Rumford, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rumford's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 48.9 inches of precipitation and 88 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,242 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRumford (1 mi SSE)
- Station IDUSC00177325
- Location44.53°N 70.54°W
- Elevation630 ft (192 m)
- Population (town)5,967
- Census place4,017
On October 23, the normal high in Rumford is 55°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rumford.
- Jan 28° 7°
- Feb 31° 7°
- Mar 40° 18°
- Apr 53° 32°
- May 67° 43°
- Jun 74° 53°
- Jul 79° 58°
- Aug 78° 56°
- Sep 71° 48°
- Oct 58° 37°
- Nov 44° 26°
- Dec 33° 16°
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 Rumford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in June (6.10 in), the least in February (2.38 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 7°F | 17.1°F | 3.28 | 24.6 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 31°F | 7°F | 19.0°F | 2.38 | 20.2 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 40°F | 18°F | 28.8°F | 3.17 | 17.5 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 4.12 | 4.9 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 43°F | 54.9°F | 3.69 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 74°F | 53°F | 63.6°F | 6.10 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 79°F | 58°F | 68.6°F | 4.52 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 78°F | 56°F | 67.0°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 71°F | 48°F | 59.6°F | 3.70 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 37°F | 47.2°F | 4.96 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| November | 44°F | 26°F | 35.3°F | 4.23 | 3.8 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 33°F | 16°F | 24.4°F | 3.98 | 16.8 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 33°F | 44.0°F | 48.88 | 87.9 | 121 | 6 | 163 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −14°C | −8.3°C | 83 mm | 62 cm |
| February | −1°C | −14°C | −7.2°C | 60 mm | 51 cm |
| March | 4°C | −8°C | −1.8°C | 81 mm | 44 cm |
| April | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 105 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 19°C | 6°C | 12.7°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 155 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.3°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14°C | 3°C | 8.4°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 7°C | −3°C | 1.8°C | 107 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 1°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 101 mm | 43 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00177325; 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 Rumford?
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 (9).
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 USC00177325.
When is the last frost in Rumford?
In Rumford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 26 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 41 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 155 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 178 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rumford in zone 5a in ZIP code 04276.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maine · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00177325; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Rumford?
In a normal year in Rumford, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 163 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 121 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 163a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 60high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 121a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 100°F, on August 2, 1975; the lowest is −36°F, on January 20, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 59.84 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 141.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00177325; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00177325. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Rumford?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rumford, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (76%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.6 |
| February | 67% | 2.5 |
| March | 69% | 3.6 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 66% | 5.2 |
| June | 68% | 5.6 |
| July | 74% | 5.7 |
| August | 76% | 5.2 |
| September | 76% | 4.2 |
| October | 66% | 2.6 |
| November | 64% | 1.7 |
| December | 60% | 1.2 |
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 Rumford need?
A normal year in Rumford brings 7,952 heating degree days, 48% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 329 cooling degree days, 64% 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 2,078 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,483 | 0 |
| February | 1,288 | 0 |
| March | 1,122 | 0 |
| April | 685 | 1 |
| May | 324 | 11 |
| June | 102 | 61 |
| July | 21 | 131 |
| August | 38 | 100 |
| September | 187 | 25 |
| October | 552 | 1 |
| November | 891 | 0 |
| December | 1,259 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,952 | 329 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00177325. 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 Rumford's climate compare?
Rumford is warmer than 20 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 30. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.0°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rumford 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 Rumford 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.
- Mexico, ME2,791 people · 2 mi N
- Dixfield, ME2,312 people · 5 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Rumford's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Rumford. This page uses Rumford (1 mi SSE); the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rumford (6 mi SW) USC00177336 | 6 mi SW | 630 ft | 42.9°F | 7°F | 79°F | 47.2 | – | May 12 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Rumford's climate
What is the coldest month in Rumford?
January, with a normal high of 28°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Rumford?
Yes: 88 inches in a normal year, falling on 26 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (24.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rumford?
June, with 6.10 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.38 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rumford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rumford in zone 5a in ZIP code 04276.
How late can frost come in Rumford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Andover 2, ME15 miles from this station, 40.8°F a year
- Hartford, ME16 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Bethel, ME18 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Livermore Falls, ME19 miles from this station, 43.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made