BENSON, MN

Overview:
Benson, Minnesota is the county seat of Swift County, located along the banks of the Chippewa River in the western half of the state. The surrounding land is largely flat and agricultural.

The climate in Benson can be described as continental and is influenced by the succession of high and low-pressure systems across the region. With the absence of mountainous terrain to form a natural barrier, warm air masses flow into the region from the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast, while cold air masses flow southward from Canada. Summers are hot and humid, and the western part of the state often experiences the highest temperatures in summer. Snowfall can be heavy during the winter, though not as heavy as in more northern areas in the state.

State/ Province ID: MN

Station ID: C00210667

Directory Name: BENSON__MN_C00210667

Elevation: 317.00m

The resources presented here were developed in cooperation with the Office of the Michigan State Climatologist using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. For more information regarding our data sources, quality control, and methodology, please see our Historical Climatologies: Quality Control reference guide.

Jump

Temperatures
Precipitation
Back to Top
Back to Station Map

Recent Climate Summary, 1991-2020


Average Temperature	44.0°F6.7°C
Average Low Temperature	33.8°F1.0°C
Average High Temperature	54.3°12.4°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F	8.9
Days/Year that fall below 32°F	160.1
Lowest Annual Average Temperature	40.5°F4.7°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature	47.4°F8.5°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation	27.8 in70.6 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total	18.2 in46.2 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total	38.1 in96.9 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation	3.5

Temperature

Click on the following links to be taken to the corresponding portion of the page.

Monthly Average Temperature
How Temperatures are Changing
- Changes in Average Temperature – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal temperature changes, and time series graphs of how the annual low, average, and high temperatures compare to the long term average plotted for every year on record.
- Cold Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year below 32°F and the number of heating degree days per year to see how cold days are changing.
- Hot Temperatures – View time series plots of the number of days per year above 90°F and the number of cooling degree days per year to see how hot days are changing.
- Growing Season Changes – View a time series of the annual number of days in the freeze-free period.

Monthly Average Temperature

Changes in Average Temperature, 1952-2025.


	°F°C
Annual average temperature	0.70.4
Winter average temperature	2.41.3
Spring average temperature	0.10.1
Summer average temperature	-0.1-0.1
Fall average temperature	0.10.1

Annual High and Low Temperature Departure

Cold Temperatures

¹Heating Degree Days (HDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to heat a building. HDDs accumulate on days colder than 65°F when heating is required. Every degree below 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual HDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Hot Temperatures

²Cooling Degree Days (CDDs) are indexed units, not actual days, that roughly describe the demand to cool a building. CDDs accumulate on days warmer than 65°F when cooling is required. Every degree above 65°F is added to the annual total for an annual CDD value, which is plotted in the figure.

Growing Season Changes

Precipitation