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

Otsego

654 people, 950 ft above sea level in Columbia County.

950 ftElevation, city center
654People, 2024 estimate
30 sq miLand area
Clear 44°
Clear now Dew point 29° · Calm · high 38°
City of Otsego River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Otsego 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 Otsego

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Watertown (KRYV) · 4:35 PM
Clear
44° Clear Feels like 44° · high of 38° near 4 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity55%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure30.26 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 29° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly sunny
Thursday30% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 120.03 in · 2 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Columbia County
NWS Milwaukee/Sullivan and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 4:47 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:48 AM4:33 PM ↓
9 h 44 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% 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
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
partly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
38°
25°
46°
27°
49°
33°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
1
1
3
8
9
7
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9
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 25 to 30° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 35° by Tuesday

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 45° / 28°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38° 24°
0% rain — NW 3 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
48° 26°
0% rain — NW 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
52° 32°
0% rain — SW 7 A
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
55° 36°
0% rain — S 7 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
56° 45°
10% rain — S 12 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
59° 41°
30% rain — WSW 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
59° 47°
40% rain up to 0.1″ SE 6 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 Otsego about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Gulf of Alaska three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 2,550 miles back along its path. It came down from about 11,600 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, SEVEN YEARS AGO Nov. 12, 2019

The coldest this week has been

1° on Nov. 12, 2019, the coldest reading for this week of the year since 1962. Next is 2° in 1986.

2°
1°
19862019
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Arlington record since 1962.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Otsego stands on

Otsego’s center stands about 950 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 900 ft to 1,040 ft, a difference of 140 ft: gently rolling country.

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.

Otsego, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
800 ft900 ft1,000 ft OTSEGO950 ftLow point810 ftHigh point of the line1,080 ftCrawfish Riverabout 840 ftElba840 ft ← NWElba · SE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. 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 13 mi of the line.

Ancell Group

Sandstone. Age: Ordovician, 445 to 487 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Prairie du Chien Group

Dolostone. Age: Early Ordovician, 471 to 487 million years old. About 4 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 Otsego’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Otsego reaches the Gulf of America by way of the North Branch Crawfish, the Crawfish, the Rock River and the Mississippi: about 1,750 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Otsego≈ 1,750 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF OTSEGO ≈ 1,750 mi to the Gulf of America North Branch Crawfish → Crawfish → Rock River → Mississippi

Lake on the way: Lake Koshkonong.

1,450 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Otsego’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1962 · Arlington, 11 mi southwest

Otsego has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 9° in January. A normal year brings about 43 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 36 inches of water.

26°9°31°12°43°23°57°34°69°46°79°56°82°60°80°58°73°49°60°38°44°26°32°16° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY OTSEGO 35.5 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average82° / 60°high / low, the warmest month
January, average26° / 9°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow35.5 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year42.6 insnowiest: February
Hottest on record103°FJuly 7, 2012
Coldest on record−36°FJanuary 18, 1994
Wettest day on record5.10 inJuly 25, 1985
Snowiest day on record14.0 inDecember 21, 2012
90° days a year9very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°164and 64 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 2, to the last in spring, about May 13 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingDec. 13 to Feb. 20; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 31 to April 11; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 13.5 of the year’s 35.5 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Otsego normally reaches 45° and falls to 27°. The record high is 69°, in 1971; the record low 8°, in 1996. The most rain on this date, 0.43 in, fell in 1980.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high26°31°43°57°69°79°82°80°73°60°44°32°
Normal low9°12°23°34°46°56°60°58°49°38°26°16°
Rain and melt, in1.241.401.983.744.245.144.173.803.342.782.231.45
Snow, inches10.711.25.31.90.10.00.00.00.00.32.410.7
Record high58° (2025)70° (2024)83° (2012)90° (1980)96° (2018)100° (1988)103° (2012)102° (1988)96° (1978)90° (1963)75° (2020)67° (2021)
Record low−36° (1994)−30° (1996)−16° (2014)7° (1982)19° (2005)34° (2007)38° (1965)34° (1986)25° (1993)14° (1992)−9° (1976)−26° (1983)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1962 at Arlington, 11 miles southwest, 100 ft higher. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Otsego on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Sun Prairie WI · 16 MI 16 miles south Madison WI · 25 MI 25 miles southwest Milwaukee WI · 66 MI 66 miles east Aurora IL · 122 MI 122 miles south Chicago IL · 133 MI 133 miles southeast Grand Rapids MI · 181 MI 181 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of Otsego, Wisconsin. Explore the plate
WISCONSIN · COLUMBIA

Otsego

654 people, 950 ft above sea level in Columbia County.

950 ftElevation
654People
30 sq miLand
Clear 44°
ClearDew point 29°
1

Today in Otsego

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly sunny 38° 0%
7p mostly clear night 35° 0%
10p mostly clear night 31° 0%
1a mostly clear night 29° 0%
4a partly cloudy night 27° 0%
7a mostly sunny 25° 0%
Mostly sunny
NEXT RAINThursday · 30%
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
24
38
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
26
48
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
52
A
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
36
55
A
Wed10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
45
56
B
Thu30%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
41
59
C
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
47
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, SEVEN YEARS AGO · NOV. 12, 2019

1°, the coldest this week of the year has been since 1962.

2

What Otsego stands on

Otsego’s center stands about 950 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 900 ft to 1,040 ft, a difference of 140 ft: gently rolling country.

Otsego, northwest to southeast Otsego950 ftCrawfish Riverabout 840 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center950 ft
Within 3 miles900 to 1,040 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (140 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceCambrian, undivided
Its ageCambrian, 487 to 542 million years old
5

Otsego’s year

Otsego has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 82° in July; winter nights fall to about 9° in January. A normal year brings about 43 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 36 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 35.5 in
July, average82° / 60° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average26° / 9° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow35.5 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year42.6 in · snowiest: February
Hottest on record103°F · July 7, 2012
Coldest on record−36°F · January 18, 1994
Wettest day on record5.10 in · July 25, 1985
Snowiest day on record14.0 in · December 21, 2012
90° days a year9 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°164 · and 64 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 2, to the last in spring, about May 13 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Dec. 13 to Feb. 20; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 31 to April 11; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 13.5 of the year’s 35.5 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Otsego normally reaches 45° and falls to 27°. The record high is 69°, in 1971; the record low 8°, in 1996. The most rain on this date, 0.43 in, fell in 1980.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1962 at Arlington, 11 miles southwest, 100 ft higher. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,750 mito the Gulf of AmericaNorth Branch Crawfish → Crawfish → Rock River → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Otsego reaches the Gulf of America by way of the North Branch Crawfish, the Crawfish, the Rock River and the Mississippi: about 1,750 river miles.

Lake on the way: Lake Koshkonong.

1,450 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.