Kingston, Rhode Island climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kingston's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 51.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,310 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKingston (1 mi W)
- Station IDUSW00054797
- Location41.48°N 71.54°W
- Elevation106 ft (32 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population (census place)6,953
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Kingston.
- Jan 37° 19°
- Feb 39° 21°
- Mar 46° 27°
- Apr 56° 36°
- May 66° 45°
- Jun 75° 54°
- Jul 80° 60°
- Aug 79° 59°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 62° 41°
- Nov 52° 32°
- Dec 43° 25°
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 Kingston each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in March (5.69 in), the least in July (3.31 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 19°F | 28.3°F | 4.17 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 39°F | 21°F | 29.9°F | 3.85 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 46°F | 27°F | 36.7°F | 5.69 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 36°F | 46.0°F | 4.50 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 45°F | 55.5°F | 3.58 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 75°F | 54°F | 64.5°F | 3.99 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 80°F | 60°F | 70.3°F | 3.31 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 79°F | 59°F | 69.0°F | 4.08 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.2°F | 4.30 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 41°F | 51.7°F | 4.49 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 32°F | 42.0°F | 4.38 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 43°F | 25°F | 33.9°F | 5.23 | 13 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 39°F | 49.2°F | 51.57 | 134 | 4 | 135 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −7°C | −2.1°C | 106 mm |
| February | 4°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 98 mm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.6°C | 145 mm |
| April | 14°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 114 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 91 mm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 101 mm |
| July | 27°C | 16°C | 21.3°C | 84 mm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 104 mm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 109 mm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 114 mm |
| November | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 111 mm |
| December | 6°C | −4°C | 1.1°C | 133 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Kingston's own co-op station Kingston station does: 35 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054797; 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 Kingston?
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 USW00054797.
When is the last frost in Kingston?
In Kingston, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 in half of years and before October 1 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 18; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 163 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 190 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 18 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kingston in zone 6b in ZIP code 02881.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Rhode Island · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00054797; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Kingston?
In a normal year in Kingston, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 135 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 134 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 135a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 24high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 134a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 2001) is 97°F, on July 6, 2010; the lowest is −14°F, on February 21, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2024, with 65.19 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00054797; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00054797. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Kingston?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kingston, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.9 |
| February | 71% | 2.7 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 72% | 3.0 |
| November | 71% | 2.1 |
| December | 67% | 1.6 |
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 Kingston need?
A normal year in Kingston brings 6,173 heating degree days, 15% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 443 cooling degree days, 51% 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 2,419 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,136 | 0 |
| February | 983 | 0 |
| March | 877 | 0 |
| April | 569 | 1 |
| May | 301 | 7 |
| June | 80 | 63 |
| July | 11 | 177 |
| August | 19 | 145 |
| September | 130 | 46 |
| October | 416 | 5 |
| November | 689 | 0 |
| December | 963 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,173 | 443 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054797. 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 Kingston been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.3°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.2°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.9°F | +1.7°F | 47.33 |
| 2024 | 50.7°F | +1.5°F | 65.19 |
| 2025 | 49.3°F | +0.1°F | 42.95 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00054797. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Kingston's climate compare?
Kingston is warmer than 0 of the other 5 places with their own NOAA record in Rhode Island, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.2°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kingston 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 Kingston share this climate record?
5 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.
- Wakefield-Peace Dale, RI9,812 people · 3 mi SE
- Narragansett Pier, RI3,080 people · 5 mi SE
- Charlestown, RI8,052 people · 8 mi SW
- Carolina, RI1,238 people · 6 mi W
- Wyoming, RI351 people · 8 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Kingston's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Kingston. This page uses Kingston (1 mi W); the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston (1 mi NW) USW00054796 | 2 mi NW | 115 ft | 49.5°F | 20°F | 80°F | 51.3 | – | April 27 |
| Kingston station USC00374266 | 2 mi NW | 117 ft | 51.4°F | 21°F | 83°F | 53.1 | 35 | May 3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Kingston's climate
What is the coldest month in Kingston?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Kingston?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Kingston's NOAA station; Kingston's own co-op station Kingston station records 35 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Kingston?
March, with 5.69 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 3.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kingston in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kingston in zone 6b in ZIP code 02881.
How late can frost come in Kingston?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Rhode Island climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Coventry 2, RI13 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Newport, RI14 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Westerly, RI16 miles from this station, 52.5°F a year
- Providence, RI18 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made