Manchester, New Hampshire climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Manchester's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 40.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,026 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationManchester Airport
- Station IDUSW00014710
- Location42.93°N 71.44°W
- Elevation225 ft (69 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population116,386
On October 22, the normal high in Manchester is 60°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Manchester.
- Jan 34° 17°
- Feb 37° 19°
- Mar 46° 27°
- Apr 59° 38°
- May 70° 48°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 82° 62°
- Sep 75° 54°
- Oct 62° 42°
- Nov 50° 33°
- Dec 39° 24°
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 Manchester each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.04 in), the least in January (2.44 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 | 34°F | 17°F | 25.6°F | 2.44 | 10 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 37°F | 19°F | 28.2°F | 2.73 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 27°F | 36.5°F | 3.45 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 38°F | 48.2°F | 3.33 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 48°F | 58.9°F | 3.38 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.1°F | 4.04 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 73.8°F | 3.30 | 11 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 82°F | 62°F | 72.2°F | 3.35 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 54°F | 64.3°F | 3.72 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 42°F | 52.2°F | 3.88 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 33°F | 41.5°F | 3.48 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 39°F | 24°F | 31.4°F | 3.29 | 11 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 40°F | 50.1°F | 40.39 | 130 | 16 | 129 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 62 mm |
| February | 3°C | −7°C | −2.1°C | 69 mm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.5°C | 88 mm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 9.0°C | 85 mm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 86 mm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 103 mm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.2°C | 84 mm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.3°C | 85 mm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 94 mm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.2°C | 99 mm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 5.3°C | 88 mm |
| December | 4°C | −5°C | −0.3°C | 84 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Massabesic Lake (4 miles away), gets 53 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014710; 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 Manchester?
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 USW00014710.
When is the last frost in Manchester?
In Manchester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 in half of years and before October 4 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
- April 211 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 4; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 206 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 7 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Manchester in zone 6a across its 5 ZIP code areas (6a in 03103, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Manchester's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (23 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 New Hampshire · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00014710; 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 Manchester ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Manchester's 5 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. 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 Manchester?
In a normal year in Manchester, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 129 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 130 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 129a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 34high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 130a normal year
The highest temperature in Manchester's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1885) is 103°F, on July 22, 2011; the lowest is −29°F, on February 16, 1943.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1954, with 56.54 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 82.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014710; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record MHTthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Manchester, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 59°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 61°F; the driest air comes in January (14°F). March is the windiest month (7.6 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (66%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°F | 60% | 45% | 6.8 mph | 58% | 29% |
| February | 18°F | 58% | 44% | 7.6 mph | 52% | 34% |
| March | 26°F | 55% | 38% | 7.6 mph | 52% | 33% |
| April | 36°F | 54% | 36% | 7.1 mph | – | – |
| May | 50°F | 63% | 44% | 6.7 mph | 57% | 27% |
| June | 59°F | 64% | 45% | 5.9 mph | 65% | 16% |
| July | 61°F | 66% | 46% | 5.5 mph | 65% | 15% |
| August | 57°F | 66% | 45% | 5.6 mph | 66% | 14% |
| September | 49°F | 71% | 50% | 5.6 mph | – | – |
| October | 36°F | 67% | 49% | 6.3 mph | – | – |
| November | 27°F | 67% | 54% | 6.3 mph | 51% | 33% |
| December | 18°F | 65% | 52% | 6.7 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014710. 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 Manchester?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Manchester, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (66%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 385th (with 30 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.7 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 71% | 5.7 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 77% | 4.3 |
| October | 68% | 2.8 |
| November | 70% | 2.0 |
| December | 66% | 1.5 |
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 Manchester need?
A normal year in Manchester brings 6,172 heating degree days, 15% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 773 cooling degree days, 15% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,943 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,221 | 0 |
| February | 1,030 | 0 |
| March | 884 | 1 |
| April | 509 | 5 |
| May | 222 | 33 |
| June | 46 | 141 |
| July | 3 | 278 |
| August | 7 | 232 |
| September | 98 | 79 |
| October | 403 | 6 |
| November | 707 | 0 |
| December | 1,042 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,172 | 773 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014710. 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 Manchester been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.6°F, 0.5°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 50.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.4°F | +2.3°F | 44.19 |
| 2022 | 51.9°F | +1.8°F | – |
| 2023 | 52.3°F | +2.2°F | 55.39 |
| 2024 | 52.7°F | +2.6°F | 40.24 |
| 2025 | 49.6°F | −0.5°F | 38.65 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014710. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Manchester's climate compare?
Manchester is warmer than 27 of the other 27 places with their own NOAA record in New Hampshire, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.1°F is warmer than 40%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Manchester is Dfa: continental, 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 Manchester share this climate record?
2 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.
- East Merrimack, NH4,872 people · 5 mi SW
- Pinardville, NH4,586 people · 6 mi NW
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 Manchester's climate
What is the coldest month in Manchester?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Manchester?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Manchester's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Massabesic Lake (4 miles away), records 53 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Manchester?
June, with 4.04 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 2.44 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Manchester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Manchester in zone 6a across its 5 ZIP code areas (6a in 03103, the largest). By the same method at Manchester's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Manchester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Manchester in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- New Hampshire climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Massabesic Lake, NH4 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Hudson, NH11 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- East Milford, NH12 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- West Hampstead, NH12 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made