Cape May, New Jersey climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cape May's normal year runs from 29°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 43.8 inches of precipitation and 15 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.4°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,114 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCape May (2 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00281351
- Location38.95°N 74.94°W
- Elevation20 ft (6 m)
- Population2,742
On October 23, the normal high in Cape May is 65°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cape May.
- Jan 43° 29°
- Feb 45° 29°
- Mar 52° 35°
- Apr 62° 44°
- May 71° 54°
- Jun 80° 63°
- Jul 86° 68°
- Aug 84° 67°
- Sep 79° 62°
- Oct 68° 51°
- Nov 57° 41°
- Dec 48° 33°
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 Cape May each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.17 in), the least in February (2.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 29°F | 35.9°F | 3.22 | 4.5 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 29°F | 37.3°F | 2.97 | 5.7 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 35°F | 43.6°F | 4.10 | 2.5 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 44°F | 52.9°F | 3.34 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 71°F | 54°F | 62.3°F | 3.55 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 80°F | 63°F | 71.6°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 68°F | 76.9°F | 3.88 | 0.0 | 10 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 67°F | 75.7°F | 4.01 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 62°F | 70.1°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 51°F | 59.3°F | 4.17 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 41°F | 48.8°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 33°F | 40.6°F | 4.02 | 2.0 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 48°F | 56.2°F | 43.84 | 14.8 | 124 | 15 | 72 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −2°C | 2.2°C | 82 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 7°C | −1°C | 2.9°C | 75 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 11°C | 2°C | 6.4°C | 104 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 17°C | 7°C | 11.6°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 22°C | 12°C | 16.8°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 17°C | 22.0°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 20°C | 24.9°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 20°C | 24.3°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 17°C | 21.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 10°C | 15.2°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 5°C | 9.3°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | 1°C | 4.8°C | 102 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00281351; 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 Cape May?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00281351.
When is the last frost in Cape May?
In Cape May, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 1 in half of years and after April 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 9 in half of years and before October 26 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
- April 11 year in 10 after April 15; 9 in 10 after March 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 91 year in 10 before October 26; 9 in 10 before November 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 222 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 248 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 19 in half of springs and before November 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cape May in zone 8a in ZIP code 08204. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cape May's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Jersey · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00281351; 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 Cape May?
In a normal year in Cape May, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 72 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 124 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 72a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 124a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1877) is 102°F, on July 23, 2011; the lowest is −3°F, on February 10, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 55.46 in; the snowiest season is 1898–99, with 61.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00281351; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00281351. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cape May?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cape May, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 2.1 |
| February | 70% | 2.9 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 75% | 5.2 |
| May | 76% | 5.8 |
| June | 81% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.2 |
| August | 82% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.3 |
| November | 73% | 2.4 |
| December | 67% | 1.8 |
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 Cape May need?
A normal year in Cape May brings 4,332 heating degree days, 19% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,176 cooling degree days, 30% 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 3,833 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 902 | 0 |
| February | 776 | 0 |
| March | 665 | 0 |
| April | 367 | 6 |
| May | 133 | 49 |
| June | 13 | 210 |
| July | 0 | 369 |
| August | 0 | 334 |
| September | 22 | 177 |
| October | 207 | 31 |
| November | 488 | 1 |
| December | 758 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,332 | 1,176 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00281351. 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 Cape May been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 57.9°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.8°F | +1.6°F | 38.57 | 3.8 |
| 2022 | 56.7°F | +0.5°F | 38.68 | 27.9 |
| 2023 | 58.2°F | +2.0°F | 42.35 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 57.9°F | +1.6°F | 36.73 | 5.3 |
Over 109 complete years from 1878 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00281351; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cape May's climate compare?
Cape May is warmer than 32 of the other 32 places with their own NOAA record in New Jersey, and wetter than 2. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.2°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cape May 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 Cape May share this climate record?
16 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.
- Villas, NJ9,897 people · 4 mi N
- Cape May Court House, NJ5,375 people · 11 mi NE
- Wildwood, NJ5,098 people · 7 mi E
- North Cape May, NJ3,577 people · 2 mi NW
- North Wildwood, NJ3,555 people · 8 mi NE
- Rio Grande, NJ3,285 people · 6 mi NE
- Wildwood Crest, NJ3,036 people · 5 mi E
- Whitesboro, NJ2,946 people · 7 mi NE
- Erma, NJ2,039 people · 4 mi NE
- West Cape May, NJ995 people · 1 mi S
- Stone Harbor, NJ784 people · 11 mi NE
- West Wildwood, NJ536 people · 7 mi NE
- Cape May Point, NJ297 people · 2 mi SW
- Diamond Beach, NJ288 people · 4 mi E
- Burleigh, NJ275 people · 8 mi NE
- Slaughter Beach, DE247 people · 20 mi W
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 Cape May's climate
What is the coldest month in Cape May?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Cape May?
Yes: 15 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cape May?
October, with 4.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cape May in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cape May in zone 8a in ZIP code 08204. By the same method at Cape May's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Cape May?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 1; in one year in ten it comes after April 15. Waiting until April 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New Jersey climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lewes, DE17 miles from this station, 58.5°F a year
- Belleplain, NJ21 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Georgetown, DE29 miles from this station, 57.6°F a year
- Millville, NJ29 miles from this station, 54.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made