Plainfield, Vermont climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Plainfield's normal year runs from 3°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 41.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.2°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,040 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPlainfield
- Station IDUSC00436391
- Location44.28°N 72.42°W
- Elevation800 ft (244 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (town)1,243
- Census place441
On October 22, the normal high in Plainfield is 53°F and the normal low 30°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 Plainfield.
- Jan 25° 3°
- Feb 29° 4°
- Mar 38° 14°
- Apr 52° 27°
- May 66° 39°
- Jun 75° 48°
- Jul 80° 53°
- Aug 78° 51°
- Sep 71° 43°
- Oct 56° 32°
- Nov 42° 23°
- Dec 31° 12°
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 Plainfield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 3°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.67 in), the least in February (2.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 3°F | 13.9°F | 2.73 | 14 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 4°F | 16.2°F | 2.43 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 38°F | 14°F | 26.2°F | 2.61 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 27°F | 39.4°F | 3.17 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 66°F | 39°F | 52.3°F | 3.58 | 15 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 75°F | 48°F | 61.4°F | 4.57 | 16 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 80°F | 53°F | 66.5°F | 4.67 | 14 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 78°F | 51°F | 64.6°F | 3.38 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 43°F | 56.6°F | 3.45 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 56°F | 32°F | 43.9°F | 4.28 | 15 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| November | 42°F | 23°F | 32.5°F | 2.82 | 13 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 31°F | 12°F | 21.3°F | 3.27 | 16 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 29°F | 41.3°F | 40.96 | 162 | 7 | 183 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −16°C | −10.1°C | 69 mm |
| February | −2°C | −16°C | −8.8°C | 62 mm |
| March | 3°C | −10°C | −3.2°C | 66 mm |
| April | 11°C | −3°C | 4.1°C | 81 mm |
| May | 19°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 91 mm |
| June | 24°C | 9°C | 16.3°C | 116 mm |
| July | 27°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 119 mm |
| August | 26°C | 11°C | 18.1°C | 86 mm |
| September | 21°C | 6°C | 13.7°C | 88 mm |
| October | 13°C | 0°C | 6.6°C | 109 mm |
| November | 5°C | −5°C | 0.3°C | 72 mm |
| December | −1°C | −11°C | −5.9°C | 83 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Worcester (11 miles away), gets 126 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00436391; 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 Plainfield?
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 (11).
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 USC00436391.
When is the last frost in Plainfield?
In Plainfield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 25 in half of years and after June 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 22 in half of years and before September 9 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 251 year in 10 after June 7; 9 in 10 after May 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 221 year in 10 before September 9; 9 in 10 before October 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 119 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 141 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 11 in half of springs and before October 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Plainfield in zone 5a in ZIP code 05667, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Plainfield's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (15 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 Vermont · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00436391; 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 Plainfield?
In a normal year in Plainfield, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 183 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 162 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a 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
- 65high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 162a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00436391.
How sunny is Plainfield?
Over a year 66% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Plainfield, 3.5 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% | 1.4 |
| February | 61% | 2.2 |
| March | 63% | 3.3 |
| April | 63% | 4.3 |
| May | 65% | 5.1 |
| June | 69% | 5.6 |
| July | 73% | 5.7 |
| August | 74% | 5.0 |
| September | 74% | 4.0 |
| October | 61% | 2.4 |
| November | 57% | 1.5 |
| 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 Plainfield need?
A normal year in Plainfield brings 8,839 heating degree days, 65% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 225 cooling degree days, 75% 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 1,743 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,582 | 0 |
| February | 1,366 | 0 |
| March | 1,201 | 0 |
| April | 767 | 1 |
| May | 400 | 6 |
| June | 149 | 43 |
| July | 47 | 94 |
| August | 77 | 65 |
| September | 267 | 17 |
| October | 653 | 0 |
| November | 974 | 0 |
| December | 1,355 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,839 | 225 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00436391. 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 Plainfield been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.6°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.3°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.5°F | +2.2°F | 36.50 |
| 2022 | 44.0°F | +2.7°F | 39.48 |
| 2023 | 46.1°F | +4.8°F | 56.30 |
| 2024 | 46.5°F | +5.2°F | 46.03 |
| 2025 | 43.6°F | +2.3°F | 37.38 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00436391. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Plainfield's climate compare?
Plainfield is warmer than 3 of the other 28 places with their own NOAA record in Vermont, and wetter than 10. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.3°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Plainfield 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 Plainfield 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.
- Marshfield, VT269 people · 6 mi NE
- Cabot, VT1,468 people · 10 mi NE
- East Montpelier, VT2,604 people · 4 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 Plainfield's climate
What is the coldest month in Plainfield?
January, with a normal high of 25°F and a normal low of 3°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Plainfield?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Plainfield's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Worcester (11 miles away), records 126 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Plainfield?
July, with 4.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Plainfield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Plainfield in zone 5a in ZIP code 05667, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Plainfield's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Plainfield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 25; in one year in ten it comes after June 7. Waiting until June 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Vermont climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Montpelier, VT9 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Barre, VT9 miles from this station, 42.6°F a year
- Worcester, VT11 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Northfield, VT14 miles from this station, 43.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made