INTERNATIONAL FALLS, MN

Overview:
International Falls, Minnesota is located on the border of the U.S. and Canada, sitting directly across from Fort Frances, Ontario on the banks of the Rainy River. The surrounding terrain is mostly level, and the region is surrounded by forests and swampland to the south, east, and west. Rainy Lake lies to the north, as well as many other smaller lakes to the north and northwest.

International Falls reports single-digit average temperatures during the winter months, as well as the coldest average annual temperature of any National Weather Service first-order station in the contiguous United States at 37.4 °F. Average snowfall exceeds 70 inches per year, and snow depths of 5 inches or more are observed a majority of days from December through March. Polar air masses bring cold air from the north, but they are tempered by the warmer land and lake areas during the summer and fall.

State/ Province ID: MN

Station ID: W00014918

Directory Name: INTL_FALLS_INTL_AP__MN_W00014918

Elevation: 360.60m

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 Temperature37.9°F3.3°C
Average Low Temperature26.8°F-2.9°C
Average High Temperature49.1°9.5°C
Days/Year that exceed 90°F1.4 
Days/Year that fall below 32°F192.8 
Lowest Annual Average Temperature34.6°F1.4°C
Highest Annual Average Temperature41.2°F5.1°C
Average Annual Total Precipitation25.4 in64.4 cm
Lowest Annual Precipitation Total18.0 in45.7 cm
Highest Annual Precipitation Total32.8 in83.4 cm
Days/Year that exceed 1.25" of Precipitation2.1 

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 temperature2.81.5
Winter average temperature5.73.2
Spring average temperature2.21.2
Summer average temperature0.10.1
Fall average temperature2.51.4

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 precipitation2.46.19.80
Winter total precipitation0.20.57.00
Spring total precipitation1.53.929.80
Summer total precipitation0.00.10.50
Fall total precipitation0.71.710.40

Heavy Precipitation