Rangeley, ME Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rangeley's primary NOAA station, RANGELEY - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Rangeley
Rangeley, Maine has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 39°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 39°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 42.6"
- annual precipitation · 123" snow
- 127 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Rangeley: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00177037 · Rangeley, ME 39°F mean · 42.6" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 39°F
- RANK-COOL #274
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Jackman
- PRCP-MID 42.6"
- SWING-WIDE 53°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,466 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00177037
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Jackman, ME ( -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 ME station list.
- Hot Minocqua, WI 40°F
- Rangeley (this station) 39°F
- Cold La Barge, WY 39°F
- Near Jackman, ME 39°F
- Near Paulding, MI 39°F
Rangeley sits in Maine, the #4 coldest U.S. state at 43.1°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Rangeley
Rangeley: 20/100 · grade F
Rangeley publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Rangeley, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 42.6 in · 7.6 from 35 in | 73/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 196 calendar days | 16/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 127 days/year | 10/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.3°F · 28.2° from 67.5°F | 3/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 123.3 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Rangeley · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rangeley is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 11.7°F and warmest-month mean 64.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 64.6°F
- Coldest month
- 11.7°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 Rangeley sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rangeley's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 96%
- Among 6,861 stations, Rangeley sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 64th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 88%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Rangeley is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rangeley compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rangeley's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Rangeley's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 48 complete annual observations from 1973 to 2025, RANGELEY warmed at a fitted rate of 0.28°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Rangeley primary station fitted change +0.28 °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 | 23°F (-5°C) | 0°F (-18°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 2.8" | 24.3" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 27°F (-3°C) | 0°F (-18°C) | 13°F (-10°C) | 2.4" | 25.7" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 36°F (2°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 3.0" | 24.4" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 48°F (9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 3.3" | 8.6" | 25.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 63°F (17°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 3.6" | 0.5" | 10.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 72°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| July | 76°F (25°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 4.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| August | 75°F (24°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 2.5 | 0.1 |
| October | 54°F (12°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 4.6" | 2.3" | 16.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 40°F (5°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 3.4" | 8.8" | 25.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 3.6" | 28.7" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 77°F around July 17, short of 90°F on every date, while 196 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -2°F near January 29.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 2, then returns to freezing around October 20, covering 196 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 18, when 54% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 4 at 37%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 167 wet dates a year.
The widest day
February 28 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 28°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rangeley.
Where Rangeley Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 196 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Rangeley earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 24.3"
15.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 25.7"
12.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 24.4"
13.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.6"
12.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
14.3 days with precipitation
15.1 days with precipitation
14.5 days with precipitation
13.1 days with precipitation
11.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.3"
14.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.8"
14.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 28.7"
16.6 days with precipitation
Rangeley spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Rangeley has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 52.9°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 4.6" and February 2.4". The three wettest months together take 31% 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.
How Rangeley's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 166 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 42.6" between them, or roughly 0.26 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Rangeley
Rangeley averages 123.3 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 66 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: 123.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 66 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 29% 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
September 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 23
50% probability date
Growing Season
127 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,466
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
136
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ME closest to Rangeley 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 (39°F here).
- Cold Bay, AK 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Cooperstown, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Devils Lake, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Potomac, MT 39°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (42.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bellefontaine, OH 42.6" · 0.0" off
- Delanson, NY 42.6" · 0.0" off
- Berlin, NH 42.6" · 0.0" off
- Pleasant Hill, MO 42.7" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rangeley
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Rangeley's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,466 annual heating degree days against 136 for cooling. Its 52.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 127 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Rangeley coldest normal
January
Averaging 12°F (-11°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Rangeley typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rangeley snow peak
December
Rangeley averages 123.3 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rangeley's climate
How much snow does Rangeley get? ▼
How cold does Rangeley get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rangeley? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rangeley's primary station: RANGELEY (USC00177037). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Rangeley area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 2361805), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Rangeley: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Rangeley 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.