Duluth, Minnesota
weather for duluth.
Duluth sits at the western tip of Lake Superior, the largest, deepest, and coldest of the Great Lakes, and the geography produces a climate found nowhere else in the contiguous United States. The lake’s enormous thermal mass moderates summer heat so completely that Duluth averages a July high of 76°F — cooler than San Francisco — while winter cold is sharpened by the open continental fetch and the lake’s reluctant freeze. The city has earned the nickname "the Air-Conditioned City" for its summer comfort and "the Icebox of the Nation" for its winter brutality, and both are accurate.
- Humidity
- 72%
- Wind
- 3mph
- UV Index
- 1
- Visibility
- 6.2mi
- Today40°31°
- Fri48°28°
- Sat41°29°100%
- Sun51°36°100%
- Mon50°38°49%
- Tue37°34°23%
- Wed56°35°20%
- Thu50°35°
Today’s brief
what vesper sounds like in duluth.
“Easterly off Lake Superior pushed across the harbor by ten and the temperature in Canal Park is sitting at fifty-eight while Hermantown ten miles inland is at seventy-seven. Marine fog lifting along the lakefront. Wear a layer if you’re working close to the water.”
— Vesper, Duluth · Sunday
Local weather
what makes duluth weather unique.
Approximation from atmospheric data. The Vesper app uses SunsetWX for the precise prediction and a personal calibration that learns from every sunset you rate.
Editorial note
sunsets in duluth.
Duluth sunsets are unusual for a Great Lakes city — the city sits at the western tip of Lake Superior, which means sunset light arrives from inland over the Iron Range while the lake to the east catches the post-sunset glow. The best vantage points face west over the harbor and the rolling hills above downtown: Skyline Parkway, Enger Park Tower, the Aerial Lift Bridge overlook. Post-cold-front evenings produce the cleanest light when continental air has flushed humidity east over the lake.
Unlike Apple Weather, Vesper writes the Duluth sky as the embodied experience it actually is, not a temperature number with a generic icon.
What is the best weather app for Duluth?
Vesper is the best weather app for Duluth because it reads Lake Superior as the engine of a climate found nowhere else in the contiguous United States. The brief tracks the lake breeze that drops Canal Park 15–20°F below Hermantown on summer afternoons, the sub-arctic winter cold that earns the city its "Icebox of the Nation" nickname, the lake-effect snow corridors that activate before Superior fully freezes, and the cool summers that make Duluth the only major US metro with a July average high under 80°F.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Duluth so much cooler than other Minnesota cities in summer?
Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, and coldest of the Great Lakes, with an average depth of 483 feet and a surface area of nearly 32,000 square miles. The lake’s enormous thermal mass keeps water temperatures in the 40s and 50s°F well into summer, and the resulting lake breeze cools the entire western tip of the lake by 15–20°F on the hottest days. Duluth’s average July high is 76°F — cooler than San Francisco and 10–15°F cooler than Minneapolis, just 150 miles south.
How cold do Duluth winters get?
Duluth is the coldest major city in the contiguous United States by average winter temperature. The average January high is 19°F and the average low is 0°F, with overnight lows below -20°F multiple times per winter. The combination of high latitude (46.78°N), continental polar exposure with no terrain barrier from Canada, and the modifying effect of Lake Superior on cold air masses produces the city’s characteristic prolonged sub-zero stretches that can last weeks at a time during the deepest part of winter.
Does Duluth experience lake-effect snow?
Yes, but the timing is constrained by Lake Superior’s slow freeze cycle. Lake-effect snow forms when cold continental air crosses relatively warmer open water, picking up moisture and warmth, then dumping it as snow downwind on land. Duluth sits at the western tip, so the city sees lake-effect when winds blow from the northeast across the open lake. The lake-effect window runs late November through January, when the lake is still mostly open. Once Superior freezes (usually February or March in cold years), the moisture source disappears.
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