Ithaca Cornell Univ, NY Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Ithaca Cornell Univ's primary NOAA station, ITHACA CORNELL UNIV.
The climate verdict for Ithaca Cornell Univ
Ithaca Cornell Univ, New York has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 46°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 46°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 38.3"
- annual precipitation · 63" snow
- 145 days
- frost-free growing season
Ithaca Cornell Univ: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00304174 · Ithaca Cornell Univ, NY 46°F mean · 38.3" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,647
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hart
- PRCP-MID 38.3"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,207 HDD
- STN-1 USC00304174
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hart, MI (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every NY station list.
- Ithaca Cornell… (this station) 46°F
- Hot Hopkinton Lake, NH 46°F
- Near Hart, MI 46°F
- Near Lead, SD 46°F
- Near Weare, NH 46°F
Climate Living Index · Ithaca Cornell Univ
Ithaca Cornell Univ: 39/100 · grade F
Ithaca Cornell Univ publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ithaca Cornell Univ, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 38.3 in · 3.3 from 35 in | 88/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 156 calendar days | 42/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 46.3°F · 21.2° from 67.5°F | 24/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 145 days/year | 22/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 62.9 inches/year | 14/100 · F |
Ithaca Cornell Univ · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ithaca Cornell Univ is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 22.8°F and warmest-month mean 68.9°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 68.9°F
- Coldest month
- 22.8°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Ithaca Cornell Univ sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ithaca Cornell Univ's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 76%
- Among 6,861 stations, Ithaca Cornell Univ sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 54th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 65th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ithaca Cornell Univ compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ithaca Cornell Univ's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Ithaca Cornell Univ's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 140 complete annual observations from 1876 to 2025, ITHACA CORNELL UNIV warmed at a fitted rate of 0.10°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Ithaca Cornell Univ primary station fitted change +0.10 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 2.2" | 16.6" | 28.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 33°F (1°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 2.0" | 14.5" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 41°F (5°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 2.8" | 12.0" | 25.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.4" | 2.8" | 14.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (20°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.2" | 0.0" | 2.8 | 0.2 |
| June | 76°F (24°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| July | 80°F (27°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.3 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| October | 59°F (15°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 3.7" | 0.2" | 7.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 47°F (8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 2.9" | 4.6" | 17.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 2.6" | 12.2" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 80°F around July 15, short of 90°F on every date, while 156 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 13°F near January 26.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 13, then returns to freezing around November 10, covering 156 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 5, when 51% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 30 at 36%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 166 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 14 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Ithaca Cornell Univ.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 16.6"
16.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.5"
13.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.0"
14.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.8"
13.6 days with precipitation
14.6 days with precipitation
13.8 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
15.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
14.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.2"
15.7 days with precipitation
Ithaca Cornell Univ spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 30% of the annual total and December through February 18%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Ithaca Cornell Univ has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 46.1°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 4.0" and February 2.0". The three wettest months together take 31% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Ithaca Cornell Univ's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 166 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 38.3" between them, or roughly 0.23 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Ithaca Cornell Univ
Ithaca Cornell Univ averages 62.9 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 43 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 62.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 43 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 16% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 3
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
145 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,207
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
416
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NY closest to Ithaca Cornell Univ on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (46°F here).
- Chewelah, WA 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Douglas, WY 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Gardiner, MT 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Gordon, NE 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (38.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Eau Claire, MI 38.3" · 0.0" off
- Morrison, IL 38.3" · 0.0" off
- Caledonia, MN 38.3" · 0.0" off
- Haysville, KS 38.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Ithaca Cornell Univ
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Ithaca Cornell Univ's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,207 annual heating degree days against 416 for cooling. Its 46.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 145 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Ithaca Cornell Univ coldest normal
January
Averaging 23°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Ithaca Cornell Univ typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Ithaca Cornell Univ snow peak
January
Ithaca Cornell Univ averages 62.9 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Ithaca Cornell Univ's climate
How much snow does Ithaca Cornell Univ get? ▼
How cold does Ithaca Cornell Univ get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ithaca Cornell Univ? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ithaca Cornell Univ's primary station: ITHACA CORNELL UNIV (USC00304174). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Ithaca Cornell Univ; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Ithaca Cornell Univ comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.