Dover-Foxcroft, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dover-Foxcroft's normal year runs from 3°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 44.7 inches of precipitation and 77 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,135 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDover-Foxcroft Wastewater Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00171975
- Location45.19°N 69.18°W
- Elevation370 ft (113 m)
- Population (town)4,500
- Census place2,758
On October 14, the normal high in Dover-Foxcroft is 58°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dover-Foxcroft.
- Jan 26° 3°
- Feb 29° 5°
- Mar 38° 15°
- Apr 51° 28°
- May 65° 40°
- Jun 74° 50°
- Jul 80° 55°
- Aug 79° 53°
- Sep 71° 45°
- Oct 57° 34°
- Nov 44° 25°
- Dec 32° 13°
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-Foxcroft each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 3°F. The most precipitation falls in October (4.82 in), the least in February (2.76 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 3°F | 14.7°F | 3.47 | 18.1 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 5°F | 16.9°F | 2.76 | 19.8 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 38°F | 15°F | 26.8°F | 3.39 | 15.1 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 51°F | 28°F | 39.5°F | 3.65 | 4.7 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 40°F | 52.4°F | 3.34 | 0.1 | 13 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 74°F | 50°F | 61.9°F | 4.35 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 80°F | 55°F | 67.4°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 53°F | 65.9°F | 3.67 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 45°F | 57.8°F | 3.70 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 57°F | 34°F | 45.7°F | 4.82 | 0.5 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 25°F | 34.4°F | 4.09 | 3.9 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 32°F | 13°F | 22.8°F | 4.07 | 15.1 | 13 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 31°F | 42.2°F | 44.67 | 77.3 | 138 | 3 | 188 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −16°C | −9.6°C | 88 mm | 46 cm |
| February | −1°C | −15°C | −8.4°C | 70 mm | 50 cm |
| March | 3°C | −9°C | −2.9°C | 86 mm | 38 cm |
| April | 11°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 93 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23°C | 10°C | 16.6°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 7°C | 14.3°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 122 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 7°C | −4°C | 1.3°C | 104 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 0°C | −10°C | −5.1°C | 103 mm | 38 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00171975; 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-Foxcroft?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00171975.
When is the last frost in Dover-Foxcroft?
In Dover-Foxcroft, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after May 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 15 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 151 year in 10 after May 28; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 134 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dover-Foxcroft in zone 5a in ZIP code 04426, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dover-Foxcroft's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (19 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maine · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00171975; 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 Dover-Foxcroft?
In a normal year in Dover-Foxcroft, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 188 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 188a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 73high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1973) is 98°F, on July 6, 1982; the lowest is −31°F, on January 20, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1981, with 54.56 in; the snowiest season is 1981–82, with 157.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00171975; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00171975. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dover-Foxcroft?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dover-Foxcroft, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (74%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.5 |
| February | 66% | 2.4 |
| March | 69% | 3.6 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 65% | 5.1 |
| June | 67% | 5.5 |
| July | 72% | 5.6 |
| August | 73% | 5.0 |
| September | 74% | 4.0 |
| October | 65% | 2.5 |
| November | 61% | 1.5 |
| December | 59% | 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 much heating and cooling does Dover-Foxcroft need?
A normal year in Dover-Foxcroft brings 8,534 heating degree days, 59% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 260 cooling degree days, 71% 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 1,835 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,559 | 0 |
| February | 1,345 | 0 |
| March | 1,186 | 0 |
| April | 765 | 0 |
| May | 396 | 7 |
| June | 136 | 41 |
| July | 35 | 111 |
| August | 52 | 80 |
| September | 238 | 21 |
| October | 597 | 1 |
| November | 917 | 0 |
| December | 1,308 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,534 | 260 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00171975. 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-Foxcroft been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 45.9°F, 3.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.2°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.6°F | +2.4°F | 38.10 | – |
| 2022 | 43.5°F | +1.3°F | 48.96 | 62.1 |
| 2024 | 45.9°F | +3.7°F | 46.83 | 87.5 |
Over 32 complete years from 1978 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.0°F per century (+0.33°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00171975; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dover-Foxcroft's climate compare?
Dover-Foxcroft is warmer than 10 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.2°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dover-Foxcroft 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.
Questions about Dover-Foxcroft's climate
What is the coldest month in Dover-Foxcroft?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 3°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Dover-Foxcroft?
Yes: 77 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (19.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dover-Foxcroft?
October, with 4.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dover-Foxcroft in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dover-Foxcroft in zone 5a in ZIP code 04426, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dover-Foxcroft's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Dover-Foxcroft?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 28. Waiting until May 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sebec Lake, ME5 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- East Sangerville, ME6 miles from this station, 43.3°F a year
- Barnard, ME7 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Corinna, ME19 miles from this station, 44.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made