Dover, Delaware climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dover's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 47.6 inches of precipitation and 13 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.9°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,209 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDover
- Station IDUSC00072730
- Location39.15°N 75.51°W
- Elevation30 ft (9 m)
- Population40,191
On October 22, the normal high in Dover is 67°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dover.
- Jan 44° 28°
- Feb 47° 29°
- Mar 55° 35°
- Apr 66° 45°
- May 74° 54°
- Jun 83° 64°
- Jul 87° 69°
- Aug 85° 67°
- Sep 79° 61°
- Oct 69° 50°
- Nov 58° 39°
- Dec 49° 32°
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 Dover each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.92 in), the least in February (3.08 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 28°F | 36.0°F | 3.43 | 4.1 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 47°F | 29°F | 38.2°F | 3.08 | 5.9 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 35°F | 45.0°F | 4.21 | 0.6 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 45°F | 55.5°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 54°F | 64.4°F | 3.89 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 64°F | 73.2°F | 4.56 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 69°F | 77.9°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 9 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 67°F | 76.2°F | 4.92 | 0.0 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 61°F | 70.1°F | 4.25 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 50°F | 59.2°F | 4.06 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 58°F | 39°F | 48.7°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 10 h |
| December | 49°F | 32°F | 40.3°F | 3.99 | 2.6 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 48°F | 57.1°F | 47.61 | 13.2 | 110 | 25 | 79 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −2°C | 2.2°C | 87 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 78 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 13°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 107 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 19°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 18.0°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 18°C | 22.9°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 21°C | 25.5°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 20°C | 24.6°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 16°C | 21.2°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 10°C | 15.1°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 4°C | 9.3°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | 0°C | 4.6°C | 101 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00072730; 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 Dover?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00072730.
When is the last frost in Dover?
In Dover, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 4 in half of years and after April 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 4 in half of years and before October 23 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 41 year in 10 after April 17; 9 in 10 after March 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 41 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 214 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 25 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dover in zone 7b across its 3 ZIP code areas (7b in 19901, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dover's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Delaware · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00072730; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Dover ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Dover's 3 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Dover?
In a normal year in Dover, 25 days a year reach 90°F, 79 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 110 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 25a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 79a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 110a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 104°F, on July 21, 1930; the lowest is −11°F, on February 9, 1934.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 67.21 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 65.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00072730; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00072730. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dover?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dover, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 2.0 |
| February | 71% | 2.9 |
| March | 69% | 3.8 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 78% | 6.2 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.4 |
| October | 73% | 3.2 |
| November | 74% | 2.3 |
| December | 68% | 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 Dover need?
A normal year in Dover brings 4,195 heating degree days, 22% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,334 cooling degree days, 47% 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 4,118 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 899 | 0 |
| February | 750 | 0 |
| March | 623 | 2 |
| April | 307 | 21 |
| May | 107 | 89 |
| June | 12 | 259 |
| July | 0 | 401 |
| August | 0 | 347 |
| September | 26 | 179 |
| October | 214 | 34 |
| November | 493 | 2 |
| December | 764 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,195 | 1,334 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00072730. 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 Dover been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.1°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 57.1°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 57.5°F | +0.4°F | – | – |
| 2023 | 59.1°F | +2.0°F | – | – |
| 2024 | 59.1°F | +2.0°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 57.1°F | at normal | – | – |
Over 92 complete years from 1891 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.7°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00072730; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dover's climate compare?
Dover is warmer than 3 of the other 5 places with their own NOAA record in Delaware, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.1°F is warmer than 67%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dover 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 Dover share this climate record?
31 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.
- Smyrna, DE13,326 people · 12 mi NW
- Clayton, DE4,511 people · 11 mi NW
- Rising Sun-Lebanon, DE4,195 people · 3 mi S
- Camden, DE4,191 people · 4 mi SW
- Highland Acres, DE3,661 people · 2 mi S
- Dover Base Housing, DE3,026 people · 2 mi SE
- Kent Acres, DE2,540 people · 1 mi SW
- Cheswold, DE2,537 people · 7 mi NW
- Riverview, DE2,412 people · 8 mi S
- Wyoming, DE1,871 people · 4 mi SW
- Woodside East, DE1,680 people · 6 mi S
- Felton, DE1,375 people · 10 mi S
- Rodney Village, DE1,318 people · 2 mi SW
- Frederica, DE1,131 people · 10 mi S
- Millington, MD541 people · 20 mi NW
- Sudlersville, MD516 people · 19 mi W
- Magnolia, DE289 people · 5 mi S
- Bowers, DE285 people · 8 mi SE
- Kenton, DE223 people · 10 mi NW
- Goldsboro, MD216 people · 17 mi SW
- Little Creek, DE203 people · 3 mi NE
- Woodside, DE198 people · 6 mi SW
- Leipsic, DE187 people · 7 mi N
- Barclay, MD181 people · 19 mi W
- Marydel, MD178 people · 13 mi W
- Henderson, MD161 people · 15 mi W
- Viola, DE145 people · 8 mi SW
- Fortescue, NJ141 people · 19 mi E
- Templeville, MD114 people · 14 mi W
- Gandys Beach, NJ38 people · 17 mi NE
- Money Island, NJ23 people · 17 mi NE
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 Dover's climate
What is the coldest month in Dover?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Dover?
Yes: 13 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dover?
August, with 4.92 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dover in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dover in zone 7b across its 3 ZIP code areas (7b in 19901, the largest). By the same method at Dover's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Dover?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 4; in one year in ten it comes after April 17. Waiting until April 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Dover in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Delaware climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Greenwood, DE23 miles from this station, 55.4°F a year
- Millville, NJ28 miles from this station, 54.3°F a year
- Seabrook Farms, NJ28 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Chestertown, MD30 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made