Frederick, Maryland climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Frederick's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 43.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.9°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,105 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFrederick Police Barracks
- Station IDUSC00183348
- Location39.42°N 77.44°W
- Elevation380 ft (116 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population89,537
On October 14, the normal high in Frederick is 70°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Frederick.
- Jan 43° 27°
- Feb 48° 29°
- Mar 55° 36°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 85° 63°
- Jul 89° 68°
- Aug 87° 66°
- Sep 80° 59°
- Oct 69° 47°
- Nov 56° 38°
- Dec 47° 31°
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 Frederick each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.80 in), the least in January (2.58 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 27°F | 34.8°F | 2.58 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 48°F | 29°F | 38.2°F | 2.95 | 7 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 36°F | 45.5°F | 3.71 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 3.55 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | 3.99 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 85°F | 63°F | 74.2°F | 4.26 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 68°F | 78.5°F | 3.90 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 66°F | 76.5°F | 2.89 | 8 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 59°F | 69.7°F | 5.80 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 47°F | 58.0°F | 3.26 | 6 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 56°F | 38°F | 47.1°F | 2.66 | 8 | <1 | 9 | 10 h |
| December | 47°F | 31°F | 38.9°F | 3.97 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 47°F | 57.0°F | 43.52 | 105 | 37 | 84 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −3°C | 1.6°C | 66 mm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 75 mm |
| March | 13°C | 2°C | 7.5°C | 94 mm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 90 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 101 mm |
| June | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 108 mm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.8°C | 99 mm |
| August | 30°C | 19°C | 24.7°C | 73 mm |
| September | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 147 mm |
| October | 20°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 83 mm |
| November | 13°C | 3°C | 8.4°C | 68 mm |
| December | 8°C | −1°C | 3.8°C | 101 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Damascus (15 miles away), gets 31 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00183348; 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 Frederick?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00183348.
When is the last frost in Frederick?
In Frederick, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 2 in half of years and after April 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 6 in half of years and before October 23 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 21 year in 10 after April 15; 9 in 10 after March 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 61 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 218 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 245 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 21 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Frederick in zone 7a across its 2 ZIP code areas (7a in 21701, the largest).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maryland · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00183348; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Frederick ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Frederick's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Frederick?
In a normal year in Frederick, 37 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 84 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 105 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 37a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 84a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 105a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1894) is 109°F, on July 10, 1936; the lowest is −21°F, on January 14, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1948, with 53.78 in; the snowiest season is 1960–61, with 53.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00183348; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00183348. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Frederick?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Frederick, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and January the cloudiest (65%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 352nd (with 32 others) in sunshine.
| 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 Frederick need?
A normal year in Frederick brings 4,275 heating degree days, 20% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,397 cooling degree days, 54% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,174 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 936 | 0 |
| February | 752 | 0 |
| March | 608 | 2 |
| April | 277 | 26 |
| May | 77 | 114 |
| June | 8 | 285 |
| July | 0 | 419 |
| August | 0 | 358 |
| September | 31 | 170 |
| October | 239 | 22 |
| November | 539 | 1 |
| December | 809 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,275 | 1,397 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00183348. 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.
How does Frederick's climate compare?
Frederick is warmer than 18 of the other 25 places with their own NOAA record in Maryland, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.0°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Frederick is Cfa: temperate, 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 Frederick share this climate record?
13 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.
- Ballenger Creek, MD25,866 people · 3 mi S
- Linganore, MD13,044 people · 7 mi E
- Walkersville, MD6,535 people · 6 mi NE
- Spring Ridge, MD5,720 people · 5 mi E
- Middletown, MD5,055 people · 5 mi W
- Jefferson, MD2,891 people · 6 mi SW
- Bartonsville, MD2,760 people · 5 mi E
- Braddock Heights, MD2,606 people · 3 mi W
- Adamstown, MD2,381 people · 8 mi S
- Myersville, MD1,865 people · 10 mi NW
- New Market, MD1,609 people · 9 mi E
- Libertytown, MD1,368 people · 11 mi NE
- Buckeystown, MD1,317 people · 6 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 Frederick's climate
What is the coldest month in Frederick?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Frederick?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Frederick's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Damascus (15 miles away), records 31 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Frederick?
September, with 5.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 2.58 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Frederick in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Frederick in zone 7a across its 2 ZIP code areas (7a in 21701, the largest).
How late can frost come in Frederick?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 2; in one year in ten it comes after April 15. Waiting until April 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Frederick in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Maryland climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sharpsburg, MD15 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Damascus, MD16 miles from this station, 54.0°F a year
- Catoctin Mountain Park, MD16 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Smithsburg, MD19 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made