ALBERT LEA, MN

Overview:
Albert Lea, Minnesota is the county seat of Freeborn County, located on the southern edge of the state. The city lies on the shores of six different lakes, with Myre-Big Island State Park found nearby to the east. Shell Rock River flows southward from Albert Lea Lake and forms part of the Mississippi River watershed.

The climate in Albert Lea and much of southern Minnesota is characterized by hot and humid summers and cold and snowy winters, with significant swings in temperature from season to season. Warm air masses flowing northward from the southwestern U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico, along with cold arctic air masses traveling southward from Canada play a significant role in the seasonality of the region’s climate. The city’s location in the southern region of the state means that temperatures are generally warmer than in more northerly areas. Tornadoes are relatively common in the region, which is located along the northern edge of Tornado Alley.

State/ Province ID: MN

Station ID: C00210075

Directory Name: ALBERT_LEA_3_SE_HCN_MN_C00210075

Elevation: 374.90m

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.

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Recent Climate Summary, 1991-2020

Average Temperature45.3°F7.4°C
Average Low Temperature35.9°F2.2°C
Average High Temperature54.8°12.6°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F5.6 
Days/Year that fall below 32°F150.9 
Lowest Annual Average Temperature42.0°F5.6°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature49.5°F9.7°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation36.0 in91.4 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total24.0 in61.0 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total50.7 in128.7 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation5.1 

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, 1951-2025.

 °F°C
Annual average temperature1.00.6
Winter average temperature1.30.7
Spring average temperature1.60.9
Summer average temperature0.30.2
Fall average temperature1.00.6

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

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

  • Monthly Average Precipitation – View a graph of the monthly low, average, and high precipitation climatology (average) of the past 30 years
  • How Precipitation is Changing
    • Changes in Total Precipitation – Includes a summary table of the average annual and seasonal precipitation changes.
    • Heavy Precipitation – View a bar chart of how annual number of days receiving more than 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2 inches of precipitation are changing over the period of record.

Monthly Average Precipitation

Changes in Average Precipitation, 1951-2025.

 in.cm.%
Annual total precipitation7.218.223.40
Winter total precipitation0.82.132.00
Spring total precipitation2.66.530.30
Summer total precipitation2.76.921.10
Fall total precipitation1.23.118.60

Heavy Precipitation