Mentor, Minnesota Weather
Prairie lightning bugs rise. Day 77 of spring. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Mentor weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJun 3Heavy Drizzle69%0.08″77°60°—
- ThursdayJun 4Overcast20%—80°61°+3°
- FridayJun 5Light Rain19%0.10″72°59°-8°
- SaturdayJun 6Overcast——82°56°+10°
- SundayJun 7Overcast13%—82°63°0°
- MondayJun 8Drizzle55%—75°61°-7°
- TuesdayJun 9Mostly Clear27%—85°57°+10°
Ozone at AQI 37 now. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points). With UV 0.0 peaking around 1 PM under clear skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 9 by mid-afternoon.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 37 now. With UV 0.0 peaking around 1 PM under clear skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 9 by mid-afternoon.
- Present
- AQI 37
- UV peak
- 0.0 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 9
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 5.1 µg/m³ (AQI 28) with a 0.88 fine-to-coarse ratio and 6 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in calm air, not road dust.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.88
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- stagnant smoke
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
A summer fog for fair, a winter fog for rain.
- Moonrise
- 5:23 AM
- Moonset
- 2:00 PM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Prairie lightning bugs rise
Mentor at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 65°F — typical for the season
- Last frost: June 1 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Jun 1–5
- Planting window: Harvest spring lettuce before it bolts. Sow heat-tolerant greens.
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of June 4, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Mentor
SPC has placed Mentor in the Marginal Risk category for severe thunderstorms today.
- TODAYMRGLMarginal Risk
- TOMORROWNONENo severe risk
- DAY 3TSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
Isolated severe storms possible. Limited threat for hail or damaging wind.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook. Outlooks are re-issued multiple times per day; this page reflects the most recent SPC polygons covering the city’s coordinates.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| January | — | — |
| February | — | — |
| March | — | — |
| April | — | — |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| June | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| August | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| September | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| October | — | winter squash, tomatoes (last) |
| November | — | — |
| December | — | — |
A year in weather
Mentor's warmest month is July (~69°F mean) and its coldest is January (~6°F). Rainfall peaks in June (4.5 inches) and bottoms out in February (0.6 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6° | 0.6″ | 2 |
| February | 10° | 0.6″ | 2 |
| March | 24° | 0.9″ | 2 |
| April | 41° | 1.3″ | 3 |
| May | 54° | 2.9″ | 6 |
| June | 65° | 4.5″ | 8 |
| July | 69° | 3.6″ | 7 |
| August | 67° | 3.5″ | 6 |
| September | 58° | 2.8″ | 5 |
| October | 44° | 2.1″ | 4 |
| November | 27° | 0.8″ | 3 |
| December | 14° | 0.8″ | 3 |
Regional context
Mentor's climate, per the NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals from the nearest reporting station, runs cold-winter and warm-summer. January means hover near 6°F while July climbs to 69°F — a 63°F seasonal swing typical of northern-tier latitudes. Annual precipitation totals about 24.3 inches spread across roughly 51 days with measurable rain or snow.
Precipitation runs summer-dominant here: June averages 4.5 inches across 7.9 days with measurable rain, driven mostly by warm-season storms and thunderstorm activity, while February drops to just 0.6 inches across 1.7 rainy days under drier cool-season air. That summer-storm-driven distribution puts Mentor in a cohort with places like Erskine, MN, Brooks, MN and McIntosh, MN, all of which depend on warm-season convective activity for the bulk of their annual moisture.
The frost-sensitive growing window opens around late-May, when overnight lows reliably clear freezing for cool-season crops like kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips. Warm-soil crops — tomatoes, peppers, eggplant — wait until soil temperatures reach the mid-50s°F, usually two weeks past the last-frost date. The window closes around early-October, when overnight lows resume dipping below freezing and frost-tender plants need protection or harvest. Those dates are 30-year averages; the actual frost-free window in a given year can vary by 10-14 days at either end. Neighborhood-scale variation in elevation and cold-air pooling means the practical last-frost date inside Mentor can lag the regional mean by 5-10 days in low spots, and a bench position with good cold-air drainage can run a week ahead.
Similar climates: Erskine, MN, Brooks, MN, McIntosh, MN, Fertile, MN, Winger, MN.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Mentor?
- Mentor's last spring frost typically falls around mid-May, and the first fall frost arrives around mid-October.
- What is the rainy season in Mentor?
- June is the wettest month with about 4.5 inches of rain on average; the city receives roughly 24 inches annually.
- What is the warmest month in Mentor?
- July is typically warmest, averaging about 69°F.
- What is the coldest month in Mentor?
- January is typically coldest, averaging about 6°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Mentor?
- Cool-season crops (peas, lettuce) can be sown around the last spring frost (mid-May); warm-season crops (tomatoes, peppers) wait until 1–2 weeks after.
- How many rainy days does Mentor get?
- Mentor averages about 51 rainy days per year.
- What hardiness zone is Mentor?
- Mentor's USDA hardiness zone is determined by its lowest average winter temperature; check the USDA's online lookup with the city ZIP for the current zone designation.
Climate
Mentor, Minnesota sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate zone. January means hover near 6°F while July averages 69°F — a 63°F seasonal swing.
Across the year, Mentor receives about 24 inches of precipitation spread over roughly 51 rainy days.
The rhythm of the year is set by latitude (47.7°N), proximity to large water bodies, and elevation — all of which shape what grows here, when frost is likely, and what the weather story looks like day to day.