Durham, Maine climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Durham's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 49.7 inches of precipitation and 78 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.6°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,263 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDurham
- Station IDUSC00172048
- Location44.00°N 70.10°W
- Elevation140 ft (43 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Durham is 55°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 40%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Durham.
- Jan 29° 8°
- Feb 33° 9°
- Mar 41° 19°
- Apr 54° 30°
- May 65° 40°
- Jun 74° 50°
- Jul 79° 56°
- Aug 78° 54°
- Sep 70° 47°
- Oct 58° 36°
- Nov 46° 27°
- Dec 35° 16°
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 Durham each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in October (5.37 in), the least in February (3.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 8°F | 18.4°F | 3.61 | 20.8 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 33°F | 9°F | 20.9°F | 3.35 | 19.4 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 19°F | 30.2°F | 4.06 | 13.8 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 30°F | 41.8°F | 4.53 | 3.7 | 12 | <1 | 20 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 65°F | 40°F | 52.6°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 74°F | 50°F | 61.9°F | 4.64 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 79°F | 56°F | 67.6°F | 3.75 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 78°F | 54°F | 65.9°F | 3.65 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 70°F | 47°F | 58.5°F | 4.15 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 36°F | 46.9°F | 5.37 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 27°F | 36.2°F | 4.49 | 3.3 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 35°F | 16°F | 25.6°F | 4.54 | 16.2 | 13 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 33°F | 43.9°F | 49.73 | 77.5 | 140 | 5 | 176 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −14°C | −7.6°C | 92 mm | 53 cm |
| February | 0°C | −13°C | −6.2°C | 85 mm | 49 cm |
| March | 5°C | −7°C | −1.0°C | 103 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.4°C | 115 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.4°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23°C | 10°C | 16.6°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 136 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 114 mm | 8 cm |
| December | 2°C | −9°C | −3.6°C | 115 mm | 41 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00172048; 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 Durham?
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 USC00172048.
When is the last frost at Durham?
In Durham, 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 October 2 in half of years and before September 20 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 May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Durham in zone 5b in ZIP code 04250, 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 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°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 Maine · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00172048; 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 Durham?
In a normal year in Durham, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 176 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 140 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
- 176a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 48high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 140a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1994) is 99°F, on June 25, 2025; the lowest is −27°F, on January 16, 2009.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2005, with 69.78 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 129.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00172048; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00172048. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Durham?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Durham, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.7 |
| February | 69% | 2.5 |
| March | 69% | 3.6 |
| April | 70% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.3 |
| June | 70% | 5.6 |
| July | 77% | 5.9 |
| August | 79% | 5.3 |
| September | 78% | 4.3 |
| October | 70% | 2.8 |
| November | 68% | 1.8 |
| December | 64% | 1.4 |
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 Durham record?
A normal year at Durham brings 7,921 heating degree days, 47% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 257 cooling degree days, 72% 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 1,872 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,445 | 0 |
| February | 1,235 | 0 |
| March | 1,079 | 0 |
| April | 695 | 0 |
| May | 391 | 5 |
| June | 133 | 42 |
| July | 28 | 109 |
| August | 51 | 79 |
| September | 218 | 22 |
| October | 562 | 1 |
| November | 864 | 0 |
| December | 1,221 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,921 | 257 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00172048. 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 Durham been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 45.2°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.9°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.1°F | +3.2°F | 44.77 | 34.2 |
| 2022 | 46.6°F | +2.7°F | 48.71 | 53.8 |
| 2023 | 47.9°F | +4.0°F | 64.05 | 77.0 |
| 2024 | 48.4°F | +4.5°F | 50.82 | 59.4 |
| 2025 | 45.2°F | +1.3°F | 39.88 | 74.4 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00172048. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Durham's climate compare?
Durham is warmer than 19 of the 42 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.9°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Durham 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 Durham share this climate record?
2 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.
- Lisbon Falls, ME4,185 people · 2 mi E
- Lisbon, ME9,814 people · 2 mi N
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 Durham's climate
What is the coldest month at Durham?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow at Durham?
Yes: 78 inches in a normal year, falling on 32 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (20.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Durham?
October, with 5.37 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Durham in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Durham in zone 5b in ZIP code 04250, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Durham?
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
- Lewiston, ME9 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Brunswick, ME11 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Gray, ME11 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Bath, ME13 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made