Lake Charles, Louisiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lake Charles's normal year runs from 43°F January nights to 93°F August afternoons, with 59.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 20.9°C, January lows of 6°C, August highs of 34°C, 1,518 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLake Charles Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00003937
- Location30.13°N 93.22°W
- Elevation13 ft (4 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population81,157
On October 23, the normal high in Lake Charles is 80°F and the normal low 58°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lake Charles.
- Jan 63° 43°
- Feb 67° 47°
- Mar 73° 53°
- Apr 79° 59°
- May 85° 67°
- Jun 91° 74°
- Jul 92° 76°
- Aug 93° 75°
- Sep 89° 71°
- Oct 82° 60°
- Nov 72° 51°
- Dec 65° 45°
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 Lake Charles each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 43°F. The most precipitation falls in June (6.54 in), the least in February (3.26 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63°F | 43°F | 53.2°F | 5.89 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 67°F | 47°F | 56.9°F | 3.26 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 73°F | 53°F | 63.1°F | 3.67 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 79°F | 59°F | 69.1°F | 4.44 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 85°F | 67°F | 76.4°F | 5.40 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 91°F | 74°F | 82.1°F | 6.54 | 11 | 17 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 92°F | 76°F | 83.9°F | 5.69 | 11 | 24 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 93°F | 75°F | 84.0°F | 6.19 | 11 | 25 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 71°F | 80.1°F | 5.18 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 82°F | 60°F | 71.3°F | 4.80 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 72°F | 51°F | 61.4°F | 4.13 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 65°F | 45°F | 55.3°F | 4.56 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 79°F | 60°F | 69.7°F | 59.75 | 108 | 89 | 11 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 6°C | 11.8°C | 150 mm |
| February | 19°C | 8°C | 13.8°C | 83 mm |
| March | 23°C | 12°C | 17.3°C | 93 mm |
| April | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 113 mm |
| May | 30°C | 20°C | 24.7°C | 137 mm |
| June | 33°C | 23°C | 27.8°C | 166 mm |
| July | 33°C | 24°C | 28.8°C | 145 mm |
| August | 34°C | 24°C | 28.9°C | 157 mm |
| September | 32°C | 22°C | 26.7°C | 132 mm |
| October | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 122 mm |
| November | 22°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 105 mm |
| December | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 116 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003937; 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 Lake Charles?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October, November and December. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USW00003937.
When is the last frost in Lake Charles?
In Lake Charles, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 14 in half of years and after March 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 7 in half of years and before November 14 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
- February 141 year in 10 after March 11; 9 in 10 after January 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 71 year in 10 before November 14; 9 in 10 before January 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 299 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 336 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 27 in half of springs and before January 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lake Charles in zones 9a to 9b across its 3 ZIP code areas (9a in 70601, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lake Charles's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Louisiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00003937; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Lake Charles ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Lake Charles's 3 ZIP code areas run from zone 9a to 9b: 2 in 9a and 1 in 9b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Lake Charles?
In a normal year in Lake Charles, 89 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 11 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 108 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 89a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 11a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 108a normal year
The highest temperature in Lake Charles's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1895) is 109°F, on August 27, 2023; the lowest is 3°F, on February 12, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2002, with 85.18 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 5.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003937; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record LCHthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Lake Charles, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 74°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 74°F, above the 65°F at which most people call the air sticky; the driest air comes in December (44°F). February is the windiest month (9.0 mph on average), and September has the most clear or nearly clear hours (76%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 74% | 55% | 8.5 mph | 50% | 40% |
| February | 50°F | 74% | 55% | 9.0 mph | 47% | 39% |
| March | 57°F | 75% | 56% | 8.7 mph | 51% | 31% |
| April | 63°F | 74% | 55% | 8.3 mph | 56% | 21% |
| May | 71°F | 77% | 59% | 6.5 mph | 65% | 9% |
| June | 74°F | 78% | 61% | 5.7 mph | 73% | 6% |
| July | 74°F | 78% | 60% | 5.1 mph | 75% | 5% |
| August | 73°F | 77% | 58% | 5.8 mph | 73% | 8% |
| September | 65°F | 74% | 51% | 6.7 mph | 76% | 10% |
| October | 56°F | 75% | 51% | 7.1 mph | 66% | 20% |
| November | 49°F | 77% | 56% | 7.8 mph | 56% | 30% |
| December | 44°F | 76% | 58% | 8.5 mph | 49% | 40% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00003937. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Lake Charles?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lake Charles, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (65%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 276th (with 27 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.8 |
| February | 65% | 3.2 |
| March | 71% | 4.4 |
| April | 75% | 5.4 |
| May | 79% | 6.0 |
| June | 79% | 6.1 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.7 |
| September | 80% | 5.0 |
| October | 81% | 4.3 |
| November | 78% | 3.3 |
| December | 69% | 2.5 |
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 Lake Charles need?
A normal year in Lake Charles brings 1,315 heating degree days, 76% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,063 cooling degree days, 3.4 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 7,393 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 379 | 14 |
| February | 250 | 24 |
| March | 130 | 71 |
| April | 34 | 159 |
| May | 2 | 354 |
| June | 0 | 513 |
| July | 0 | 586 |
| August | 0 | 587 |
| September | 0 | 452 |
| October | 28 | 222 |
| November | 166 | 58 |
| December | 325 | 24 |
| Year (annual) | 1,315 | 3,063 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003937. 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 Lake Charles been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 70.1°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 69.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69.8°F | +0.1°F | 72.26 |
| 2022 | 68.3°F | −1.4°F | 44.01 |
| 2023 | 71.0°F | +1.3°F | 44.00 |
| 2024 | 71.5°F | +1.8°F | 68.21 |
| 2025 | 70.1°F | +0.4°F | 48.66 |
Over 65 complete years from 1943 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.9°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003937; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lake Charles's climate compare?
Lake Charles is warmer than 57 of the other 64 places with their own NOAA record in Louisiana, and wetter than 29. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 69.7°F is warmer than 95%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lake Charles is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot 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 Lake Charles share this climate record?
3 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.
- Sulphur, LA20,572 people · 11 mi NW
- Prien, LA8,248 people · 4 mi NW
- Carlyss, LA5,184 people · 10 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.
Questions about Lake Charles's climate
What is the coldest month in Lake Charles?
January, with a normal high of 63°F and a normal low of 43°F. The warmest is August (93°F by day, 75°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Lake Charles?
June, with 6.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lake Charles in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lake Charles in zones 9a to 9b across its 3 ZIP code areas (9a in 70601, the largest). By the same method at Lake Charles's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Lake Charles?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 14; in one year in ten it comes after March 11. Waiting until March 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Lake Charles in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Louisiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Moss Bluff, LA15 miles from this station, 67.9°F a year
- Hackberry, LA20 miles from this station, 69.5°F a year
- Lake Arthur, LA28 miles from this station, 69.0°F a year
- Orange, TX32 miles from this station, 66.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made