Assateague, Maryland climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Assateague's normal year runs from 31°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 44.9 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.5°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,140 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAssateague
- Station IDUSC00180335
- Location38.07°N 75.21°W
- Elevation10 ft (3 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Assateague is 69°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Assateague.
- Jan 47° 31°
- Feb 48° 33°
- Mar 54° 37°
- Apr 63° 45°
- May 72° 54°
- Jun 81° 63°
- Jul 86° 68°
- Aug 85° 68°
- Sep 80° 64°
- Oct 72° 53°
- Nov 60° 42°
- Dec 52° 35°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Assateague each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in September (4.50 in), the least in November (3.02 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 31°F | 38.6°F | 3.39 | 1.8 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 33°F | 40.5°F | 3.29 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 37°F | 45.6°F | 4.24 | 0.4 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 45°F | 54.0°F | 3.39 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 54°F | 62.8°F | 3.20 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 63°F | 72.0°F | 3.50 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 68°F | 77.2°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 85°F | 68°F | 76.6°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 64°F | 72.3°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 53°F | 62.5°F | 3.94 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 42°F | 51.3°F | 3.02 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 52°F | 35°F | 43.4°F | 4.00 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 50°F | 58.1°F | 44.88 | 3.4 | 113 | 16 | 62 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 86 mm | 5 cm |
| February | 9°C | 0°C | 4.7°C | 84 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 12°C | 3°C | 7.6°C | 108 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 17°C | 7°C | 12.2°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 22°C | 12°C | 17.1°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 17°C | 22.2°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 20°C | 25.1°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 20°C | 24.8°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 18°C | 22.4°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 12°C | 16.9°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 6°C | 10.7°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | 2°C | 6.3°C | 102 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00180335; 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.
Which months are mildest at Assateague?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00180335.
When is the last frost at Assateague?
In Assateague, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 15 in half of years and before November 1 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
- March 311 year in 10 after April 13; 9 in 10 after March 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 151 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 228 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 257 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 17 in half of springs and before November 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Assateague in zone 7b in ZIP code 21829, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (16 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maryland · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00180335; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 at Assateague?
In a normal year in Assateague, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 62 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 113 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 62a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 113a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00180335.
How sunny is it at Assateague?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Assateague, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and January the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.2 |
| February | 71% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 75% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.3 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 71% | 1.9 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Assateague record?
A normal year at Assateague brings 3,801 heating degree days, 29% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,302 cooling degree days, 44% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,133 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 818 | 0 |
| February | 686 | 0 |
| March | 603 | 0 |
| April | 339 | 7 |
| May | 120 | 52 |
| June | 12 | 222 |
| July | 0 | 377 |
| August | 0 | 358 |
| September | 10 | 230 |
| October | 132 | 56 |
| November | 411 | 2 |
| December | 671 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,801 | 1,302 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00180335. 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.
How does Assateague's climate compare?
Assateague is warmer than 23 of the 26 places with their own NOAA record in Maryland, and wetter than 8. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.1°F is warmer than 69%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Assateague is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot 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 Assateague share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Chincoteague, VA3,279 people · 11 mi SW
- Captains Cove, VA1,676 people · 13 mi SW
- Greenbackville, VA62 people · 10 mi SW
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 Assateague's climate
What is the coldest month at Assateague?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow at Assateague?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Assateague?
September, with 4.50 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.02 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Assateague in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Assateague in zone 7b in ZIP code 21829, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come at Assateague?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 13. Waiting until April 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maryland climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Snow Hill, MD14 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Wallops Island Flight Fac, VA16 miles from this station, 57.8°F a year
- Ocean City, MD17 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Salisbury, MD25 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made