Fort Kent, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fort Kent's normal year runs from −3°F January nights to 76°F July afternoons, with 41.6 inches of precipitation and 99 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.2°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 24°C, 1,057 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Kent
- Station IDUSC00172878
- Location47.24°N 68.61°W
- Elevation610 ft (186 m)
- Population (town)4,159
- Census place2,453
On October 22, the normal high in Fort Kent is 49°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 45%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Kent.
- Jan 19° -3°
- Feb 23° -3°
- Mar 33° 9°
- Apr 46° 25°
- May 61° 37°
- Jun 71° 47°
- Jul 76° 54°
- Aug 75° 51°
- Sep 66° 43°
- Oct 52° 32°
- Nov 38° 22°
- Dec 26° 8°
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 Fort Kent each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −3°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.52 in), the least in February (2.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | −3°F | 7.9°F | 2.78 | 20.3 | 13 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 23°F | −3°F | 10.0°F | 2.34 | 21.0 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 33°F | 9°F | 20.9°F | 2.75 | 19.0 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 46°F | 25°F | 35.4°F | 3.17 | 6.6 | 12 | <1 | 26 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 61°F | 37°F | 49.4°F | 3.31 | 0.1 | 14 | <1 | 9 | 15 h |
| June | 71°F | 47°F | 59.1°F | 4.42 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 76°F | 54°F | 64.8°F | 4.52 | 0.0 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 75°F | 51°F | 62.9°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 66°F | 43°F | 54.3°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 52°F | 32°F | 41.8°F | 4.26 | 1.1 | 14 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| November | 38°F | 22°F | 30.3°F | 3.23 | 8.9 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 26°F | 8°F | 17.0°F | 3.38 | 22.3 | 14 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 49°F | 27°F | 37.8°F | 41.61 | 99.3 | 156 | 2 | 201 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −20°C | −13.4°C | 71 mm | 52 cm |
| February | −5°C | −19°C | −12.2°C | 59 mm | 53 cm |
| March | 0°C | −13°C | −6.2°C | 70 mm | 48 cm |
| April | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 81 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 16°C | 3°C | 9.7°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 22°C | 8°C | 15.1°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11°C | 0°C | 5.4°C | 108 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 3°C | −5°C | −0.9°C | 82 mm | 23 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −8.3°C | 86 mm | 57 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00172878; 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 Fort Kent?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USC00172878.
When is the last frost in Fort Kent?
In Fort Kent, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 24 in half of years and before September 11 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 231 year in 10 after June 6; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 241 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 121 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 147 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Kent in zone 4a in ZIP code 04781, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Fort Kent's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (23 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 USC00172878; 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 Fort Kent?
In a normal year in Fort Kent, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 201 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 156 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 201a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 97high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 156a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 29a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 98°F, on June 29, 1893; the lowest is −42°F, on January 15, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2005, with 58.24 in; the snowiest season is 1954–55, with 179.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00172878; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00172878. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Fort Kent?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fort Kent, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (72%) and December the cloudiest (54%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.3 |
| February | 64% | 2.1 |
| March | 67% | 3.4 |
| April | 66% | 4.5 |
| May | 65% | 5.2 |
| June | 67% | 5.6 |
| July | 71% | 5.5 |
| August | 72% | 4.8 |
| September | 71% | 3.7 |
| October | 61% | 2.2 |
| November | 55% | 1.2 |
| December | 54% | 0.9 |
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 Fort Kent need?
A normal year in Fort Kent brings 10,015 heating degree days, 86% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 149 cooling degree days, 84% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,431 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,771 | 0 |
| February | 1,541 | 0 |
| March | 1,366 | 0 |
| April | 887 | 0 |
| May | 487 | 4 |
| June | 204 | 27 |
| July | 72 | 64 |
| August | 108 | 43 |
| September | 331 | 11 |
| October | 718 | 0 |
| November | 1,041 | 0 |
| December | 1,490 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,015 | 149 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00172878. 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 Fort Kent been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 38.6°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 37.8°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40.4°F | +2.6°F | 34.30 | – |
| 2022 | 39.0°F | +1.2°F | 50.88 | – |
| 2023 | 40.6°F | +2.8°F | 45.83 | 113.2 |
| 2024 | 41.5°F | +3.8°F | 38.29 | 70.0 |
| 2025 | 38.6°F | +0.8°F | 37.87 | 96.2 |
Over 65 complete years from 1937 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.3°F per century (+0.18°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00172878; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Fort Kent's climate compare?
Fort Kent is warmer than 0 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 37.8°F is warmer than 3%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Kent 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 Fort Kent share this climate record?
Eagle Lake has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Eagle Lake, ME758 people · 14 mi S
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 Fort Kent's climate
What is the coldest month in Fort Kent?
January, with a normal high of 19°F and a normal low of −3°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Fort Kent?
Yes: 99 inches in a normal year, falling on 40 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (22.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Fort Kent?
July, with 4.52 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Kent in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Kent in zone 4a in ZIP code 04781, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Fort Kent's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Fort Kent?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 6. Waiting until June 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Frenchville Aroostook Airport, ME14 miles from this station, 40.1°F a year
- Allagash, ME22 miles from this station, 37.4°F a year
- Van Buren, ME32 miles from this station, 38.4°F a year
- Caribou, ME38 miles from this station, 40.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made