal trends in temperature and precipitation was NCEI Climate at a Glance, which summarizes data at the county level using the nClimGrid dataset. The nClimGrid dataset is a gridded meteorological dataset, which estimates temperature and precipitation “on a grid” by statistically interpolating between meteorological stations in the county and adjacent to the county. Thus, nClimGrid is using measured data to estimate conditions at locations within the county not directly by a meteorological station, which helps paint a more complete picture of county-level averages and trends.