Rochester, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rochester's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 40.8 inches of precipitation and 30 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,035 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRochester
- Station IDUSC00127482
- Location41.07°N 86.21°W
- Elevation760 ft (232 m)
- Population6,110
On October 22, the normal high in Rochester is 61°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rochester.
- Jan 32° 17°
- Feb 36° 20°
- Mar 47° 28°
- Apr 60° 39°
- May 71° 50°
- Jun 80° 60°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 76° 53°
- Oct 64° 43°
- Nov 49° 32°
- Dec 37° 23°
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 Rochester each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.44 in), the least in February (2.28 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 17°F | 24.6°F | 2.83 | 10.7 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 36°F | 20°F | 27.7°F | 2.28 | 8.0 | 8 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 47°F | 28°F | 37.7°F | 2.62 | 3.3 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 39°F | 49.3°F | 3.87 | 0.5 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 71°F | 50°F | 60.6°F | 4.40 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 60°F | 70.1°F | 4.27 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 73.0°F | 4.44 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.2°F | 4.13 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 53°F | 64.6°F | 3.20 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 43°F | 53.0°F | 3.20 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 32°F | 40.5°F | 3.08 | 1.3 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 23°F | 30.1°F | 2.43 | 6.3 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.2°F | 40.75 | 30.1 | 112 | 13 | 128 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −8°C | −4.1°C | 72 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.4°C | 58 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 8°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 67 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 16°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 98 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 15.9°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.2°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 6°C | 11.7°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.7°C | 78 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −1.1°C | 62 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127482; 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 Rochester?
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 (8).
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 USC00127482.
When is the last frost in Rochester?
In Rochester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 6 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
- April 231 year in 10 after May 9; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 205 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 10 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rochester in zone 6a in ZIP code 46975, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Rochester's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00127482; 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 Rochester?
In a normal year in Rochester, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 128 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 128a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 42high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1904) is 109°F, on July 22, 1934; the lowest is −30°F, on December 28, 1924.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 62.12 in; the snowiest season is 1981–82, with 81.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00127482; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00127482. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Rochester?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rochester, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.6 |
| February | 60% | 2.4 |
| March | 66% | 3.5 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.2 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 78% | 4.4 |
| October | 69% | 2.9 |
| November | 63% | 1.9 |
| December | 56% | 1.3 |
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 Rochester need?
A normal year in Rochester brings 6,168 heating degree days, 15% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 814 cooling degree days, 10% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,097 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,252 | 0 |
| February | 1,043 | 0 |
| March | 848 | 2 |
| April | 478 | 7 |
| May | 196 | 60 |
| June | 32 | 183 |
| July | 5 | 253 |
| August | 11 | 205 |
| September | 102 | 91 |
| October | 386 | 14 |
| November | 734 | 0 |
| December | 1,082 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,168 | 814 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127482. 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 Rochester been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.5°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.5°F | +1.3°F | 44.92 | 29.0 |
| 2022 | 50.0°F | −0.2°F | 30.46 | 22.5 |
| 2023 | 52.3°F | +2.1°F | 36.60 | 4.5 |
| 2024 | 53.0°F | +2.8°F | 38.30 | 5.0 |
| 2025 | 50.5°F | +0.3°F | 29.39 | 21.6 |
Over 88 complete years from 1907 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.4°F per century (+0.13°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00127482; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rochester's climate compare?
Rochester is warmer than 23 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 29. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.2°F is warmer than 41%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rochester is Dfa: continental, 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 Rochester share this climate record?
7 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.
- Akron, IN1,091 people · 10 mi E
- Tippecanoe, IN383 people · 11 mi NE
- Fulton, IN290 people · 9 mi S
- Nyona Lake, IN219 people · 7 mi S
- Leiters Ford, IN194 people · 10 mi W
- Macy, IN194 people · 9 mi SE
- Talma, IN154 people · 7 mi NE
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 Rochester's climate
What is the coldest month in Rochester?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Rochester?
Yes: 30 inches in a normal year, falling on 13 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rochester?
July, with 4.44 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rochester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rochester in zone 6a in ZIP code 46975, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Rochester's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Rochester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Winamac, IN20 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Plymouth, IN20 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Warsaw, IN22 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- North Manchester, IN23 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made