Dorset, Ohio climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Dorset's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 46.9 inches of precipitation and 90 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.8°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,192 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDorset
- Station IDUSC00332251
- Location41.68°N 80.67°W
- Elevation980 ft (299 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Dorset is 58°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 42%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dorset.
- Jan 32° 17°
- Feb 35° 17°
- Mar 44° 25°
- Apr 57° 35°
- May 68° 46°
- Jun 77° 55°
- Jul 81° 59°
- Aug 79° 57°
- Sep 73° 50°
- Oct 61° 40°
- Nov 48° 32°
- Dec 37° 24°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Dorset each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.98 in), the least in February (2.55 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 17°F | 24.4°F | 3.32 | 29.6 | 14 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 17°F | 25.7°F | 2.55 | 15.8 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 25°F | 34.3°F | 3.02 | 12.5 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 3.88 | 2.4 | 12 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 46°F | 57.1°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 77°F | 55°F | 65.6°F | 4.98 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 81°F | 59°F | 69.6°F | 4.94 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 57°F | 68.1°F | 4.19 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 73°F | 50°F | 61.8°F | 4.52 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 40°F | 50.7°F | 4.35 | 0.4 | 13 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 32°F | 40.1°F | 3.51 | 8.4 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 37°F | 24°F | 30.5°F | 3.67 | 20.8 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 38°F | 47.8°F | 46.93 | 89.9 | 138 | 5 | 142 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 84 mm | 75 cm |
| February | 2°C | −8°C | −3.5°C | 65 mm | 40 cm |
| March | 7°C | −4°C | 1.3°C | 77 mm | 32 cm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 99 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.9°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 10°C | 16.6°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 5°C | 10.4°C | 110 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.5°C | 89 mm | 21 cm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −0.8°C | 93 mm | 53 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00332251; 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.
Which months are mildest at Dorset?
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 (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 USC00332251.
When is the last frost at Dorset?
In Dorset, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 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 101 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 154 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 179 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dorset in zone 6a in ZIP code 44032, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (26 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Ohio · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00332251; 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 at Dorset?
In a normal year in Dorset, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 142 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 142a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 46high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 32a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 100°F, on July 17, 1988; the lowest is −33°F, on February 20, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 69.32 in; the snowiest season is 2004–05, with 141.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00332251; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00332251. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Dorset?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Dorset, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (47%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 51% | 1.4 |
| February | 57% | 2.3 |
| March | 60% | 3.3 |
| April | 65% | 4.5 |
| May | 69% | 5.3 |
| June | 74% | 5.9 |
| July | 77% | 5.9 |
| August | 77% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 4.2 |
| October | 64% | 2.7 |
| November | 61% | 1.8 |
| December | 47% | 1.1 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Dorset record?
A normal year at Dorset brings 6,709 heating degree days, 25% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 491 cooling degree days, 46% 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 2,495 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,260 | 0 |
| February | 1,099 | 0 |
| March | 952 | 0 |
| April | 567 | 3 |
| May | 278 | 31 |
| June | 82 | 101 |
| July | 26 | 168 |
| August | 35 | 131 |
| September | 148 | 51 |
| October | 447 | 5 |
| November | 747 | 0 |
| December | 1,068 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,709 | 491 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00332251. 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.
Have recent years at Dorset been warmer than normal?
Over 50 complete years from 1959 to 2017, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.5°F per century (+0.25°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dorset's climate compare?
Dorset is warmer than 0 of the 99 places with their own NOAA record in Ohio, and wetter than 87. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.8°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dorset 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 Dorset 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.
- Pymatuning Central, PA2,505 people · 12 mi SE
- Roaming Shores, OH1,571 people · 9 mi W
- Rock Creek, OH665 people · 10 mi W
- Pymatuning North, PA269 people · 10 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 Dorset's climate
What is the coldest month at Dorset?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at Dorset?
Yes: 90 inches in a normal year, falling on 35 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (29.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Dorset?
June, with 4.98 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.55 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dorset in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dorset in zone 6a in ZIP code 44032, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Dorset?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Ohio climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ashtabula, OH7 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Linesville, PA13 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Springboro, PA16 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Jamestown, PA16 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made