Dayton, OH 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 Dayton's primary NOAA station, DAYTON INTL AP.
The climate verdict for Dayton
Dayton, Ohio has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 54°F. Its climate comfort score of 63/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 46% of station-mapped location scores.
- 54°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 63/100
- comfort score, above 46% of station-mapped location scores
- 41.3"
- annual precipitation · 25" snow
- 195 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Dayton: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00093815 · Dayton, OH 54°F mean · 41.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 54°F
- RANK-MID #3,911
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Elsberry
- PRCP-MID 41.3"
- SWING-WIDE 47°F
- COMF-MID 63/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,149 HDD
- STN-1 USW00093815
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Elsberry, MO (+ 0.1 °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 OH station list.
- Dayton (this station) 54°F
- Cold Cheviot, OH 54°F
- Hot Cole Camp, MO 54°F
- Near Elsberry, MO 54°F
- Near Rocky Ford, CO 54°F
Climate Living Index · Dayton
Dayton: 61/100 · grade C
Dayton publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Dayton, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 63/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 41.3 in · 6.3 from 35 in | 78/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 109 calendar days | 71/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 195 days/year | 61/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 53.9°F · 13.6° from 67.5°F | 56/100 · C |
| Summer moisture balance | 62.0°F mean dew point | 49/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 25.0 inches/year | 44/100 · D |
Dayton · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Dayton is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 29.4°F and warmest-month mean 76.0°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 76.0°F
- Coldest month
- 29.4°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 Dayton sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Dayton's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 57th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 61st percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 67th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Dayton compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Dayton's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
63 46th percentile score exceeds 46% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Dayton's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 74 complete annual observations from 1951 to 2025, DAYTON INTL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Dayton primary station fitted change +0.18 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F (3°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 3.1" | 8.3" | 25.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 2.4" | 6.6" | 22.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 3.9" | 17.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 65°F (18°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 4.5" | 0.4" | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 74°F (23°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.1 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.0" | 0.2" | 1.9 | 0.1 |
| November | 53°F (12°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.1" | 0.8" | 13.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 42°F (5°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 3.0" | 4.8" | 23.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 11, short of 90°F on every date, while 109 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near January 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 13, then returns to freezing around November 26, covering 109 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 May 9, when 45% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 23 at 26%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 135 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 17 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 22°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Dayton.
Where Dayton Stands Nationally
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 22°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Dayton 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: 8.3"
13.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.6"
11.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.9"
12.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
13.0 days with precipitation
14.1 days with precipitation
11.9 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
9.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
9.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.8"
11.8 days with precipitation
Dayton spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 27% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Dayton has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 46.6°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 4.5" and February 2.4". The three wettest months together take 32% 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 Dayton's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 134 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 41.3" between them, or roughly 0.31 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 Dayton
Dayton averages 25.0 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 25 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: 25.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 25 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 6% 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 28
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 16
50% probability date
Growing Season
195 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,149
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,154
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 10.8 | 22% | 51% |
| February | 70% | 11.2 | 21% | 50% |
| March | 63% | 10.9 | 26% | 42% |
| April | 63% | 10.3 | 26% | 34% |
| May | 67% | 8.8 | 25% | 26% |
| June | 68% | 7.9 | 31% | 18% |
| July | 70% | 7.0 | 29% | 16% |
| August | 70% | 7.2 | 35% | 17% |
| September | 68% | 8.6 | 38% | 23% |
| October | 69% | 9.9 | 32% | 39% |
| November | 74% | 10.9 | 20% | 53% |
| December | 77% | 11.0 | 17% | 58% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside OH closest to Dayton 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 (54°F here).
- Brookings, OR 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Glenville, WV 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Hanksville, UT 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Healy, KS 54°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (41.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Rockville, MD 41.3" · 0.0" off
- Washington, PA 41.3" · 0.0" off
- Madill, OK 41.4" · 0.0" off
- Montpelier, VT 41.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Dayton
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Dayton's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,149 annual heating degree days against 1,154 for cooling. Its 46.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Dayton's frost-free season lasts about 195 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Dayton coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 29°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Dayton typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Dayton snow peak
January
Dayton averages 25.0 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Dayton's climate
How much snow does Dayton get? ▼
How cold does Dayton get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Dayton? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Dayton's primary station: DAYTON INTL AP (USW00093815). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3921000). Match rule for Dayton: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Dayton 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.