Local temperature forecast performance

How accurate are temperature forecasts in Minneapolis, Minnesota?

In Minneapolis, next-day high and low temperature forecasts performed similarly: the typical miss was 2.5°F for highs and 2.6°F for lows.

See the current Minneapolis forecast

Opens ZIP 55401 using the nearest current station, which may differ from the archive station below.

What stands out

Minneapolis forecast findings

At a glance

Forecast day 1 accuracy

Highs Lows

Higher error than the national average

Minneapolis: 3.8°F typical miss National archive average: 3.5°F

Combined high and low results across forecast days 1, 3, 5, and 7.
High temperaturesForecast day 1
2.5°Ftypical miss

72% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmerLittle warm or cool tendency
Low temperaturesForecast day 1
2.6°Ftypical miss

68% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmer0.3°F warmer than observed

Error generally grows farther into the forecast

The dots show the typical miss on each forecast day.

Minneapolis temperature forecast error by forecast dayTypical miss by forecast day. day 1: high 2.5°F, low 2.6°F; day 3: high 3.3°F, low 3.2°F; day 5: high 4.3°F, low 3.9°F; day 7: high 5.6°F, low 5.1°F. typical miss ≤3°F 0°2°4°6°8°2.5°F2.6°FDay 13.3°F3.2°FDay 34.3°F3.9°FDay 55.6°F5.1°FDay 7
See within-3°F percentages and window timing
Day 1High: 72%Low: 68%
Day 3High: 60%Low: 60%
Day 5High: 50%Low: 50%
Day 7High: 40%Low: 40%

High and low windows represent the same numbered forecast day, but the high window ends 12 hours later and therefore has 12 more hours of lead time.

How forecasts change through the year

Each tile is forecast day 1’s typical miss.

Under 2°F2–3°F3–5°FOver 5°FNot enough data

High temperatures

Jan2.6°62 cases
Feb3.0°55 cases
Mar3.7°60 cases
Apr2.8°59 cases
May2.2°59 cases
Jun2.6°59 cases
Jul2.1°56 cases
Aug2.1°59 cases
Sep1.8°60 cases
Oct2.2°60 cases
Nov2.2°54 cases
Dec3.0°57 cases

Low temperatures

Jan1.8°62 cases
Feb2.7°55 cases
Mar3.0°60 cases
Apr2.6°60 cases
May2.7°59 cases
Jun2.3°57 cases
Jul2.4°56 cases
Aug2.1°60 cases
Sep2.3°60 cases
Oct3.3°60 cases
Nov2.9°54 cases
Dec3.3°57 cases
Data locationMinneapolis - Crystal (MIC)6.8 miles from central Minneapolis · Archive 2024-08-01–2026-07-28

Based on archived raw NBM forecasts compared with observed daily highs and lows near Minneapolis. Results describe this model archive, not every forecast provider.

How these numbers are calculated

The forecasts are raw NBM median temperature guidance initialized at 12Z. Results include multiple NBM model eras and are retrospective, so they describe this archive rather than guaranteeing future performance.

“Typical miss” is mean absolute error: the average size of the error regardless of direction. Warmer or cooler tendency is signed bias, which can be small even when individual errors are larger.

Read the complete calibration and verification methodology.