Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field United States

At Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field, the summers are long, comfortable, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, windy, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 1°F to 79°F and is rarely below -21°F or above 87°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field for warm-weather activities is from early July to late August.

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 16 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 67°F. The hottest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is July, with an average high of 78°F and low of 57°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 25 to February 29, with an average daily high temperature below 31°F. The coldest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is January, with an average low of 2°F and high of 19°F.

At Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field begins around May 25 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around October 11.

The clearest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 69% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 7.4 months, ending around May 25.

The cloudiest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from April 26 to October 4, with a greater than 24% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is June, with an average of 11.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.7 months, from October 4 to April 26. The month with the fewest wet days at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is February, with an average of 2.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.3 months, from March 13 to November 21. The month with the most days of rain alone at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is June, with an average of 11.9 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.7 months, from November 21 to March 13. The month with the most days of snow alone at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is January, with an average of 2.1 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.3 months, from March 14 to November 23, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is June, with an average rainfall of 3.9 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from November 23 to March 14. The month with the least rain at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.2 months, from October 24 to April 29, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is December, with an average snowfall of 3.8 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from April 29 to October 24. The least snow falls around July 15, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 29 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 15 hours, 56 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:17 AM on June 15, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 43 minutes later at 8:00 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 4:23 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 50 minutes later at 9:14 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from June 16 to September 9, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 3% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is July, with 3.1 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 19, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.4 months, from September 10 to May 22, with average wind speeds of more than 10.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.6 months, from May 22 to September 10. The calmest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 3.0 months, from February 11 to May 10, with a peak percentage of 33% on April 11. The wind is most often from the south for 1.4 months, from May 10 to June 23 and for 1.4 months, from August 6 to September 19, with a peak percentage of 37% on September 1. The wind is most often from the west for 1.5 months, from June 23 to August 6 and for 4.7 months, from September 19 to February 11, with a peak percentage of 34% on July 30.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field for hot-weather activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field typically lasts for 4.4 months (134 days), from around May 14 to around September 25, rarely starting before April 25 or after June 1, and rarely ending before September 9 or after October 12.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field should appear around May 4, only rarely appearing before April 23 or after May 21.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from May 4 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is July, with an average of 6.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from October 26 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is December, with an average of 1.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field are 47.214 deg latitude, -93.515 deg longitude, and 1,299 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 184 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,316 feet. Within 10 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (472 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (679 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field is covered by trees (46%), artificial surfaces (38%), and cropland (14%), within 10 miles by trees (75%) and water (12%), and within 50 miles by trees (74%) and herbaceous vegetation (13%).