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

Milton

550 people, 700 ft above sea level in Buffalo County.

700 ftElevation, city center
550People, 2024 estimate
26 sq miLand area
Clear 36°
Clear now Dew point 26° · Calm · high 39°
City of Milton River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Milton 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 Milton

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 5:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW La Crosse - La Crosse Regional Airport (KLSE) · 5:53 PM
Clear
36° Clear Feels like 36° · high of 39° near 6 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity67%rising to 82% by morning
Pressure30.30 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 26° · Dry36° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Friday60% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 50.01 in · 9 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Buffalo County
NWS La Crosse and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 6:22 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 7:01 AM4:41 PM ↓
9 h 40 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
12
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
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
39°
30°
48°
35°
51°
41°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
5
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13
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 24 to 36° More humid: 36° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 46° / 30°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39° 26°
0% rain — NNW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
50° 29°
0% rain — S 2 A
MON Nov. 16 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
54° 37°
0% rain — SSW 11 B
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
57° 42°
0% rain — S 12 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
58° 48°
20% rain — S 14 B
THU Nov. 19 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 41°
20% rain — W 7 C
FRI Nov. 20 Showers likely Showers likely
59° 50°
60% rain up to 0.5″ SE 10 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 Milton about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the open Pacific three days ago, and over the Canadian Prairies a day ago, about 2,900 miles back along its path. It came down from about 9,400 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the open Pacific. 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, FOUR YEARS AGO Nov. 11, 2022

The hottest this week has been

71° on Nov. 11, 2022, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1939. Next is 70° in 1999.

70°
71°
19992022
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Winona Dam 5 A record since 1939.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Milton stands on

Milton’s center stands about 700 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 640 ft to 1,200 ft, a difference of 560 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Stockton Hill, about 1,220 ft, 10 miles south.

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 5 rock units mapped at the surface.

Altura to Glencoe, cut in half

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
750 ft1,000 ft1,250 ft MILTON700 ftAltura1,200 ftMississippi Riverabout 650 ftHigh point of the line1,310 ft ← SW · AlturaGlencoe · NE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 29×. 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

Prairie du Chien Group

Dolostone. Age: Early Ordovician, 471 to 487 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Lower Ordovician

Dolostone, sandstone. Age: Early Ordovician, 471 to 487 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Cambrian, undivided

Sandstone. Age: Cambrian, 487 to 542 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Upper Cambrian

Sandstone, siltstone, shale. Age: Cambrian, 487 to 497 million years old. About 2 mi of the line.

Middle and Upper Cambrian

Sandstone, siltstone, shale. Age: Middle Cambrian to Cambrian, 487 to 521 million years old. About 0.5 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 Milton’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Milton reaches the Gulf of America by way of Waumandee Creek and the Mississippi: about 1,720 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Milton≈ 1,720 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF MILTON ≈ 1,720 mi to the Gulf of America Waumandee Creek → Mississippi

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Milton’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1939 · Winona Dam 5 A, 8 mi southeast

Milton has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 8° in January. A normal year brings about 38 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 34 inches of water.

25°8°30°11°42°24°56°36°69°48°78°59°83°63°81°61°73°54°59°41°44°29°31°16° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY MILTON 34.4 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average83° / 63°high / low, the warmest month
January, average25° / 8°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow34.4 inwettest months: June and August
Snow a year37.6 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record108°FJuly 14, 1995
Coldest on record−38°FFebruary 3, 1996
Wettest day on record5.75 inJuly 29, 2011
Snowiest day on record16.0 inDecember 12, 2010
90° days a year11very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°148and 65 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 17, to the last in spring, about April 24 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 10 to Feb. 21; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 8 to April 5; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchJune through August: 13.5 of the year’s 34.4 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Milton normally reaches 44° and falls to 30°. The record high is 70°, in 1999; the record low 3°, in 1996. The most rain on this date, 0.40 in, fell in 2010.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high25°30°42°56°69°78°83°81°73°59°44°31°
Normal low8°11°24°36°48°59°63°61°54°41°29°16°
Rain and melt, in1.061.021.913.654.144.834.114.553.572.531.851.22
Snow, inches9.89.35.71.60.20.00.00.00.00.11.49.5
Record high58° (1944)70° (2024)88° (2007)93° (1980)94° (2022)98° (2011)108° (1995)102° (2023)98° (2023)89° (2023)78° (1999)67° (2021)
Record low−32° (2019)−38° (1996)−22° (2019)10° (1995)28° (2005)40° (1992)48° (2001)44° (2004)28° (1942)20° (2020)−2° (1996)−31° (2000)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1939 at Winona Dam 5 A, 8 miles southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Milton on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

La Crosse WI · 36 MI 36 miles southeast Rochester MN · 38 MI 38 miles west St. Paul MN · 85 MI 85 miles northwest Minneapolis MN · 92 MI 92 miles northwest Madison WI · 139 MI 139 miles southeast Rockford IL · 190 MI 190 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Milton, Wisconsin. Explore the plate
WISCONSIN · BUFFALO

Milton

550 people, 700 ft above sea level in Buffalo County.

700 ftElevation
550People
26 sq miLand
Clear 36°
ClearDew point 26°
1

Today in Milton

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear night 39° 0%
9p clear night 35° 0%
12a partly cloudy night 33° 0%
3a mostly cloudy night 31° 0%
6a partly cloudy night 30° 0%
9a mostly sunny 32° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINFriday · 60%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
26
39
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
29
50
A
Mon0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
37
54
B
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
42
57
A
Wed20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
48
58
B
Thu20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
59
C
Fri60%
Showers likely Showers likely
50
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, FOUR YEARS AGO · NOV. 11, 2022

71°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1939.

2

What Milton stands on

Milton’s center stands about 700 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 640 ft to 1,200 ft, a difference of 560 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Stockton Hill, about 1,220 ft, 10 miles south.

Milton, southwest to northeast Milton700 ftMississippi Riverabout 650 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 55×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center700 ft
Within 3 miles640 to 1,200 ft
Lie of the landHilly (560 ft of relief)
High point nearbyStockton Hill, 1,220 ft, 10 mi south
Rock at the surfaceCambrian, undivided
Its ageCambrian, 487 to 542 million years old
5

Milton’s year

Milton has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 83° in July; winter nights fall to about 8° in January. A normal year brings about 38 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 34 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 34.4 in
July, average83° / 63° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average25° / 8° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow34.4 in · wettest months: June and August
Snow a year37.6 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record108°F · July 14, 1995
Coldest on record−38°F · February 3, 1996
Wettest day on record5.75 in · July 29, 2011
Snowiest day on record16.0 in · December 12, 2010
90° days a year11 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°148 · and 65 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 17, to the last in spring, about April 24 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 10 to Feb. 21; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 8 to April 5; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · June through August: 13.5 of the year’s 34.4 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Milton normally reaches 44° and falls to 30°. The record high is 70°, in 1999; the record low 3°, in 1996. The most rain on this date, 0.40 in, fell in 2010.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1939 at Winona Dam 5 A, 8 miles southeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,720 mito the Gulf of AmericaWaumandee Creek → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Milton reaches the Gulf of America by way of Waumandee Creek and the Mississippi: about 1,720 river miles.