McDonough, Georgia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
McDonough's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 51.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.7°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,299 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMcDonough (5 mi ENE)
- Station IDUSC00095666
- Location33.48°N 84.03°W
- Elevation708 ft (216 m)
- Population32,803
On October 24, the normal high in McDonough is 72°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for McDonough.
- Jan 55° 32°
- Feb 59° 34°
- Mar 67° 40°
- Apr 76° 47°
- May 83° 56°
- Jun 89° 65°
- Jul 92° 69°
- Aug 91° 68°
- Sep 85° 62°
- Oct 75° 50°
- Nov 64° 39°
- Dec 56° 34°
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 McDonough each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in March (5.44 in), the least in May (3.31 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 | 55°F | 32°F | 43.4°F | 5.30 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 59°F | 34°F | 46.1°F | 4.47 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 40°F | 53.6°F | 5.44 | 9 | <1 | 7 | 12 h |
| April | 76°F | 47°F | 61.5°F | 3.82 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 83°F | 56°F | 69.8°F | 3.31 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 89°F | 65°F | 77.2°F | 4.32 | 9 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 92°F | 69°F | 80.4°F | 4.43 | 10 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 68°F | 79.7°F | 4.56 | 9 | 22 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 85°F | 62°F | 73.4°F | 3.73 | 6 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 50°F | 62.1°F | 3.45 | 6 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 3.65 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 56°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 4.67 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 50°F | 62.0°F | 51.15 | 100 | 74 | 68 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 135 mm |
| February | 15°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 114 mm |
| March | 19°C | 5°C | 12.0°C | 138 mm |
| April | 24°C | 8°C | 16.4°C | 97 mm |
| May | 28°C | 14°C | 21.0°C | 84 mm |
| June | 32°C | 19°C | 25.1°C | 110 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 26.9°C | 113 mm |
| August | 33°C | 20°C | 26.5°C | 116 mm |
| September | 30°C | 17°C | 23.0°C | 95 mm |
| October | 24°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 88 mm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 93 mm |
| December | 13°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 119 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Covington (14 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00095666; 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 McDonough?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00095666.
When is the last frost in McDonough?
In McDonough, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 6 in half of years and before October 24 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
- March 311 year in 10 after April 16; 9 in 10 after March 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 61 year in 10 before October 24; 9 in 10 before November 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 220 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 247 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 16 in half of springs and before November 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts McDonough in zone 8a in ZIP code 30253.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Georgia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00095666; 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 McDonough?
In a normal year in McDonough, 74 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 68 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 100 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 74a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 68a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 100a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00095666.
How sunny is McDonough?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around McDonough, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.8 |
| February | 69% | 3.3 |
| March | 73% | 4.4 |
| April | 78% | 5.6 |
| May | 80% | 6.2 |
| June | 79% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 78% | 4.0 |
| November | 78% | 3.1 |
| December | 70% | 2.4 |
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 McDonough need?
A normal year in McDonough brings 2,908 heating degree days, 46% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,844 cooling degree days, 2.0 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,155 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 672 | 0 |
| February | 528 | 0 |
| March | 359 | 7 |
| April | 150 | 43 |
| May | 28 | 175 |
| June | 1 | 367 |
| July | 0 | 479 |
| August | 0 | 454 |
| September | 8 | 262 |
| October | 139 | 51 |
| November | 410 | 6 |
| December | 615 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 2,908 | 1,844 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00095666. 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.
How does McDonough's climate compare?
McDonough is warmer than 35 of the other 100 places with their own NOAA record in Georgia, and wetter than 47. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.0°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, McDonough 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 McDonough share this climate record?
4 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.
- Stonecrest, GAalso near: Jonesboro (16 mi, 61.7°F a year); Chamblee (16 mi, 61.5°F a year)61,015 people · 15 mi NW
- Locust Grove, GA11,749 people · 10 mi SW
- Jackson, GA5,867 people · 13 mi S
- Jenkinsburg, GA419 people · 11 mi S
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 McDonough's climate
What is the coldest month in McDonough?
January, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in McDonough?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for McDonough's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Covington (14 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in McDonough?
March, with 5.44 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 3.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is McDonough in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts McDonough in zone 8a in ZIP code 30253.
How late can frost come in McDonough?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 16. Waiting until April 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- McDonough in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Georgia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Covington, GA14 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Jonesboro, GA19 miles from this station, 61.7°F a year
- Experiment, GA21 miles from this station, 62.8°F a year
- Monticello, GA22 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made