New York, NY climate: monthly averages and frost dates
New York, NY has cool winters and warm summers by this site's scale, with wet annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00094728 (NEW YORK CNTRL PK TWR), 8 mi (13 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 84.9°F
- July
- Coldest month mean
- 33.7°F
- January
- Precipitation
- 49.5 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 29.8 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- March 30
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- November 20
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in New York
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39.5 | 27.9 | 33.7 | 3.64 | 8.8 | 10.8 | 0.0 | 20.5 |
| February | 42.2 | 29.5 | 35.9 | 3.19 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 17.7 |
| March | 49.9 | 35.8 | 42.8 | 4.29 | 5.0 | 11.1 | 0.0 | 10.6 |
| April | 61.8 | 45.5 | 53.7 | 4.09 | 0.4 | 11.4 | 0.2 | 1.0 |
| May | 71.4 | 55.0 | 63.2 | 3.96 | 0.0 | 11.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 79.7 | 64.4 | 72.0 | 4.54 | 0.0 | 11.2 | 2.8 | 0.0 |
| July | 84.9 | 70.1 | 77.5 | 4.60 | 0.0 | 10.5 | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| August | 83.3 | 68.9 | 76.1 | 4.56 | 0.0 | 10.0 | 4.9 | 0.0 |
| September | 76.2 | 62.3 | 69.2 | 4.31 | 0.0 | 8.8 | 1.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 64.5 | 51.4 | 57.9 | 4.38 | 0.1 | 9.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 54.0 | 42.0 | 48.0 | 3.58 | 0.5 | 9.2 | 0.0 | 3.6 |
| December | 44.3 | 33.8 | 39.1 | 4.38 | 4.9 | 11.4 | 0.0 | 13.8 |
| Year | 62.6 | 48.9 | 55.8 | 49.52 | 29.8 | 125.4 | 17.4 | 67.3 |
How cold is winter in New York?
Winters in New York are cool by this site's scale (coldest-month mean 32 to under 45°F). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 33.7°F (0.9°C), a normal daily high of 39.5°F (4.2°C) and a normal daily low of 27.9°F (−2.3°C).
The station averages 67.3 nights a year at or below 32°F and 16.0 days when the high stays at or below 32°F.
The normal daily low is at or below freezing in January and February.
How hot is summer in New York?
Summers in New York are warm by this site's scale (hottest-month high 80 to under 90°F). July has the highest normal daily high, 84.9°F (29.4°C), with nights averaging 70.1°F (21.2°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 17.4 days in a normal year.
What is the wettest month in New York?
New York gets 49.52 in (1258 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as wet (40 to under 60 in a year). The wettest month is July with 4.60 in (117 mm); the driest is February with 3.19 in (81 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 125.4 days a year.
Does it snow in New York?
Normal annual snowfall in New York is 29.8 in (76 cm), which this site classes as moderate (12 to under 36 in a year).
February is the snowiest month, with 10.1 in (26 cm).
A day with 1.0 in or more of snowfall comes 7.0 times a year on average.
Which months are mild in New York?
5 months in New York 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): May to September.
October misses by one threshold only (normal high 64.5°F, below the 65°F limit).
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in New York
In New York the median last spring night at or below 32°F is March 30, and the median first autumn one is November 20 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 236 days. NOAA takes that median over each year's own season, so it need not equal the 235 days between the two median dates.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after April 9, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by November 6.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after March 14 is 90%.
For a hard freeze (28°F or lower) the median dates are March 19 in spring and December 1 in autumn.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | April 9 | November 6 | 257 |
| 20% | April 5 | November 10 | 250 |
| 30% | April 3 | November 14 | 244 |
| 40% | April 1 | November 17 | 240 |
| 50% | March 30 | November 20 | 236 |
| 60% | March 27 | November 23 | 232 |
| 70% | March 23 | November 27 | 228 |
| 80% | March 19 | December 1 | 223 |
| 90% | March 14 | December 6 | 217 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | April 7 | November 8 | 215 |
| 32°F | March 30 | November 20 | 236 |
| 28°F | March 19 | December 1 | 257 |
| 24°F | March 9 | December 12 | 277 |
| 20°F | March 1 | December 26 | 298 |
| 16°F | February 14 | January 5 | 318 |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 100% | 99% | 40% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 78% | 99% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to New York by station distance are Philadelphia, PA at 92 mi (147 km), Boston, MA at 188 mi (302 km) and Washington, DC at 210 mi (339 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of New York's (winter: cool, summer: warm, precipitation: wet), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Philadelphia, PA, Asheville, NC and Boston, MA.
Compared with Philadelphia, PA, New York's peak-month normal high is 2.9°F (1.6°C) lower, its coldest-month mean is about the same, and its annual precipitation is 5.41 in more.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | this page | – | 33.7 | 84.9 | 49.5 | 29.8 | March 30 |
| Philadelphia, PA | nearby, similar | 92 mi (147 km) | 33.7 | 87.8 | 44.1 | 23.1 | April 2 |
| Boston, MA | nearby, similar | 188 mi (302 km) | 29.9 | 82.1 | 43.6 | 49.2 | April 4 |
| Washington, DC | nearby | 210 mi (339 km) | 37.5 | 89.6 | 41.8 | 13.7 | March 24 |
| Asheville, NC | similar | 594 mi (956 km) | 38.7 | 85.3 | 49.6 | 10.3 | April 9 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for New York come from NOAA station NEW YORK CNTRL PK TWR, NY US (USW00094728) at 40.7789, -73.9692, elevation 130 ft (40 m). It lies 8 mi (13 km) in a straight line from the center point of New York city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 28 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- 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 USW00094728 (NEW YORK CNTRL PK TWR, NY 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 USW00094728 (NEW YORK CNTRL PK TWR, NY 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/ny/new-york/data.json.