Milwaukee, WI
Summer 2024 was one of Milwaukee’s warmest in history, setting multiple records
Summer in Milwaukee from a bird’s-eye view
Take a look of the Milwaukee lakefront, downtown, the Milwaukee River and Atwater Park in Shorewood via a drone.
Chelsey Lewis and Mike De Sisti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
September is here, meaning meteorological summer is officially over.
But, before we welcome cooler weather, colorful leaves and pumpkin spice, let’s recap this summer’s weather.
Summer in Milwaukee had average temperatures slightly above normal, with multiple periods of record-setting, well-above-normal temps driving up the overall average, the Milwaukee-Sullivan National Weather Service reported.
According to the NWS, this summer ― defined by the weather service as June 1 through Aug. 31 ― was Milwaukee’s 19th-warmest, per Weather Service data dating to the 1870s.
The summer’s three-month average temperature of 71.8 degrees was 0.7 degrees warmer than the 30-year climate normal. Milwaukee’s warmest summer ever was in 2012, when the three-month average temperature was 74.1 degrees. Five of the 10 warmest summers in the city’s history have occurred since 2010, according to NWS data.
How warm was summer 2024 in Milwaukee?
Though the summer’s average temperature wasn’t too far off normal, multiple periods of extreme heat set daily temperature records for Milwaukee.
The summer’s hottest recorded temperature in the city was 94 degrees, on June 17 and 18 and again on Aug. 26 and 27. This set Milwaukee’s June 17 record high and came close to the city’s Aug. 26 record high of 96 degrees, set in 1953.
Milwaukee also had three record-warm low temperatures this summer: 78 degrees on June 18 and Aug. 26 and 75 degrees on Aug. 27. Due to heat indices around 100 degrees, a heat advisory was issued in Milwaukee County on Aug. 26, and an excessive heat warning was in effect the next day.
June 2024 was Milwaukee’s eighth-warmest June on record, according to NWS data. The month’s average recorded temperature of 70.4 degrees was nearly 3 degrees warmer than the city’s 30-year normal. Meanwhile, this summer was only the 46th-warmest July on record, with average temps actually 0.8 below normal. According to an NWS Facebook post, this August had an average temp of 72.3 degrees, identical to the 30-year normal.
What does Milwaukee’s warm summer mean for this fall and winter?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s long-range forecast, Wisconsin is expected to see above-normal temperatures this fall, with chances highest in the far-southeastern portion of the state, including the Milwaukee area.
By winter, a naturally occurring weather phenomenon known as La Niña is expected to bring a colder and snowier-than-normal winter to the northern U.S. La Niña is caused by the cooling of water temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean to below average for several months.
According to the NOAA, these cold waters in the Pacific push the polar jet stream northward. This often brings drought to the southern U.S. and heavy rains in the northwest and Canada. La Niña tends to produce colder winter temperatures in the northern U.S. and warmer temps in the south. It can also generate a more active hurricane season.
NOAA issued a La Niña watch in mid-June, predicting La Niña conditions to emerge between September and November and persist through the winter.
Last winter, Milwaukee and Wisconsin strongly experienced the effects of El Niño, the opposite of La Niña. During an El Niño year, warmer-than-average temperatures in the Pacific bring warmer, drier winter conditions to the northern U.S. Numerous local weather experts and meteorologists told the Journal Sentinel that El Niño was the main culprit behind Wisconsin’s record-setting warm winter.
More: This has been one of Milwaukee’s warmest and wettest summers. Here’s why
MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.
Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10
Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5
Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10
Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10
Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10
Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10
6-day planner
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
FOX Weather
Big picture view:
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
Community members and city leaders celebrated the opening of four new community-powered fridges on the North Side of Milwaukee. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 27, at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, 3624 W. North Ave., to mark the occasion.
The effort to fight food scarcity by opening community-powered fridges comes after several grocery stores closed in the area, creating a food desert.
District 15 Ald. Russell W. Stamper II, who saw several grocery stores in his district close over the past few years, served as the event’s emcee.
“We could either complain about the problem, or we could come together to find a solution,” Stamper said.
In July 2025, a Pick ‘n Save on the North Side closed, prompting the opening of a community-powered fridge at Tricklebee Café in the Sherman Park and Uptown area. Since then, several other grocery stores have closed in the area.
This led Stamper, FEED MKE, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and One MKE to open four more community-powered fridges.
Christie Melby-Gibbons, executive director of Tricklebee Café, talked about the organization’s community-powered fridge. About a week ago, the fridge was empty for the first time since its launch, so staff turned to their online community for support.
“Within 20 minutes, a woman came in with bags of food and filled the fridge for less than $100,” Melby-Gibbons said.
The community-powered fridge network is run by residents on a take-what-you-need, leave-what-you-can model. Taking a grassroots approach to solving food insecurity in the area, community members provide fresh produce and other healthy food options to ensure that their neighbors have access to nutritious foods.
“Everybody deserves to eat. I can’t go to sleep at night knowing my neighbors are hungry,” said Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges.
Here’s a list of all the community-powered fridges:
Metcalfe Park Community Bridges
3624 W. North Ave.
Rooted & Rising- Washington Park
3940 W. Lisbon Ave.
Sherman Park Community Association
3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave.
Dominican Center
2470 W. Locust St.
Tricklebee Café
4424 W. North Ave.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
This article first appeared on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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