Wisconsin

Salem, Wisconsin Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Paddock Lake, 3.3 km from Salem

The warmest month is July, with an average high of 83°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of 13°F. A normal year brings 37.5 in of precipitation and 43.4 in of snow.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Kenosha (ENW), since 1997. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Salem through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.-50050100150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 24

Normal high
71°F
Normal low
48°F
Record high
92°Fin 2017
Record low
32°Fin 2012
Chance of a wet day
31%
Daylight
12 h 04 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysSnowfallFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January29°F13°F64°F (2008)-28°F (2019)1.73 in9.515.7 in29.51,3680
February33°F16°F77°F (2024)-15°F (2011)2.16 in9.48.0 in26.81,1400
March44°F25°F85°F (2012)-13°F (2002)2.41 in9.05.8 in24.69481
April56°F35°F89°F (2002)15°F (2018)4.28 in11.41.5 in11.35902
May68°F46°F94°F (2018)24°F (2004)4.38 in12.30.0 in0.627832
June78°F56°F100°F (2012)32°F (2003)4.26 in11.80.0 in0.061123
July83°F61°F106°F (2012)41°F (2001)3.49 in8.90.0 in0.013217
August80°F59°F100°F (2023)41°F (2009)3.56 in9.60.0 in0.016166
September74°F51°F96°F (2013)32°F (2012)3.62 in9.00.0 in0.013962
October61°F40°F88°F (2025)19°F (2019)3.05 in10.50.1 in5.84546
November46°F29°F77°F (2020)4°F (2015)2.56 in8.83.1 in19.38180
December35°F20°F68°F (2012)-16°F (2016)2.03 in11.29.2 in27.81,1720
Year57°F38°F37.53 in12143.4 in1466,996608

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

37.5 in in a normal year, most in May.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Salem, in percent, and of at least 0.1 inch of snowfall.010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day
  • Chance of snowfall

Snow

NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normals for Lake Villa 2NE, 14.4 km away; Paddock Lake keeps no snowfall normals.

43.4 in of snow in a normal year.

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Paddock Lake. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

The last spring freeze typically comes around April 30 and the first fall freeze around October 15, a growing season of about 167 days.

Median at 36°F
last May 12, first October 4
Median at 32°F
last April 30, first October 15
Median at 28°F
last April 19, first October 26

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Salem.

The muggiest month is July, when 40 percent of days are muggy or worse, with a mean dew point of 65°F or more.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January17°F89%100%0%0%0%0%0%
February20°F86%100%0%0%0%0%0%
March29°F80%98%1%0%0%0%0%
April38°F77%95%4%1%0%0%0%
May49°F77%73%12%9%6%0%0%
June59°F77%32%25%19%18%6%0%
July63°F75%13%19%28%25%13%2%
August62°F74%16%26%26%21%10%0%
September54°F74%53%21%14%9%2%0%
October43°F76%89%7%2%1%0%0%
November32°F82%99%1%0%0%0%0%
December22°F88%100%0%0%0%0%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is September, with the sky 59 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is April, at 80 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is January, averaging 13.2 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 17, with 15 h 19 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 18, with 9 h 03 min.

Hours of daylight at Salem through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How Kenosha County is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in Kenosha County: 71.1°F (+0.6 °F against 1991-2020), the 57th warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in Kenosha County: 6.19 in (+2.54 in against 1991-2020), the 10th wettest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Kenosha County: 51.2°F (+1.6 °F against 1991-2020), the 14th warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Kenosha County: 30.71 in (+5.84 in against 1991-2020), the 5th wettest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
77.0°F in 1947
Coolest August
64.4°F in 1915
Wettest August
11.45 in in 2007
Driest August
0.48 in in 1970

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in Kenosha County against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1895 to 2025.-6-4-20+2+4+61900192019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

Wisconsin climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Salem in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1997. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Nearby

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USC00476380 (Paddock Lake), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USW00004845, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-24. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.