Gardiner, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gardiner's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 47.7 inches of precipitation and 69 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,212 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGardiner
- Station IDUSC00173046
- Location44.22°N 69.79°W
- Elevation133 ft (41 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population6,160
On October 23, the normal high in Gardiner is 57°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gardiner.
- Jan 30° 9°
- Feb 33° 10°
- Mar 42° 21°
- Apr 54° 33°
- May 66° 44°
- Jun 75° 54°
- Jul 81° 60°
- Aug 80° 58°
- Sep 72° 50°
- Oct 60° 39°
- Nov 47° 29°
- Dec 36° 18°
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 Gardiner each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in October (5.39 in), the least in February (2.95 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 9°F | 19.8°F | 3.58 | 17.6 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 33°F | 10°F | 21.7°F | 2.95 | 20.0 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 42°F | 21°F | 31.2°F | 3.71 | 12.7 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 33°F | 43.5°F | 4.18 | 2.8 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 44°F | 55.1°F | 3.66 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 75°F | 54°F | 64.2°F | 4.40 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 81°F | 60°F | 70.0°F | 3.42 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 58°F | 68.9°F | 3.61 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 50°F | 61.1°F | 3.93 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 39°F | 49.2°F | 5.39 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| November | 47°F | 29°F | 38.2°F | 4.52 | 2.3 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 36°F | 18°F | 27.2°F | 4.38 | 13.3 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 35°F | 45.8°F | 47.73 | 68.9 | 123 | 5 | 161 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −13°C | −6.8°C | 91 mm | 45 cm |
| February | 1°C | −12°C | −5.7°C | 75 mm | 51 cm |
| March | 5°C | −6°C | −0.4°C | 94 mm | 32 cm |
| April | 12°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 106 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 12.8°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 14°C | 20.5°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 137 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 115 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −2.7°C | 111 mm | 34 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00173046; 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 Gardiner?
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 (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 USC00173046.
When is the last frost in Gardiner?
In Gardiner, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 11 in half of years and before September 30 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 11 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 111 year in 10 before September 30; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 163 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 189 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gardiner in zone 5b across its 2 ZIP code areas (5b in 04345, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Gardiner's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (30 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 USC00173046; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Gardiner ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Gardiner's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 5b. 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 Gardiner?
In a normal year in Gardiner, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 161 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 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
- 161a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 51high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1886) is 103°F, on August 2, 1975; the lowest is −41°F, on January 24, 1907.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2005, with 68.88 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 133.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00173046; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00173046. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Gardiner?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gardiner, 3.7 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (77%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.7 |
| February | 69% | 2.5 |
| March | 70% | 3.7 |
| April | 68% | 4.6 |
| May | 67% | 5.3 |
| June | 68% | 5.6 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.2 |
| October | 68% | 2.6 |
| November | 66% | 1.7 |
| December | 62% | 1.3 |
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 Gardiner need?
A normal year in Gardiner brings 7,375 heating degree days, 37% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 427 cooling degree days, 53% 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 2,276 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,401 | 0 |
| February | 1,211 | 0 |
| March | 1,049 | 0 |
| April | 647 | 0 |
| May | 318 | 10 |
| June | 88 | 65 |
| July | 13 | 169 |
| August | 19 | 141 |
| September | 158 | 40 |
| October | 493 | 2 |
| November | 806 | 0 |
| December | 1,173 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,375 | 427 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00173046. 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 Gardiner been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 47.8°F, 2.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.8°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.4°F | +1.6°F | 42.64 | 36.3 |
| 2022 | 46.1°F | +0.3°F | 48.71 | 53.5 |
| 2024 | 47.8°F | +2.0°F | 50.08 | 58.2 |
Over 110 complete years from 1887 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.8°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00173046; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gardiner's climate compare?
Gardiner is warmer than 33 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 25. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.8°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gardiner 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 Gardiner 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.
- Farmingdale, ME3,029 people · 2 mi N
- Richmond, ME3,573 people · 8 mi S
- Randolph, ME1,773 people · 2 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.
Questions about Gardiner's climate
What is the coldest month in Gardiner?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Gardiner?
Yes: 69 inches in a normal year, falling on 23 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (20.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Gardiner?
October, with 5.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.95 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gardiner in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gardiner in zone 5b across its 2 ZIP code areas (5b in 04345, the largest). By the same method at Gardiner's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Gardiner?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Augusta, ME7 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Newcastle, ME17 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Wiscasset, ME18 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Bath, ME21 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