Lake Charles, LA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Lake Charles's primary NOAA station, LAKE CHARLES.
The climate verdict for Lake Charles
Warm-season cooling demand defines Lake Charles, Louisiana, running at more than twice its heating total. The NOAA normal records an annual average of 70°F. It scores 85/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 85% of them.
- 70°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 85/100
- comfort score, above 85% of station-mapped location scores
- 59.8"
- precipitation, annual total
- 296 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Lake Charles: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00003937 · Lake Charles, LA 70°F mean · 59.8" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-WARM · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-COOL · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 70°F
- RANK-WARM #6,518
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Danevang
- PRCP-WET 59.8"
- SWING-MID 31°F
- COMF-TOP 85/100
- LOAD-COOL 3,063 CDD
- STN-1 USW00003937
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Danevang, TX (+ 0.1 °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.
- Lake Charles (this station) 70°F
- Cold Hackberry, LA 70°F
- Hot Port Arthur SE…, TX 70°F
- Near Danevang, TX 70°F
- Near New Iberia Acad…, LA 70°F
Lake Charles 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 · Lake Charles
Lake Charles: 61/100 · grade C
Lake Charles publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Lake Charles, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 85/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 296 days/year | 100/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 69.7°F · 2.2° from 67.5°F | 93/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 97 calendar days | 77/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 59.8 in · 24.8 from 35 in | 13/100 · F |
| Summer moisture balance | 73.6°F mean dew point | 2/100 · F |
Lake Charles · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Lake Charles is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 53.2°F and warmest-month mean 84.0°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
- 84.0°F
- Coldest month
- 53.2°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 · cooling-led station
Where Lake Charles sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Lake Charles's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 5% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Lake Charles sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 6% wettest
- Lake Charles's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 89%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Lake Charles is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Lake Charles compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Lake Charles's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
85 Top 15% score exceeds 85% 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%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Lake Charles's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 65 complete annual observations from 1943 to 2025, LAKE CHARLES warmed at a fitted rate of 0.16°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Lake Charles primary station fitted change +0.16 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63°F (17°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 5.9" | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 67°F (19°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.3" | 1.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 73°F (23°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.7" | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 79°F (26°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.4" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| May | 85°F (30°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 5.4" | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| June | 91°F (33°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 82°F (28°C) | 6.5" | 0.0 | 17.2 |
| July | 92°F (33°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 84°F (29°C) | 5.7" | 0.0 | 24.1 |
| August | 93°F (34°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 84°F (29°C) | 6.2" | 0.0 | 25.0 |
| September | 89°F (32°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 5.2" | 0.0 | 15.9 |
| October | 82°F (28°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.8" | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| November | 72°F (22°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 4.1" | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 65°F (19°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.6" | 3.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The year in Lake Charles runs from a mild 43°F around January 11 to 93°F at the peak near August 4, and the normal low never reaches freezing on any date in the record.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 8 through September 12, covering 97 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 2 to November 23.
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 43°F around January 11.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 25, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is May 1 at 23%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 108 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 26 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 22°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Lake Charles.
Where Lake Charles Stands Nationally
Summers here run among the most heat-heavy normals calendars in the country: on about 97 days a year the normal daily high itself reaches 90°F — a count fewer than one station in ten exceeds.
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 60 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Lake Charles earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
9.3 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
10.8 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
7.9 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
Lake Charles spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 31% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Lake Charles has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 30.8°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 6.5" and February 3.3". 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.
When it rains in Lake Charles, it arrives in quantity
59.7" of precipitation falls across only about 108 wet days here, averaging 0.55 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 108 a year, 30% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.55 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 11
- Fewest wet days
- April, 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 7
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
February 14
50% probability date
Growing Season
296 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
1,315
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
3,063
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 8.5 | 45% | 40% |
| February | 74% | 9.0 | 42% | 39% |
| March | 75% | 8.7 | 43% | 31% |
| April | 74% | 8.3 | 46% | 21% |
| May | 77% | 6.5 | 47% | 9% |
| June | 78% | 5.7 | 55% | 6% |
| July | 78% | 5.1 | 59% | 5% |
| August | 77% | 5.8 | 59% | 8% |
| September | 74% | 6.7 | 65% | 10% |
| October | 75% | 7.1 | 58% | 20% |
| November | 77% | 7.8 | 50% | 30% |
| December | 76% | 8.5 | 45% | 40% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside LA closest to Lake Charles 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 (70°F here).
- Conroe, TX 70°F · 0.0°F off
- Hastings, FL 70°F · 0.0°F off
- Inverness, FL 70°F · 0.1°F off
- Bushnell, FL 70°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (59.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Anahuac, TX 59.7" · 0.0" off
- Ashland, AL 59.7" · 0.0" off
- Quincy, FL 59.8" · 0.1" off
- Allardt, TN 59.8" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Lake Charles's climate pattern fits together
cooling led · wet · mid swing
Air-conditioning demand is the clearest thermal signal here. Lake Charles accumulates 3,063 cooling degree days, more than twice its 1,315 heating total; the monthly table shows when that imbalance builds rather than treating it as a year-round condition.
Warm-season demand is paired with a wet annual normal: 59.8 inches of precipitation at Lake Charles. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The month-by-month bars distinguish a concentrated wet season from moisture spread across the calendar.
August and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Lake Charles's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 30.8°F. The annual average is 70°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
The frost-free window extends for about 296 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 Lake Charles's primary station, so the summer figures are a thirty-year average rather than a ceiling: individual years have run hotter and will again. For Lake Charles that means a descriptive range only — not an official NOAA classification and not a prediction for next summer.
Questions about Lake Charles's climate
How much rain does Lake Charles get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Lake Charles get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Lake Charles? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Lake Charles's primary station: LAKE CHARLES (USW00003937). 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 2241155). Match rule for Lake Charles: 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 Lake Charles 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.