Milwaukee, Wisconsin Weather
Day 93 of summer. Read today’s microseason across nine climate regions →
Milwaukee weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 2:00 AM CDT · Open-Meteo
- TodaySep 21Overcast——61°54°—
- TuesdaySep 22Clear11%—60°50°-1°
- WednesdaySep 23Overcast——66°57°+6°
- ThursdaySep 24Overcast——66°59°0°
- FridaySep 25Overcast——66°57°0°
- SaturdaySep 26Overcast——69°57°+3°
- SundaySep 27Partly Cloudy——71°53°+2°
Air quality now AQI 31 · Good
AQI 31 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points).
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
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).
September dries up ditches or breaks down bridges.
- Moonrise
- 4:34 PM
- Moonset
- 1:02 AM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Milwaukee at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 58°F (high 61°F, low 54°F), 6°F below the 64°F normal for Sep 21
- Last frost: April 26 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 5 km away)
- Microseason: Sep 21–25
- Planting calendar: September — plant garlic (overwinter); harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash
15-Day Forecast — Milwaukee
- Mon61°54°6%
- Tue60°50°11%
- Wed66°57°2%
- Thu66°59°0%
- Fri66°57°1%
- Sat69°57°5%
- Sun71°53°9%
- Mon72°53°13%
- Tue65°56°27%
- Wed68°55°21%
- Thu71°51°13%
- Fri67°58°16%
- Sat62°57°23%
- Sun77°60°19%
- Mon71°56°18%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Milwaukee
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Milwaukee — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Fall planting + final harvests
As of September 21, the season's first frost (typically October 18) is approaching. Pick what frost-tender plants still carry before the next cold front. This city's planting calendar for September: plant garlic (overwinter); harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, and winter squash.
Sun & seasons in Milwaukee
Milwaukee sits in Milwaukee County, where the year’s longest day runs 15h 22m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 0m — a swing of +6h 23m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Milwaukee is the state’s largest city. The nearest town Milwaukee tracks is Racine, roughly 25 miles to the SSE.
Air quality in Milwaukee
Air quality in Milwaukee’s county has trended cleaner since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2024 (median AQI 43). See the full air-quality history for Milwaukee.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | radishes |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, garlic |
| August | beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| November | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
In Milwaukee, August runs warmest near 73°F and January coldest around 23°F, while May is the wettest month (3.7 inches) and January the driest (1.8 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip |
|---|---|---|
| January | 23° | 1.8″ |
| February | 24° | 1.8″ |
| March | 32° | 2.6″ |
| April | 43° | 3.2″ |
| May | 52° | 3.7″ |
| June | 64° | 3.5″ |
| July | 73° | 2.6″ |
| August | 73° | 2.7″ |
| September | 67° | 3.1″ |
| October | 55° | 2.9″ |
| November | 40° | 3.1″ |
| December | 28° | 2.2″ |
Regional context
Similar climates Wauwatosa, WI, West Milwaukee, WI, Shorewood, WI
Per modelled 1991-2020 normals (EC_Earth3P_HR model via Open-Meteo), Milwaukee runs from a 23°F January mean to 73°F in July, a 50°F seasonal spread, with near 33.1 inches of precipitation.
No season owns Milwaukee's rain: May reaches 3.7 inches and January keeps 1.8 inches, an even spread through Milwaukee's year. That lines Milwaukee up with places like Wauwatosa, WI, West Milwaukee, WI and Shorewood, WI, fed by overlapping storm tracks.
Milwaukee reaches its last hard frost near April 26; that is the cue for kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips. Tomatoes and peppers do best set out two weeks later in Milwaukee, once nights clear the mid-40s°F. By October 18, frost is back in Milwaukee — protect or harvest anything tender. Open lawns in Milwaukee whiten first when frost returns.
Similar climates: Wauwatosa, WI, West Milwaukee, WI, Shorewood, WI, Whitefish Bay, WI, Glendale, WI.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Milwaukee?
- Frost typically leaves Milwaukee by April 26 and returns to Milwaukee near October 18.
- What is the rainy season in Milwaukee?
- May is the wettest month in Milwaukee, about 3.7 inches on average; the year totals roughly 33 inches.
- What is the warmest month in Milwaukee?
- August is Milwaukee's warmest month, averaging about 73°F.
- What is the coldest month in Milwaukee?
- Milwaukee bottoms out in January, with a mean near 23°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Milwaukee?
- Milwaukee's last frost (April 26) cues hardy greens; in Milwaukee, hold heat-lovers two weeks past.
- What hardiness zone is Milwaukee?
- Milwaukee sits in the USDA zone set by January lows near 23°F; the USDA ZIP tool gives the band.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Milwaukee?
- Milwaukee's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Milwaukee?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Milwaukee in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Milwaukee?
- Current conditions for Milwaukee and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Milwaukee forecast updated?
- The Milwaukee forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Milwaukee?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Milwaukee are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Milwaukee?
- The next few days in Milwaukee's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Milwaukee sits at 43.1°N; its climate zone is warm-summer humid continental (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Milwaukee
- 53201
- 53202
- 53203
- 53204
- 53205
- 53206
- 53207
- 53208
- 53209
- 53210
- 53211
- 53212
- 53213
- 53214
- 53215
- 53216
- 53217
- 53218
- 53219
- 53220
- 53221
- 53222
- 53223
- 53224
- 53225
- 53226
- 53227
- 53228
- 53233
- 53237
- 53259
- 53263
- 53274
- 53278
- 53288
- 53290
- 53293
- 53295