Colton, New York climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Colton's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 42.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.6°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,068 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationColton (2 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00301664
- Location44.58°N 74.96°W
- Elevation580 ft (177 m)
- Population (census place)248
On October 23, the normal high in Colton is 54°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 47%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Colton.
- Jan 26° 6°
- Feb 29° 9°
- Mar 38° 18°
- Apr 53° 32°
- May 67° 44°
- Jun 75° 54°
- Jul 80° 58°
- Aug 78° 57°
- Sep 71° 48°
- Oct 57° 38°
- Nov 44° 27°
- Dec 32° 16°
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 Colton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.57 in), the least in February (2.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 6°F | 16.0°F | 2.69 | 15 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 9°F | 18.6°F | 2.35 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 38°F | 18°F | 27.8°F | 2.78 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 32°F | 42.1°F | 3.56 | 13 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 44°F | 55.4°F | 3.57 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 75°F | 54°F | 64.7°F | 4.02 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 4.32 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 78°F | 57°F | 67.5°F | 3.66 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 48°F | 59.5°F | 4.07 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 38°F | 47.6°F | 4.57 | 15 | <1 | 7 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 27°F | 35.6°F | 3.37 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 32°F | 16°F | 23.8°F | 3.07 | 15 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 34°F | 43.9°F | 42.03 | 159 | 8 | 162 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −14°C | −8.9°C | 68 mm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.4°C | 60 mm |
| March | 3°C | −8°C | −2.3°C | 71 mm |
| April | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 90 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.0°C | 91 mm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 102 mm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 110 mm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 93 mm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.3°C | 103 mm |
| October | 14°C | 3°C | 8.7°C | 116 mm |
| November | 7°C | −3°C | 2.0°C | 86 mm |
| December | 0°C | −9°C | −4.6°C | 78 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Canton (8 miles away), gets 77 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00301664; 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 Colton?
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 USC00301664.
When is the last frost in Colton?
In Colton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 8 in half of years and before September 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
- May 51 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 81 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Colton in zone 4b in ZIP code 13625, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New York · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00301664; 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 Colton?
In a normal year in Colton, 8 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 162 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 159 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 162a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 63high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 159a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00301664.
How sunny is Colton?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Colton, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (74%) and December the cloudiest (50%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.4 |
| February | 60% | 2.2 |
| March | 64% | 3.4 |
| April | 64% | 4.4 |
| May | 66% | 5.2 |
| June | 69% | 5.6 |
| July | 74% | 5.7 |
| August | 74% | 5.0 |
| September | 74% | 4.0 |
| October | 61% | 2.4 |
| November | 57% | 1.5 |
| December | 50% | 1.0 |
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 Colton need?
A normal year in Colton brings 8,038 heating degree days, 50% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 397 cooling degree days, 56% 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 2,219 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,518 | 0 |
| February | 1,300 | 0 |
| March | 1,155 | 0 |
| April | 690 | 1 |
| May | 318 | 19 |
| June | 93 | 82 |
| July | 23 | 145 |
| August | 36 | 112 |
| September | 205 | 38 |
| October | 542 | 1 |
| November | 882 | 0 |
| December | 1,277 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,038 | 397 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00301664. 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 Colton been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 47.7°F, 3.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.9°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.8°F | +1.9°F | 38.08 |
| 2022 | 44.7°F | +0.8°F | 48.03 |
| 2023 | 46.4°F | +2.5°F | 44.66 |
| 2024 | 47.7°F | +3.8°F | 46.38 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00301664. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Colton's climate compare?
Colton is warmer than 10 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in New York, and wetter than 53. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.9°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Colton 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 Colton share this climate record?
4 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.
- Potsdam, NY8,162 people · 6 mi N
- Norwood, NY1,533 people · 11 mi N
- Hannawa Falls, NY847 people · 1 mi NW
- Parishville, NY750 people · 9 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 Colton's climate
What is the coldest month in Colton?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Colton?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Colton's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Canton (8 miles away), records 77 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Colton?
October, with 4.57 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Colton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Colton in zone 4b in ZIP code 13625, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Colton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 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
- Canton, NY7 miles from this station, 44.5°F a year
- Lawrenceville (3 mi SW), NY19 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Massena, NY25 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Ogdensburg, NY26 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made