Ithaca, 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's primary NOAA station, ITHACA 13 E.
The climate verdict for Ithaca
Ithaca, New York has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 45°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 45°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 41.7"
- precipitation, annual total
- 144 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Ithaca: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00064758 · Ithaca, NY 45°F mean · 41.7" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,372
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ S Fork State Re…
- PRCP-MID 41.7"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,459 HDD
- STN-1 USW00064758
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: S Fork State Rec Area, NV (+ 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 (this station) 45°F
- Hot Bear Lake State…, UT 45°F
- Near S Fork State Re…, NV 45°F
- Near Liberty, NY 45°F
- Near Delhi, NY 45°F
Climate Living Index · Ithaca
Ithaca: 38/100 · grade F
Ithaca publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ithaca, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 41.7 in · 6.7 from 35 in | 76/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 161 calendar days | 39/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 144 days/year | 21/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 45.2°F · 22.3° from 67.5°F | 20/100 · F |
Ithaca · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ithaca is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 21.7°F and warmest-month mean 67.2°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
- 67.2°F
- Coldest month
- 21.7°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 sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ithaca's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 80%
- Among 6,861 stations, Ithaca sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 62nd percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 62nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ithaca compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ithaca's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% 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%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F (-1°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 2.7" | 28.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 33°F (0°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 2.7" | 26.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 41°F (5°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 3.3" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 54°F (12°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 3.8" | 15.5 | 0.1 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.6" | 4.4 | 0.0 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 4.2" | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 3.7" | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| August | 77°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.0" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| September | 70°F (21°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 3.5" | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| October | 58°F (15°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 3.6" | 7.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 46°F (8°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 3.3" | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 35°F (2°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 3.2" | 27.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 79°F around July 18, short of 90°F on every date, while 161 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 12°F near January 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 12, then returns to freezing around November 4, covering 161 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 1, when 65% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 31 at 35%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 183 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 12 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.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
19.3 days with precipitation
18.3 days with precipitation
16.3 days with precipitation
15.5 days with precipitation
14.1 days with precipitation
13.7 days with precipitation
13.0 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
16.2 days with precipitation
13.6 days with precipitation
19.6 days with precipitation
Ithaca spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Ithaca has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 45.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 4.2" and January 2.7". The three wettest months together take 29% 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's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 182 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 41.7" 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 4
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 13
50% probability date
Growing Season
144 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,459
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
287
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NY closest to Ithaca 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 (45°F here).
- Albert Lea, MN 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Brillion, WI 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Easton, WA 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Gann Valley, SD 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (41.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Lawrenceville, IL 41.7" · 0.0" off
- Marcus Hook, PA 41.6" · 0.0" off
- Sidney, OH 41.6" · 0.0" off
- Quincy, CA 41.7" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Ithaca's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Ithaca's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,459 annual heating degree days against 287 for cooling. Its 45.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 144 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.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Ithaca's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 45.5°F. The annual average is 45°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Ithaca's 41.7 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Ithaca's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Ithaca, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Ithaca's climate
How much rain does Ithaca get? ▼
How cold does Ithaca get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ithaca? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ithaca's primary station: ITHACA 13 E (USW00064758). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3638077). Match rule for Ithaca: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Ithaca 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.