Bennington, Vermont climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bennington's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 38.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.2°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 27°C, 980 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBennington Morse St Airport
- Station IDUSW00054781
- Location42.89°N 73.25°W
- Elevation826 ft (252 m)
- Population (town)15,121
- Census place8,888
On October 14, the normal high in Bennington is 61°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 41%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bennington.
- Jan 32° 13°
- Feb 35° 14°
- Mar 44° 23°
- Apr 57° 34°
- May 69° 44°
- Jun 76° 52°
- Jul 81° 57°
- Aug 79° 55°
- Sep 72° 48°
- Oct 60° 38°
- Nov 49° 29°
- Dec 38° 21°
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 Bennington each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.65 in), the least in February (1.94 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 13°F | 22.6°F | 2.37 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 35°F | 14°F | 24.8°F | 1.94 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 23°F | 33.4°F | 2.65 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 34°F | 45.5°F | 2.49 | 13 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 69°F | 44°F | 56.3°F | 3.47 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 52°F | 64.3°F | 4.05 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 57°F | 68.9°F | 4.65 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 55°F | 67.3°F | 3.86 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 48°F | 60.2°F | 3.82 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 38°F | 48.9°F | 3.61 | 13 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 29°F | 38.9°F | 2.77 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 38°F | 21°F | 29.1°F | 2.90 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 36°F | 46.7°F | 38.58 | 149 | 3 | 152 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −11°C | −5.2°C | 60 mm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −4.0°C | 49 mm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 67 mm |
| April | 14°C | 1°C | 7.5°C | 63 mm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.5°C | 88 mm |
| June | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 103 mm |
| July | 27°C | 14°C | 20.5°C | 118 mm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.6°C | 98 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 97 mm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 92 mm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 3.8°C | 70 mm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.6°C | 74 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Sunderland 2 (15 miles away), gets 75 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054781; 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 Bennington?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00054781.
When is the last frost in Bennington?
In Bennington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 11 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 19 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 111 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 169 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bennington in zone 5b in ZIP code 05201, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bennington's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (20 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Vermont · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00054781; 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 in Bennington?
In a normal year in Bennington, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 152 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 149 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 152a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 149a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 95°F, on July 20, 2022; the lowest is −23°F, on January 7, 2018.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 47.52 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00054781; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00054781. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bennington?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bennington, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.6 |
| February | 64% | 2.5 |
| March | 66% | 3.6 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.8 |
| July | 77% | 6.0 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 76% | 4.3 |
| October | 65% | 2.7 |
| November | 65% | 1.8 |
| December | 57% | 1.3 |
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 Bennington need?
A normal year in Bennington brings 7,019 heating degree days, 31% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 371 cooling degree days, 59% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,257 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,314 | 0 |
| February | 1,126 | 0 |
| March | 980 | 0 |
| April | 587 | 2 |
| May | 287 | 17 |
| June | 86 | 65 |
| July | 20 | 141 |
| August | 37 | 107 |
| September | 182 | 36 |
| October | 503 | 3 |
| November | 783 | 0 |
| December | 1,114 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,019 | 371 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054781. 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 Bennington been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.5°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 46.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.4°F | +1.7°F | 45.13 |
| 2022 | 47.9°F | +1.2°F | 35.80 |
| 2023 | 49.4°F | +2.7°F | – |
| 2024 | 49.5°F | +2.8°F | 42.66 |
| 2025 | 46.5°F | −0.2°F | 40.67 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00054781. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bennington's climate compare?
Bennington is warmer than 26 of the other 28 places with their own NOAA record in Vermont, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.7°F is warmer than 26%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bennington 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 Bennington share this climate record?
6 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.
- Hoosick Falls, NY3,190 people · 5 mi W
- Cambridge, NY1,801 people · 12 mi NW
- Greenwich, NY1,669 people · 18 mi NW
- Schaghticoke, NY551 people · 17 mi W
- Valley Falls, NY453 people · 16 mi W
- Old Bennington, VT132 people · 2 mi E
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 Bennington's climate
What is the coldest month in Bennington?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Bennington?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Bennington's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Sunderland 2 (15 miles away), records 75 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Bennington?
July, with 4.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.94 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bennington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bennington in zone 5b in ZIP code 05201, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bennington's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Bennington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Vermont climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pownal, VT7 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Buskirk, NY10 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Grafton, NY14 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- North Adams, MA14 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made