New Orleans, LA climate: monthly averages and frost dates
New Orleans, LA has mild winters and hot summers by this site's scale, with very wet annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00012916 (NEW ORLEANS INTL AP), 19 mi (31 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 91.4°F
- July
- Coldest month mean
- 54.3°F
- January
- Precipitation
- 63.4 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 0.0 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- January 30
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- December 31
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in New Orleans
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62.5 | 46.1 | 54.3 | 5.18 | 0.0 | 9.5 | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| February | 66.4 | 49.7 | 58.0 | 4.13 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| March | 72.3 | 55.3 | 63.8 | 4.36 | 0.0 | 8.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| April | 78.5 | 61.7 | 70.1 | 5.22 | 0.0 | 7.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 85.3 | 69.0 | 77.1 | 5.64 | 0.0 | 7.8 | 5.9 | 0.0 |
| June | 90.0 | 74.7 | 82.4 | 7.62 | 0.0 | 12.7 | 18.4 | 0.0 |
| July | 91.4 | 76.5 | 83.9 | 6.79 | 0.0 | 13.9 | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| August | 91.3 | 76.6 | 84.0 | 6.91 | 0.0 | 13.6 | 23.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 88.1 | 73.5 | 80.8 | 5.11 | 0.0 | 9.8 | 12.8 | 0.0 |
| October | 80.6 | 64.3 | 72.5 | 3.70 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 71.2 | 53.7 | 62.4 | 3.87 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| December | 64.8 | 48.4 | 56.6 | 4.82 | 0.0 | 9.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Year | 78.5 | 62.5 | 70.5 | 63.35 | 0.0 | 115.1 | 85.2 | 5.4 |
How cold is winter in New Orleans?
Winters in New Orleans are mild by this site's scale (coldest-month mean 45 to under 60°F). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 54.3°F (12.4°C), a normal daily high of 62.5°F (16.9°C) and a normal daily low of 46.1°F (7.8°C).
The station averages 5.4 nights a year at or below 32°F.
How hot is summer in New Orleans?
Summers in New Orleans are hot by this site's scale (hottest-month high 90 to under 100°F). July has the highest normal daily high, 91.4°F (33.0°C), with nights averaging 76.5°F (24.7°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 85.2 days in a normal year.
The normal daily high itself is 90°F or above in June to August.
What is the wettest month in New Orleans?
New Orleans gets 63.35 in (1609 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as very wet (60 in or more a year). The wettest month is June with 7.62 in (194 mm); the driest is October with 3.70 in (94 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 115.1 days a year.
Does it snow in New Orleans?
Snow is rare in New Orleans: the normal annual snowfall is 0.0 in (0 cm).
Which months are mild in New Orleans?
5 months in New Orleans meet this site's comfort thresholds (normal high 65–85°F, low 45°F or higher, fewer than 10 days with 0.10 in or more of precipitation): February to April, October and November.
Two months miss by one threshold only: May (normal high 85.3°F, above the 85°F limit) and December (normal high 64.8°F, below the 65°F limit).
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in New Orleans
In New Orleans the median last spring night at or below 32°F is January 30, and the median first autumn one is December 31 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 333 days. NOAA takes that median over each year's own season, so it need not equal the 335 days between the two median dates.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after February 27, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by December 1.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after December 29 is 90%.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | February 27 | December 1 | 365 |
| 20% | February 18 | December 8 | 359 |
| 30% | February 8 | December 17 | 350 |
| 40% | February 2 | December 24 | 339 |
| 50% | January 30 | December 31 | 333 |
| 60% | January 25 | January 3 | 326 |
| 70% | January 18 | January 8 | 318 |
| 80% | January 9 | January 16 | 308 |
| 90% | December 29 | January 31 | 296 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | February 16 | December 9 | 297 |
| 32°F | January 30 | December 31 | 333 |
| 28°F | No such night in most years, though a few years have one; no typical season to show | ||
| 24°F | No such night in most years, though a few years have one; no typical season to show | ||
| 20°F | No such night in a typical year (NOAA publishes no dates) | ||
| 16°F | No such night in a typical year (NOAA publishes no dates) | ||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61% | 35% | 7% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 40% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to New Orleans by station distance are Houston, TX at 306 mi (492 km), Atlanta, GA at 424 mi (682 km) and Dallas, TX at 446 mi (718 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of New Orleans's (winter: mild, summer: hot, precipitation: very wet), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Houston, TX, Jacksonville, FL and Atlanta, GA.
Compared with Houston, TX, New Orleans's peak-month normal high is 3.5°F (1.9°C) lower, its coldest-month mean is 0.5°F (0.3°C) higher, and its annual precipitation is 11.51 in more.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans, LA | this page | – | 54.3 | 91.4 | 63.4 | 0.0 | January 30 |
| Houston, TX | nearby, similar | 306 mi (492 km) | 53.8 | 94.9 | 51.8 | 0.1 | February 13 |
| Atlanta, GA | nearby, similar | 424 mi (682 km) | 44.8 | 90.1 | 50.4 | 2.2 | March 15 |
| Dallas, TX | nearby | 446 mi (718 km) | 46.3 | 95.8 | 37.0 | 1.6 | March 8 |
| Jacksonville, FL | similar | 511 mi (823 km) | 54.2 | 91.9 | 53.4 | 0.0 | February 25 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for New Orleans come from NOAA station NEW ORLEANS INTL AP, LA US (USW00012916) at 29.9933, -90.2511, elevation 4 ft (1 m). It lies 19 mi (31 km) in a straight line from the center point of New Orleans city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 12 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- P: Provisional: meets WMO standards for data availability for 10 or more years (missing months cannot be filled).
- R: Representative: meets WMO standards for data availability for 10 or more years (missing months filled from surrounding stations).
- S: Standard: meets WMO standards for data availability for 24 or more years.
Cite the data as:
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00012916 (NEW ORLEANS INTL AP, LA US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00012916 (NEW ORLEANS INTL AP, LA US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Files used: monthly normals CSV, annual/seasonal normals CSV (retrieved 2026-10-09). The values on this page as JSON: /us/la/new-orleans/data.json.