Alfred, New York climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Alfred's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 37.7 inches of precipitation and 82 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 27°C, 958 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlfred
- Station IDUSC00300085
- Location42.28°N 77.77°W
- Elevation1,924 ft (586 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population5,471
On October 22, the normal high in Alfred is 57°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 49%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Alfred.
- Jan 32° 12°
- Feb 35° 13°
- Mar 43° 20°
- Apr 56° 30°
- May 69° 41°
- Jun 77° 50°
- Jul 81° 54°
- Aug 79° 52°
- Sep 71° 46°
- Oct 60° 36°
- Nov 47° 27°
- Dec 36° 19°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Alfred each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in June (3.85 in), the least in February (1.73 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 12°F | 21.8°F | 2.37 | 18.6 | 17 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 35°F | 13°F | 23.6°F | 1.73 | 18.1 | 14 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 20°F | 31.5°F | 2.49 | 16.9 | 14 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 30°F | 43.1°F | 3.16 | 3.7 | 14 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 41°F | 54.9°F | 3.35 | 0.1 | 14 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 77°F | 50°F | 63.3°F | 3.85 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 81°F | 54°F | 67.2°F | 3.81 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 52°F | 65.5°F | 3.81 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 71°F | 46°F | 58.4°F | 3.74 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 36°F | 47.7°F | 3.68 | 0.3 | 15 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 27°F | 36.7°F | 2.82 | 6.5 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 36°F | 19°F | 27.9°F | 2.89 | 18.0 | 17 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 33°F | 45.1°F | 37.70 | 82.2 | 169 | 5 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −11°C | −5.7°C | 60 mm | 47 cm |
| February | 2°C | −11°C | −4.7°C | 44 mm | 46 cm |
| March | 6°C | −7°C | −0.3°C | 63 mm | 43 cm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 6.2°C | 80 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 21°C | 5°C | 12.7°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 10°C | 17.4°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 12°C | 19.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 11°C | 18.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.7°C | 93 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.6°C | 72 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 2°C | −7°C | −2.3°C | 73 mm | 46 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00300085; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Alfred?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (12).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00300085.
When is the last frost in Alfred?
In Alfred, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 17 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 181 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 17; 9 in 10 before October 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 135 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 158 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 6 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alfred in zone 5b in ZIP code 14802.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New York · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00300085; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Alfred?
In a normal year in Alfred, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 169 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 47high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 169a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 30a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 101°F, on July 9, 1936; the lowest is −35°F, on February 9, 1934.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 53.23 in; the snowiest season is 1969–70, with 126.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00300085; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00300085. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Alfred?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Alfred, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (76%) and December the cloudiest (50%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.4 |
| February | 58% | 2.2 |
| March | 62% | 3.4 |
| April | 65% | 4.5 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 72% | 5.9 |
| July | 76% | 5.9 |
| August | 76% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 4.2 |
| October | 62% | 2.6 |
| November | 59% | 1.7 |
| December | 50% | 1.1 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Alfred need?
A normal year in Alfred brings 7,502 heating degree days, 40% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 296 cooling degree days, 67% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,033 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,339 | 0 |
| February | 1,159 | 0 |
| March | 1,037 | 0 |
| April | 658 | 1 |
| May | 331 | 19 |
| June | 112 | 61 |
| July | 42 | 111 |
| August | 64 | 79 |
| September | 221 | 22 |
| October | 539 | 2 |
| November | 851 | 0 |
| December | 1,150 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,502 | 296 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00300085. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Alfred been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 45.2°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.3°F | +3.2°F | 45.44 | 51.3 |
| 2022 | 47.0°F | +1.9°F | 31.90 | 69.4 |
| 2023 | 48.8°F | +3.7°F | 36.50 | 45.0 |
| 2024 | 49.4°F | +4.3°F | 39.81 | 46.3 |
| 2025 | 45.2°F | +0.1°F | 34.94 | 50.2 |
Over 83 complete years from 1890 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.2°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00300085; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Alfred's climate compare?
Alfred is warmer than 23 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in New York, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.1°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Alfred is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Alfred share this climate record?
Andover has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Andover, NY891 people · 9 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Alfred's climate
What is the coldest month in Alfred?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Alfred?
Yes: 82 inches in a normal year, falling on 56 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (18.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Alfred?
June, with 3.85 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.73 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Alfred in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Alfred in zone 5b in ZIP code 14802.
How late can frost come in Alfred?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New York climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hornell, NY6 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Angelica, NY13 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Wellsville, NY17 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Dansville, NY21 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made