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Frost Depth in Wisconsin: When the Ground Freezes

2 of 3 stations freeze at 2 inches in a typical winter, 2 of them to 8 inches or deeper.

Stations that typically freeze
2 of 3
Earliest typical freeze at 2 in
Dec 7
Latest typical thaw at 2 in
Mar 15

Station by station

When does the ground freeze in Wisconsin?

Each bar runs from the typical first freeze to the typical last thaw at that depth, the median over the station's complete winters on record, with the typical number of frozen days after it. Frost reaches the deeper probes later in the winter. A depth that froze in fewer than half of its winters has no typical dates. Stations: 2 typically freeze, 1 froze in some winters.

Necedah 5 WNW

USCRN

Typically freezes to 20 inches, not to 40.

2 in
2 inches: typically frozen from Dec 7 to Mar 9, a median of 89 frozen days.89 days
4 in
4 inches: typically frozen from Dec 25 to Mar 16, a median of 62 frozen days.62 days
8 in
8 inches: typically frozen from Jan 20 to Mar 9, a median of 55 frozen days.55 days
20 in
20 inches: typically frozen from Jan 24 to Mar 12, a median of 45 frozen days.45 days
40 inFroze in 2 of 5 winters, no typical dates
Nov 3, 2026: Not frozen

UW Platteville

SCAN

Typically freezes to 8 inches, not to 20.

2 in
2 inches: typically frozen from Jan 10 to Mar 15, a median of 34 frozen days.34 days
4 in
4 inches: typically frozen from Dec 30 to Mar 20, a median of 50 frozen days.50 days
8 in
8 inches: typically frozen from Jan 19 to Mar 18, a median of 60 frozen days.60 days
20 inFroze in 2 of 5 winters, no typical dates
40 inFroze in 0 of 5 winters, no typical dates
Nov 3, 2026: Not frozen

Wabeno #1

SCAN

Froze at 2 inches in 1 of 4 complete winters on record.

2 in
Each frozen winter's first freeze to last thaw at 2 inches.

2 in: froze in 1 of 4 · 4 in: froze in 1 of 4 · 8 in: froze in 1 of 3 · 20 in: froze in 0 of 4 · 40 in: froze in 0 of 4

Nov 3, 2026: Not frozen

A winter runs July to June. Our station readings come from one grass-covered site per station at five fixed depths, and often show shallower frost than regional figures.

More on frost depth

Where the ground is frozen today across the US · Wisconsin soil temperature · First frost and frost depth guide