Mt Washington, NH 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 Mt Washington's primary NOAA station, MT WASHINGTON.
The climate verdict for Mt Washington
Water is the standout signal in Mt Washington, New Hampshire: 91.2 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 28°F. At 24/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 0% of scores.
- 28°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 24/100
- comfort score, above 0% of station-mapped location scores
- 91.2"
- annual precipitation · 282" snow
Mt Washington: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00014755 · Mt Washington, NH 28°F mean · 91.2" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 28°F
- RANK-COOL #69
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ N Pole
- PRCP-WET 91.2"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 24/100
- LOAD-HEAT 13,469 HDD
- STN-1 USW00014755
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: N Pole, AK (+ 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 NH station list.
- Mt Washington (this station) 28°F
- Cold Fox, AK 28°F
- Hot Gulkana, AK 28°F
- Near N Pole, AK 28°F
- Near Kobe Hill, AK 28°F
Climate Living Index · Mt Washington
Mt Washington: 0/100 · grade F
Mt Washington publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Mt Washington, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 24/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 28.0°F · 39.5° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 234 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 91.2 in · 56.2 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 281.8 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Mt Washington · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Mt Washington falls in the polar Köppen band: ET
The warmest month stays below 10°C: tundra class (ET). Class ET is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: polar, specifically tundra.
- Köppen code
- ET
- Group
- Polar
- Warmest month
- 49.9°F
- Coldest month
- 5.8°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 · heating-led station
Where Mt Washington sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Mt Washington's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 99%
- Among 6,861 stations, Mt Washington sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 1% wettest
- Mt Washington's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 54th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Mt Washington compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Mt Washington's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
24 0th percentile score exceeds 0% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 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
Mt Washington's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 92 complete annual observations from 1933 to 2025, MT WASHINGTON 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.
- Mt Washington 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°F (-9°C) | -3°F (-20°C) | 6°F (-15°C) | 5.7" | 41.4" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 15°F (-10°C) | -3°F (-19°C) | 6°F (-14°C) | 5.5" | 43.3" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 21°F (-6°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 6.7" | 46.2" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 31°F (-1°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 7.3" | 33.1" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 43°F (6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 7.7" | 12.9" | 18.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 51°F (11°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 8.6" | 1.3" | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| July | 55°F (13°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 8.9" | 0.0" | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| August | 54°F (12°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 7.7" | 0.1" | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| September | 49°F (10°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 7.7" | 1.2" | 8.6 | 0.0 |
| October | 38°F (3°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 10.0" | 19.0" | 22.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 28°F (-2°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 8.1" | 35.6" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 20°F (-7°C) | 4°F (-16°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 7.3" | 47.7" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 56°F around July 13, short of 90°F on every date, while 234 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -5°F near January 27.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 20, then returns to freezing around September 30, covering 234 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is December 8, when 68% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 2 at 46%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 217 wet dates a year.
The widest day
January 24 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 19°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Mt Washington.
Where Mt Washington Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 234 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 91 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Mt Washington 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
Snow: 41.4"
20.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 43.3"
18.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 46.2"
19.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 33.1"
18.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.9"
17.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
17.6 days with precipitation
17.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
15.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
13.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 19.0"
18.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 35.6"
19.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 47.7"
21.0 days with precipitation
Mt Washington spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 20%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Mt Washington has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 44.1°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 10.0" and February 5.5". The three wettest months together take 30% 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 Mt Washington, it arrives in quantity
91.2" of precipitation falls across only about 216 wet days here, averaging 0.42 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 216 a year, 59% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- December, about 21
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 14
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.
Winter brings real snow to Mt Washington
Mt Washington averages 281.8 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 124 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 281.8 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 124 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 31% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
13,469
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NH closest to Mt Washington 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 (28°F here).
- Kaltag, AK 28°F · 0.1°F off
- Fox, AK 28°F · 0.2°F off
- Fairbanks, AK 28°F · 0.3°F off
- Gulkana, AK 28°F · 0.3°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (91.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Paauilo, HI 90.4" · 0.8" off
- Hyder, AK 92.5" · 1.3" off
- Tillamook, OR 89.8" · 1.4" off
- Government Camp, OR 89.8" · 1.5" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Mt Washington
heating led · wet · mid swing
Mt Washington's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 13,469 annual heating degree days against 0 for cooling. Its 44.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Mt Washington. That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
-
1. Mt Washington coldest normal
January
Averaging 6°F (-15°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Mt Washington typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Mt Washington snow peak
December
Mt Washington averages 281.8 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Mt Washington's climate
How much snow does Mt Washington get? ▼
How cold does Mt Washington get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Mt Washington? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Mt Washington's primary station: MT WASHINGTON (USW00014755). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Mt Washington; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Mt Washington 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.