Old Forge, New York climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Old Forge's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 75°F July afternoons, with 49.8 inches of precipitation and 158 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.3°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 24°C, 1,264 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOld Forge
- Station IDUSC00306184
- Location43.70°N 74.98°W
- Elevation1,748 ft (533 m)
- Population (census place)359
On October 23, the normal high in Old Forge is 52°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 47%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Old Forge.
- Jan 26° 6°
- Feb 29° 7°
- Mar 36° 15°
- Apr 50° 29°
- May 64° 41°
- Jun 71° 51°
- Jul 75° 55°
- Aug 74° 53°
- Sep 67° 46°
- Oct 55° 36°
- Nov 42° 25°
- Dec 31° 15°
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 Old Forge each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in October (5.15 in), the least in March (3.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | 6°F | 15.8°F | 4.31 | 46.7 | 19 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 29°F | 7°F | 17.7°F | 3.21 | 30.9 | 15 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 36°F | 15°F | 25.7°F | 3.20 | 22.6 | 14 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 29°F | 39.4°F | 3.58 | 5.3 | 13 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 64°F | 41°F | 52.5°F | 4.45 | 0.5 | 14 | <1 | 7 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 71°F | 51°F | 60.8°F | 4.67 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 75°F | 55°F | 64.6°F | 4.42 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 74°F | 53°F | 63.6°F | 4.32 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 67°F | 46°F | 56.9°F | 4.15 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 55°F | 36°F | 45.2°F | 5.15 | 2.2 | 14 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 42°F | 25°F | 33.6°F | 4.21 | 14.9 | 16 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 31°F | 15°F | 22.8°F | 4.09 | 34.8 | 18 | <1 | 29 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 31°F | 41.5°F | 49.76 | 157.9 | 172 | 1 | 183 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −15°C | −9.0°C | 109 mm | 119 cm |
| February | −2°C | −14°C | −7.9°C | 82 mm | 78 cm |
| March | 2°C | −9°C | −3.5°C | 81 mm | 57 cm |
| April | 10°C | −2°C | 4.1°C | 91 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 113 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 22°C | 10°C | 16.0°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 13°C | 18.1°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 8°C | 13.8°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 131 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 107 mm | 38 cm |
| December | 0°C | −10°C | −5.1°C | 104 mm | 88 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00306184; 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 Old Forge?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USC00306184.
When is the last frost in Old Forge?
In Old Forge, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 18 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
- May 181 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 134 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Old Forge in zone 4a in ZIP code 13420, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Old Forge's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New York · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00306184; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Old Forge?
In a normal year in Old Forge, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 183 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 172 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 183a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 77high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 172a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 46a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1907) is 95°F, on July 24, 1910; the lowest is −52°F, on February 18, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 62.46 in; the snowiest season is 1976–77, with 408.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00306184; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00306184. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Old Forge?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Old Forge, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (74%) and December the cloudiest (52%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.5 |
| February | 60% | 2.3 |
| March | 64% | 3.5 |
| April | 65% | 4.5 |
| May | 66% | 5.2 |
| June | 69% | 5.7 |
| July | 74% | 5.8 |
| August | 74% | 5.1 |
| September | 74% | 4.1 |
| October | 61% | 2.5 |
| November | 60% | 1.6 |
| December | 52% | 1.1 |
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 Old Forge need?
A normal year in Old Forge brings 8,686 heating degree days, 62% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 170 cooling degree days, 81% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,673 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,525 | 0 |
| February | 1,326 | 0 |
| March | 1,220 | 0 |
| April | 769 | 1 |
| May | 399 | 10 |
| June | 159 | 33 |
| July | 75 | 62 |
| August | 93 | 48 |
| September | 258 | 15 |
| October | 614 | 1 |
| November | 942 | 0 |
| December | 1,307 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,686 | 170 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00306184. 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 Old Forge's climate compare?
Old Forge is warmer than 2 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in New York, and wetter than 102. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.5°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Old Forge is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Old Forge 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.
- Otter Lake, NY109 people · 10 mi SW
- Thendara, NY84 people · 1 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 Old Forge's climate
What is the coldest month in Old Forge?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (75°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Old Forge?
Yes: 158 inches in a normal year, falling on 66 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (46.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Old Forge?
October, with 5.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 3.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Old Forge in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Old Forge in zone 4a in ZIP code 13420, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Old Forge's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Old Forge?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New York climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Big Moose (3 mi SE), NY9 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Stillwater Reservoir, NY14 miles from this station, 41.3°F a year
- Lowville, NY25 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Boonville, NY27 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made