Dunkirk, New York climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dunkirk's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 33.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.3°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 27°C, 838 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDunkirk Chautauqua Airport
- Station IDUSW00014747
- Location42.49°N 79.27°W
- Elevation666 ft (203 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population12,379
On October 23, the normal high in Dunkirk is 58°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 46%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dunkirk.
- Jan 34° 19°
- Feb 35° 19°
- Mar 43° 25°
- Apr 55° 35°
- May 67° 46°
- Jun 76° 56°
- Jul 80° 61°
- Aug 79° 60°
- Sep 72° 53°
- Oct 61° 44°
- Nov 49° 34°
- Dec 39° 27°
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 Dunkirk each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in October (3.86 in), the least in February (1.21 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 19°F | 26.7°F | 1.66 | 14 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 35°F | 19°F | 27.0°F | 1.21 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 25°F | 34.0°F | 1.73 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 35°F | 45.2°F | 2.78 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 67°F | 46°F | 56.6°F | 3.08 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 76°F | 56°F | 66.1°F | 2.70 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 80°F | 61°F | 70.7°F | 3.65 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 79°F | 60°F | 69.3°F | 3.30 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 53°F | 62.8°F | 3.55 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 44°F | 52.2°F | 3.86 | 15 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 34°F | 41.7°F | 3.09 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 27°F | 32.8°F | 2.38 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 40°F | 48.8°F | 32.99 | 149 | 3 | 123 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −7°C | −2.9°C | 42 mm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.8°C | 31 mm |
| March | 6°C | −4°C | 1.1°C | 44 mm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 71 mm |
| May | 19°C | 8°C | 13.7°C | 78 mm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 69 mm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.5°C | 93 mm |
| August | 26°C | 16°C | 20.7°C | 84 mm |
| September | 22°C | 12°C | 17.1°C | 90 mm |
| October | 16°C | 6°C | 11.2°C | 98 mm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.4°C | 78 mm |
| December | 4°C | −3°C | 0.4°C | 60 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Fredonia (4 miles away), gets 76 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014747; 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 Dunkirk?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00014747.
When is the last frost in Dunkirk?
In Dunkirk, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 5 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 20; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 167 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 190 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dunkirk in zone 7a in ZIP code 14048. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dunkirk's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (24 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 New York · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014747; 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 Dunkirk?
In a normal year in Dunkirk, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 123 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 149 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
- 123a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 149a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1945) is 99°F, on July 3, 1949; the lowest is −28°F, on February 16, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 42.73 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 72.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014747; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00014747. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dunkirk?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dunkirk, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (47%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.4 |
| February | 56% | 2.2 |
| March | 60% | 3.3 |
| April | 65% | 4.5 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.0 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 63% | 2.6 |
| November | 58% | 1.6 |
| 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 much heating and cooling does Dunkirk need?
A normal year in Dunkirk brings 6,411 heating degree days, 19% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 534 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,601 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,186 | 0 |
| February | 1,064 | 0 |
| March | 961 | 0 |
| April | 598 | 3 |
| May | 285 | 26 |
| June | 67 | 100 |
| July | 12 | 188 |
| August | 18 | 153 |
| September | 121 | 55 |
| October | 404 | 9 |
| November | 698 | 0 |
| December | 998 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,411 | 534 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014747. 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 Dunkirk been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 54.3°F, 5.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.8°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.0°F | +3.2°F | 27.40 |
| 2022 | 50.4°F | +1.6°F | 25.53 |
| 2023 | 52.6°F | +3.8°F | 35.47 |
| 2024 | 54.3°F | +5.5°F | 35.55 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014747. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dunkirk's climate compare?
Dunkirk is warmer than 90 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in New York, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.8°F is warmer than 35%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dunkirk 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 Dunkirk share this climate record?
3 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.
- Silver Creek, NY2,574 people · 6 mi NE
- Forestville, NY625 people · 5 mi E
- Sunset Bay, NY392 people · 9 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.
What do Dunkirk's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Dunkirk. This page uses Dunkirk Chautauqua Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkirk station USC00302197 | 1 mi S | 631 ft | 48.4°F | 17°F | 80°F | 46.8 | – | April 30 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Dunkirk's climate
What is the coldest month in Dunkirk?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Dunkirk?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Dunkirk's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Fredonia (4 miles away), records 76 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Dunkirk?
October, with 3.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.21 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dunkirk in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dunkirk in zone 7a in ZIP code 14048. By the same method at Dunkirk's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Dunkirk?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 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
- Fredonia, NY4 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Portland1 SW, NY14 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Perrysburg, NY14 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Westfield, NY21 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made