Minneapolis weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · major city break · hot-summer continental climate
The best time to visit Minneapolis is September — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 76/100), with July and May close behind. Minneapolis averages about 2,337 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 23°C / 73°F and roughly 89 mm of rain in September.
Jump to: month-by-month table · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 2,337
- Sunniest month
- September
- Peak score
- 76/100
- Rain / year
- 840 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈1.7 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 7 (high)
- Population
- 2.6M
- Elevation
- 251 m
When is the best time to visit Minneapolis?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Minneapolis is September, then July and May. The dullest month is January (0/100, 18 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Minneapolis?
Minneapolis gets a moderate 2,337 hours of sunshine a year. 76 Sunshine Score points separate September (76) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #266 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,279 hours. The year's 840 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | -6° / 21°F | -15° / 5°F | 18 mm | 1 |
| February | 0 | -3° / 27°F | -14° / 7°F | 27 mm | 2 |
| March | 0 | 5° / 41°F | -6° / 21°F | 44 mm | 3 |
| April | 32 | 13° / 55°F | 1° / 34°F | 82 mm | 4 |
| May | 73 | 20° / 68°F | 8° / 46°F | 109 mm | 6 |
| June | 69 | 26° / 79°F | 14° / 57°F | 130 mm | 7 |
| July | 75 | 29° / 84°F | 17° / 63°F | 94 mm | 7 |
| August | 73 | 27° / 81°F | 15° / 59°F | 107 mm | 6 |
| September | 76 | 23° / 73°F | 11° / 52°F | 89 mm | 5 |
| October | 40 | 14° / 57°F | 3° / 37°F | 70 mm | 3 |
| November | 0 | 5° / 41°F | -4° / 25°F | 33 mm | 1 |
| December | 0 | -3° / 27°F | -11° / 12°F | 37 mm | 1 |
See Minneapolis on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Rochester (Minnesota) United States · 122 km · best in Jul · 2,340 h sun/yr
- Duluth United States · 232 km · best in Sep · 2,261 h sun/yr
- Sioux Falls United States · 315 km · best in Jul · 2,583 h sun/yr
- Cedar Rapids United States · 355 km · best in Sep · 2,315 h sun/yr
- Fargo United States · 359 km · best in Aug · 2,543 h sun/yr
- Madison United States · 366 km · best in Sep · 2,236 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Saint Cloud United States · 99 km · 2,423 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Eau Claire United States · 137 km · 2,320 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Brainerd United States · 183 km · 2,324 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- Mason City United States · 191 km · 2,397 h sun/yr · best in Sep
- La Crosse United States · 192 km · 2,283 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Minneapolis compares month by month: Minneapolis vs Sioux Falls · Minneapolis vs Rochester (Minnesota) · Minneapolis vs Duluth · all comparisons
Put the Minneapolis sunshine badge on your site
A compact badge showing Minneapolis's sunshine at a glance — free to embed under CC BY 4.0. Paste this wherever you'd like it to appear:
Live preview — this is exactly what your readers see: