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Shaded-relief map of Freedom, Wisconsin: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
WISCONSIN · SAUK COUNTY

Freedom

445 people, 1,130 ft above sea level in Sauk County.

1,130 ftElevation, city center
445People, 2024 estimate
34 sq miLand area
Clear 38°
Clear now Dew point 27° · Calm · high 39°
City of Freedom River Interstate 2 miles
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The Freedom plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Freedom

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Dane County Regional-Truax Field (KMSN) · 4:53 PM
Clear
38° Clear Feels like 38° · high of 39° near 5 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity64%rising to 96% by morning
Pressure30.27 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 27° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday40% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 40.08 in · 10 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Sauk County
NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:17 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:51 AM4:36 PM ↓
9 h 44 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
7
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, good. No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
39°
26°
46°
30°
50°
35°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
7
9
9
8
8
8
8
7
9
12
10
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 24 to 33°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 46° / 29°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
39° 24°
0% rain — NNW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
50° 27°
0% rain — NW 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
52° 32°
0% rain — SW 8 A
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
56° 36°
0% rain — S 9 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 45°
20% rain — S 13 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
59° 40°
20% rain — WSW 7 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
59° 48°
40% rain up to 0.2″ SSE 8 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Freedom about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the open Pacific three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 2,890 miles back along its path. It came down from about 10,400 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. It feels dry all the same. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1964 Nov. 11, 1964

The hottest this week has been

72° on Nov. 11, 1964, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1893. Next is 71° in 2001.

71°
72°
20011964
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Reedsburg Wwtp record since 1893.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Freedom stands on

Freedom’s center stands about 1,130 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 870 ft to 1,490 ft, a difference of 620 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Sauk Point, about 1,630 ft, 12 miles east.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Cambrian, undivided (sandstone), from the Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old.

The section below crosses 3 rock units mapped at the surface.

Freedom, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
750 ft1,000 ft1,250 ft1,500 ft FREEDOM1,130 ftReedsburg1,100 ftHappy Hill1,530 ftPrairie du Sac790 ft ← NWPrairie du Sac · SE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 26×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Cambrian, undivided

Sandstone. Age: Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old. About 18 mi of the line.

Barron Quartzite

Quartzite. Age: Paleoproterozoic, 1.6 to 2.5 billion years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Prairie du Chien Group

Dolostone. Age: Early Ordovician, 471 to 487 million years old. About 1 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Freedom’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Freedom reaches the Gulf of America by way of Seeley Creek, the Baraboo, the Wisconsin and the Mississippi: about 1,760 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Freedom≈ 1,760 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM FREEDOM ≈ 1,760 mi to the Gulf of America Seeley Creek → Baraboo → Wisconsin → Mississippi

Lake on the way: Lake Wisconsin.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Freedom; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Freedom’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1893 · Reedsburg Wwtp, 9 mi northwest

Freedom has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 8° in January. A normal year brings about 44 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 40 inches of water.

27°8°32°12°44°23°57°35°69°46°79°57°82°61°80°58°73°50°60°38°45°27°33°15° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 TODAY FREEDOM 39.6 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average82° / 61°high / low, the warmest month
January, average27° / 8°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.6 inwettest months: June and July
Snow a year43.9 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record104°FJuly 31, 1988
Coldest on record−42°FJanuary 30, 1951
Wettest day on record6.07 inAugust 2, 2001
Snowiest day on record17.0 inJanuary 4, 1971
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Highs below freezingDec. 16 to Feb. 17; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezingOct. 31 to April 9; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretchJune through August: 15.4 of the year’s 39.6 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Freedom normally reaches 46° and falls to 28°. The record high is 70°, in 1971; the record low −4°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 0.40 in, fell in 2010.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high27°32°44°57°69°79°82°80°73°60°45°33°
Normal low8°12°23°35°46°57°61°58°50°38°27°15°
Rain and melt, in1.511.542.203.844.295.405.274.743.553.072.171.99
Snow, inches9.914.85.12.70.00.00.00.00.00.41.79.3
Record high60° (2025)72° (2024)85° (1986)95° (1980)94° (2018)103° (1988)104° (1988)103° (1988)98° (1955)91° (1976)76° (1964)66° (2021)
Record low−42° (1951)−40° (1918)−34° (1962)2° (1982)23° (1966)34° (1956)41° (1968)34° (1915)24° (1974)9° (1988)−12° (1977)−27° (1989)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Reedsburg Wwtp, 9 miles northwest, 250 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Freedom on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Madison WI · 33 MI 33 miles southeast Sun Prairie WI · 37 MI 37 miles southeast Milwaukee WI · 100 MI 100 miles east Chicago IL · 157 MI 157 miles southeast St. Paul MN · 191 MI 191 miles northwest Minneapolis MN · 198 MI 198 miles northwest
FORECASTCITY
Map of Freedom, Wisconsin. Explore the plate
WISCONSIN · SAUK

Freedom

445 people, 1,130 ft above sea level in Sauk County.

1,130 ftElevation
445People
34 sq miLand
Clear 38°
ClearDew point 27°
1

Today in Freedom

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear night 39° 0%
8p clear night 34° 0%
11p mostly clear night 32° 0%
2a mostly clear night 29° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
8a mostly sunny 30° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 40%
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
24
39
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
27
50
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
52
A
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
36
56
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45
56
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
40
59
C
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
48
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1964 · NOV. 11, 1964

72°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1893.

2

What Freedom stands on

Freedom’s center stands about 1,130 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 870 ft to 1,490 ft, a difference of 620 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Sauk Point, about 1,630 ft, 12 miles east.

Freedom, northwest to southeast Freedom1,130 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 50×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center1,130 ft
Within 3 miles870 to 1,490 ft
Lie of the landHilly (620 ft of relief)
High point nearbySauk Point, 1,630 ft, 12 mi east
Rock at the surfaceCambrian, undivided
Its ageCambrian, 487 to 542 million years old
5

Freedom’s year

Freedom has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 8° in January. A normal year brings about 44 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 40 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 123 39.6 in
July, average82° / 61° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average27° / 8° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.6 in · wettest months: June and July
Snow a year43.9 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record104°F · July 31, 1988
Coldest on record−42°F · January 30, 1951
Wettest day on record6.07 in · August 2, 2001
Snowiest day on record17.0 in · January 4, 1971
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Highs below freezing · Dec. 16 to Feb. 17; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezing · Oct. 31 to April 9; normal lows fall below 32°
3Wettest stretch · June through August: 15.4 of the year’s 39.6 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Freedom normally reaches 46° and falls to 28°. The record high is 70°, in 1971; the record low −4°, in 1916. The most rain on this date, 0.40 in, fell in 2010.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1893 at Reedsburg Wwtp, 9 miles northwest, 250 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,760 mito the Gulf of AmericaSeeley Creek → Baraboo → Wisconsin → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Freedom reaches the Gulf of America by way of Seeley Creek, the Baraboo, the Wisconsin and the Mississippi: about 1,760 river miles.

Lake on the way: Lake Wisconsin.