Lafayette, LA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Lafayette's primary NOAA station, LAFAYETTE 13 SE - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Lafayette
Water is the standout signal in Lafayette, Louisiana: 66.8 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 68°F. Its climate comfort score of 73/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 66% of station-mapped location scores.
- 68°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 73/100
- comfort score, above 66% of station-mapped location scores
- 66.8"
- precipitation, annual total
- 285 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Lafayette: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00053960 · Lafayette, LA 68°F mean · 66.8" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-WARM · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-NARROW · COMF-MID · LOAD-MIX · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 68°F
- RANK-WARM #6,381
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Beaufort Wwtp
- PRCP-WET 66.8"
- SWING-NARROW 29°F
- COMF-MID 73/100
- LOAD-MIX H/C balanced
- STN-MULTI USW00053960
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Beaufort Wwtp, SC (+ 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 LA station list.
- Lafayette (this station) 68°F
- Hot Dothan Rgnl, AL 68°F
- Near Beaufort Wwtp, SC 68°F
- Near Brunswick, GA 68°F
- Near Cedar Creek, TX 68°F
Lafayette sits in Louisiana, the #3 hottest U.S. state at 67.3°F statewide annual average - see all 50 hottest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Lafayette
Lafayette: 77/100 · grade B
Lafayette publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Lafayette, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 73/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 285 days/year | 98/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 67.8°F · 0.3° from 67.5°F | 97/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 32 calendar days | 95/100 · A |
| Precipitation balance | 66.8 in · 31.8 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
Lafayette · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Lafayette is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 52.1°F and warmest-month mean 81.3°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 81.3°F
- Coldest month
- 52.1°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 · balanced station
Where Lafayette sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Lafayette's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 7% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Lafayette sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 3% wettest
- Lafayette's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 91%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Lafayette is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Lafayette compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Lafayette's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
73 Top 34% score exceeds 66% 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%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62°F (16°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 5.6" | N/A | 5.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 65°F (19°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 4.4" | N/A | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 72°F (22°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 3.9" | N/A | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 77°F (25°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 5.3" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 84°F (29°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 5.5" | N/A | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| June | 89°F (31°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 80°F (26°C) | 8.1" | N/A | 0.0 | 13.5 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 81°F (27°C) | 6.6" | N/A | 0.0 | 18.5 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 81°F (27°C) | 6.9" | N/A | 0.0 | 20.7 |
| September | 87°F (30°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 5.8" | N/A | 0.0 | 9.9 |
| October | 80°F (27°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 5.1" | N/A | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| November | 70°F (21°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 4.5" | N/A | 1.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 64°F (18°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 5.2" | N/A | 4.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The year in Lafayette runs from a mild 42°F around January 11 to 91°F at the peak near August 5, and the normal low never reaches freezing on any date in the record.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 21 through August 21, covering 32 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 9 to November 16.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 42°F around January 11.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 8, when 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 28 at 23%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 117 wet dates a year.
The widest day
November 5 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Lafayette.
Where Lafayette Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 67 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 23°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Lafayette earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
10.2 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
11.9 days with precipitation
13.6 days with precipitation
13.1 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
Lafayette spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 32% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Lafayette has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 29.2°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 8.1" and March 3.9". The three wettest months together take 32% 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.
When it rains in Lafayette, it arrives in quantity
66.8" of precipitation falls across only about 117 wet days here, averaging 0.57 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 117 a year, 32% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.57 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 14
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 7
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
December 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
February 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
285 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
1,510
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
2,557
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside LA closest to Lafayette 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 (68°F here).
- Brunswick, GA 68°F · 0.0°F off
- Cedar Creek, TX 68°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Stewart, GA 68°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Worth, TX 68°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (66.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Biloxi, MS 66.8" · 0.0" off
- Picayune, MS 66.7" · 0.1" off
- Monteagle, TN 67.0" · 0.2" off
- Woodville, MS 66.5" · 0.2" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Lafayette's climate pattern fits together
mixed demand · wet · low swing
Water is prominent even though neither heating nor cooling wholly defines the record. Lafayette averages 66.8 inches of precipitation a year. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The monthly table supplies the seasonal distribution hidden by that annual total.
Lafayette's 29.2°F seasonal spread is compact even though precipitation is abundant. August and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar. The annual average is 68°F. Temperature is relatively steady; the monthly rows show how rain and snow observations vary across the calendar.
Lafayette combines a compact 29.2°F annual temperature range with meaningful demand on both sides of the thermostat: 1,510 heating and 2,557 cooling degree days. The balance matters more here than either annual total in isolation.
The frost-free window extends for about 285 days. That is a long calendar measure, but it is not a forecast and does not combine heat, rainfall, soil, or local elevation into a planting recommendation.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Lafayette's primary station, where heating and cooling demand are close enough that neither season sets the character on its own. On a balanced station like Lafayette, the bands are descriptive ranges rather than an official NOAA classification or a forecast.
Questions about Lafayette's climate
How much rain does Lafayette get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Lafayette get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Lafayette? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Lafayette's primary station: LAFAYETTE 13 SE (USW00053960). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Lafayette area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 2240735). Match rule for Lafayette: 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 Lafayette 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.