Rumford, ME 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 Rumford's primary NOAA station, RUMFORD 1 SSE - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Rumford
Water is the standout signal in Rumford, Maine: 48.9 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 44°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.
- 44°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.9"
- annual precipitation · 88" snow
- 155 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Rumford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00177325 · Rumford, ME 44°F mean · 48.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,029
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sturgeon Bay
- PRCP-MID 48.9"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,952 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00177325
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sturgeon Bay Exp Farm, WI (+ 0 °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.
- Rumford (this station) 44°F
- Cold Saint Johnsbury, VT 44°F
- Hot Howe, ID 44°F
- Near Sturgeon Bay, WI 44°F
- Near Hollis, ME 44°F
Rumford 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 · Rumford
Rumford: 27/100 · grade F
Rumford publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Rumford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 48.9 in · 13.9 from 35 in | 51/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 168 calendar days | 34/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 155 days/year | 29/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.0°F · 23.5° from 67.5°F | 16/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 87.9 inches/year | 3/100 · F |
Rumford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rumford is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 17.1°F and warmest-month mean 68.6°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
- 68.6°F
- Coldest month
- 17.1°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 Rumford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rumford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 85%
- Among 6,861 stations, Rumford sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 22% wettest
- Rumford's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 85%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Rumford is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rumford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rumford'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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F (-2°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 3.3" | 24.6" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (-1°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 2.4" | 20.2" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 40°F (4°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 3.2" | 17.5" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 53°F (11°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 4.1" | 4.9" | 15.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| June | 74°F (24°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 6.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| August | 78°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 5.0" | 0.1" | 9.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.2" | 3.8" | 21.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 33°F (1°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 4.0" | 16.8" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 80°F around July 15, short of 90°F on every date, while 168 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 5°F near January 28.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 15, then returns to freezing around October 31, covering 168 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 July 8, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is February 6 at 26%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 121 wet dates a year.
The widest day
February 17 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rumford.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 24.6"
9.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 20.2"
7.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 17.5"
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.9"
9.1 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
12.4 days with precipitation
11.2 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
10.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.8"
10.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.8"
10.6 days with precipitation
Rumford spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 31% of the annual total and December through February 20%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Rumford has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 51.5°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 6.1" and February 2.4". The three wettest months together take 32% 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 Rumford, it arrives in quantity
48.9" of precipitation falls across only about 121 wet days here, averaging 0.40 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 121 a year, 33% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.40 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- February, about 8
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 Rumford
Rumford averages 87.9 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 26 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: 87.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 26 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 18% 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
October 6
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 4
50% probability date
Growing Season
155 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,952
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
329
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside ME closest to Rumford 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 (44°F here).
- Blair, WI 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Brockway, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Dassel, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
- De Smet, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Paris, TX 48.9" · 0.0" off
- Calico Rock, AR 48.9" · 0.0" off
- Rochester, VT 48.9" · 0.0" off
- Chapel Hill, NC 48.9" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rumford
heating led · wet · mid swing
Rumford's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,952 annual heating degree days against 329 for cooling. Its 51.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Rumford's frost-free season lasts about 155 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Rumford coldest normal
January
Averaging 17°F (-8°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Rumford typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rumford snow peak
January
Rumford averages 87.9 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rumford's climate
How much snow does Rumford get? ▼
How cold does Rumford get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rumford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rumford's primary station: RUMFORD 1 SSE (USC00177325). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Rumford 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 2364255), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Rumford: 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 Rumford 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.