Emmitsburg, Maryland climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Emmitsburg's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 46.6 inches of precipitation and 28 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.7°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,185 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEmmitsburg (2 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00182906
- Location39.68°N 77.28°W
- Elevation403 ft (123 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population2,920
On October 23, the normal high in Emmitsburg is 63°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Emmitsburg.
- Jan 40° 22°
- Feb 43° 23°
- Mar 52° 30°
- Apr 64° 40°
- May 72° 51°
- Jun 81° 60°
- Jul 85° 64°
- Aug 84° 62°
- Sep 77° 55°
- Oct 66° 44°
- Nov 54° 33°
- Dec 44° 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 Emmitsburg each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.18 in), the least in February (2.55 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 22°F | 31.1°F | 3.50 | 8.7 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 23°F | 32.9°F | 2.55 | 8.8 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 30°F | 40.9°F | 4.19 | 4.4 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 40°F | 51.8°F | 3.88 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 51°F | 61.4°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 81°F | 60°F | 70.1°F | 4.26 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 85°F | 64°F | 74.8°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 62°F | 73.0°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 55°F | 66.1°F | 5.18 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 44°F | 54.7°F | 3.78 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 54°F | 33°F | 43.9°F | 3.40 | 0.8 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| December | 44°F | 27°F | 35.7°F | 3.76 | 4.5 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 43°F | 53.0°F | 46.65 | 27.5 | 117 | 18 | 114 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.5°C | 89 mm | 22 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.5°C | 65 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 11°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 106 mm | 11 cm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 11.0°C | 99 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.6°C | 86 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 96 mm | 11 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00182906; 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 Emmitsburg?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00182906.
When is the last frost in Emmitsburg?
In Emmitsburg, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 22 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 7 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 221 year in 10 after May 9; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 179 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 203 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Emmitsburg in zone 7a in ZIP code 21727, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Emmitsburg's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maryland · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00182906; 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 Emmitsburg?
In a normal year in Emmitsburg, 18 days a year reach 90°F, 114 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 117 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 18a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 114a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 15high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 117a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 103°F, on July 3, 1966; the lowest is −27°F, on January 21, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 77.16 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 84.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00182906; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00182906. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Emmitsburg?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Emmitsburg, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and January the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.0 |
| February | 68% | 2.8 |
| March | 68% | 3.8 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.4 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 3.1 |
| November | 72% | 2.3 |
| December | 66% | 1.7 |
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 Emmitsburg need?
A normal year in Emmitsburg brings 5,239 heating degree days, 2% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 914 cooling degree days, 1% more 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 3,329 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,049 | 0 |
| February | 900 | 0 |
| March | 749 | 1 |
| April | 404 | 8 |
| May | 162 | 52 |
| June | 23 | 177 |
| July | 1 | 306 |
| August | 4 | 252 |
| September | 71 | 104 |
| October | 334 | 15 |
| November | 633 | 0 |
| December | 910 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,239 | 914 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00182906. 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 Emmitsburg been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 54.0°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.0°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.8°F | +1.8°F | – | 23.6 |
| 2022 | 53.2°F | +0.2°F | 46.33 | 12.0 |
| 2023 | 55.0°F | +2.0°F | 37.61 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 55.3°F | +2.3°F | 42.67 | 14.0 |
| 2025 | 54.0°F | +1.0°F | 35.58 | – |
Over 57 complete years from 1958 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.4°F per century (+0.30°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00182906; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Emmitsburg's climate compare?
Emmitsburg is warmer than 4 of the other 25 places with their own NOAA record in Maryland, and wetter than 12. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.0°F is warmer than 54%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Emmitsburg is Dfa: continental, 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 Emmitsburg share this climate record?
6 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.
- Gettysburg, PA8,647 people · 11 mi N
- Littlestown, PA4,917 people · 12 mi NE
- Carroll Valley, PA4,050 people · 7 mi NW
- Lake Heritage, PA2,737 people · 11 mi NE
- Bonneauville, PA1,806 people · 12 mi NE
- Fairfield, PA544 people · 9 mi NW
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 Emmitsburg's climate
What is the coldest month in Emmitsburg?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Emmitsburg?
Yes: 28 inches in a normal year, falling on 10 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Emmitsburg?
September, with 5.18 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.55 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Emmitsburg in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Emmitsburg in zone 7a in ZIP code 21727, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Emmitsburg's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Emmitsburg?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 22; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maryland climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eisenhower National Historic Site, PA9 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- Catoctin Mountain Park, MD11 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Cashtown, PA15 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Hanover, PA15 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made