Barnard, ME Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Barnard's primary NOAA station, BARNARD.
The climate verdict for Barnard
Water is the standout signal in Barnard, Maine: 48.3 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 42°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 42°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.3"
- annual precipitation · 93" snow
- 142 days
- frost-free growing season
Barnard: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00170398 · Barnard, ME 42°F mean · 48.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 42°F
- RANK-COOL #686
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Evanston Burns…
- PRCP-MID 48.3"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,434 HDD
- STN-1 USC00170398
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Evanston Burns Fld, WY (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every ME station list.
- Hot Grand Marais, MI 43°F
- Near Morrisville Sto…, VT 43°F
- Barnard (this station) 42°F
- Cold Sault Ste Marie…, MI 42°F
- Near Evanston Burns…, WY 42°F
Barnard sits in Maine, the #4 coldest U.S. state at 43.1°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Barnard
Barnard: 23/100 · grade F
Barnard publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Barnard, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 48.3 in · 13.3 from 35 in | 53/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 179 calendar days | 26/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 142 days/year | 20/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 42.4°F · 25.1° from 67.5°F | 10/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 92.5 inches/year | 2/100 · F |
Barnard · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Barnard is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 15.1°F and warmest-month mean 67.0°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 67.0°F
- Coldest month
- 15.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Barnard sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Barnard's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 90%
- Among 6,861 stations, Barnard sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 23% wettest
- Barnard's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 86%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Barnard is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Barnard compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Barnard's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F (-4°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 3.5" | 21.2" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 29°F (-2°C) | 6°F (-14°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 3.0" | 21.6" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 38°F (3°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 3.5" | 17.9" | 29.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (11°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 4.2" | 4.3" | 21.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 4.5 | 0.3 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 4.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| July | 78°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| August | 77°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| September | 70°F (21°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 2.2 | 0.4 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 5.1" | 0.9" | 13.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.3" | 5.1" | 23.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 32°F (0°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 4.3" | 21.5" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 79°F around July 21, short of 90°F on every date, while 179 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 3°F near January 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 22, then returns to freezing around October 27, covering 179 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 30, when 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 5 at 29%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 142 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 11 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Barnard.
Where Barnard Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 179 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Barnard earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 21.2"
10.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 21.6"
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 17.9"
10.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.3"
11.2 days with precipitation
13.1 days with precipitation
13.8 days with precipitation
14.3 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
12.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.1"
11.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 21.5"
11.8 days with precipitation
Barnard spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Barnard has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 51.9°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 5.1" and February 3.0". The three wettest months together take 29% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Barnard's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 142 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 48.3" between them, or roughly 0.34 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Barnard
Barnard averages 92.5 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 34 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 92.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 34 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 19% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 12
50% probability date
Growing Season
142 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,434
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
240
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ME closest to Barnard on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (42°F here).
- Astoria, SD 42°F · 0.0°F off
- Chinook, MT 42°F · 0.0°F off
- Ridgeland, WI 42°F · 0.0°F off
- Ruth, NV 42°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Worcester, MA 48.3" · 0.0" off
- High Point, NC 48.3" · 0.0" off
- Clarksburg, WV 48.2" · 0.0" off
- Pageland, SC 48.2" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Barnard
heating led · wet · mid swing
Barnard's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,434 annual heating degree days against 240 for cooling. Its 51.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 142 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Barnard coldest normal
January
Averaging 15°F (-9°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Barnard typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Barnard snow peak
February
Barnard averages 92.5 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Barnard's climate
How much snow does Barnard get? ▼
How cold does Barnard get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Barnard? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Barnard's primary station: BARNARD (USC00170398). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Barnard; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Barnard comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.