Local
Every Wisconsin County Ran Warm in October as State Logs 4th Hottest on Record
October 2026 was Wisconsin's fourth warmest October on record, with all 72 counties averaging above normal and a statewide temperature of 54.1 degrees â 7.3 degrees above the long-term average. Dane County posted its third warmest October, while Grant County was the only county to exceed normal precipitation.
MADISON, Wis. â Every one of Wisconsin's 72 counties recorded an above-average temperature in October, pushing the statewide average to 54.1 degrees and making it the state's fourth warmest October on record, according to a monthly climate recap.
The figure was 7.3 degrees above the historical October average of 46.8 degrees. October 1963 remains the state's warmest October, at 56.2 degrees.
The warmth was widespread rather than concentrated. Kenosha County was the warmest in the state at 57.8 degrees, but Waupaca County posted the largest departure from normal at 8.1 degrees above average. Four counties, including Waupaca, finished at least 8 degrees above their typical October readings.
In Dane County, the average temperature reached 57.2 degrees â the third warmest October on record there and 7.7 degrees above normal. Columbia, Green Lake and Marquette counties also logged their third warmest Octobers. Rock, Grant, Green, Lafayette, Jefferson, Dodge, Sauk, Juneau, Adams, Crawford and Vernon counties each recorded their fourth warmest.
Precipitation was closer to normal. The statewide total of 2.11 inches was 0.27 inches below average. Grant County was the only county to record a wetter-than-average month, collecting 3.04 inches â 0.68 inches above normal and the most rain of any county. La Crosse County was the driest, at 1.27 inches. A handful of counties near La Crosse and Door County were slightly drier than average.
Other county totals included Crawford at 2.77 inches (0.51 above normal), Iowa at 2.90 inches (0.52 above), Sauk at 2.61 inches (0.30 above) and Richland at 2.49 inches (0.19 above). Vernon came in at 1.77 inches, 0.55 below normal, and Juneau at 1.73 inches, 0.58 below.
The October heat capped a warm stretch: January through October 2026 ranks as Wisconsin's sixth warmest such period on record, with an average temperature of 49.5 degrees, 3.7 degrees above average. Nationally, October 2026 was the fourth warmest October on record.
The pattern carries implications for Wisconsin communities, from extended growing seasons and shifting agricultural calendars to stress on cold-water fisheries and winter recreation economies that depend on reliable snow and ice. State and local agencies have increasingly factored warmer baseline temperatures into flood planning, public health heat response and infrastructure design.
Residents can expect the monthly climate recaps to continue tracking county-level temperature and precipitation departures as the state moves into winter.