Salisbury, Maryland climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Salisbury's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 47.5 inches of precipitation and 8 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.8°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,206 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSalisbury-Wicomico Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00093720
- Location38.34°N 75.51°W
- Elevation48 ft (15 m)
- Population33,616
On October 23, the normal high in Salisbury is 67°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Salisbury.
- Jan 46° 28°
- Feb 48° 29°
- Mar 55° 35°
- Apr 66° 44°
- May 74° 53°
- Jun 83° 63°
- Jul 88° 68°
- Aug 85° 66°
- Sep 80° 60°
- Oct 69° 48°
- Nov 59° 38°
- Dec 50° 31°
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 Salisbury each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in August (5.27 in), the least in November (3.16 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 28°F | 36.8°F | 3.51 | 2.5 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 29°F | 38.7°F | 3.25 | 3.4 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 55°F | 35°F | 45.3°F | 4.17 | 1.0 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 44°F | 55.1°F | 3.42 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 53°F | 63.8°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 63°F | 72.7°F | 4.03 | 0.0 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 88°F | 68°F | 77.9°F | 4.73 | 0.0 | 10 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 66°F | 75.8°F | 5.27 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 60°F | 69.7°F | 4.48 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 48°F | 58.5°F | 4.15 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 38°F | 48.2°F | 3.16 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 50°F | 31°F | 40.6°F | 3.59 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 47°F | 56.9°F | 47.49 | 8.0 | 122 | 30 | 94 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −2°C | 2.7°C | 89 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 83 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 106 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 19°C | 7°C | 12.8°C | 87 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.5°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 16°C | 20.9°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 9°C | 14.7°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 3°C | 9.0°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 10°C | 0°C | 4.8°C | 91 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093720; 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 Salisbury?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October 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 USW00093720.
When is the last frost in Salisbury?
In Salisbury, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 10 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 15 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 101 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 15; 9 in 10 before November 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 201 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 225 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 30 in half of springs and before November 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Salisbury in zone 7b across its 2 ZIP code areas (7b in 21804, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Salisbury's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maryland · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00093720; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Salisbury ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Salisbury's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Salisbury?
In a normal year in Salisbury, 30 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 94 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 122 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 30a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 94a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 7high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 122a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in Salisbury's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1906) is 106°F, on July 21, 1930; the lowest is −10°F, on January 11, 1942.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1948, with 72.86 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 51.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093720; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record SBYthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Salisbury?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Salisbury, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and January the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.2 |
| February | 71% | 3.0 |
| March | 71% | 4.0 |
| April | 75% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.3 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 71% | 1.9 |
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 Salisbury need?
A normal year in Salisbury brings 4,210 heating degree days, 22% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,301 cooling degree days, 43% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,056 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 876 | 0 |
| February | 737 | 0 |
| March | 614 | 2 |
| April | 319 | 22 |
| May | 122 | 85 |
| June | 16 | 248 |
| July | 0 | 400 |
| August | 1 | 337 |
| September | 30 | 171 |
| October | 235 | 34 |
| November | 505 | 2 |
| December | 757 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 4,210 | 1,301 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093720. 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 Salisbury been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.3°F, 0.6°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 56.9°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.8°F | +1.9°F | 41.03 | 5.7 |
| 2022 | 57.9°F | +1.0°F | 48.59 | 14.1 |
| 2023 | 59.3°F | +2.4°F | 40.83 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 58.3°F | +1.4°F | 36.27 | 1.4 |
| 2025 | 56.3°F | −0.6°F | 38.59 | 22.4 |
Over 71 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.9°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093720; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Salisbury's climate compare?
Salisbury is warmer than 17 of the other 25 places with their own NOAA record in Maryland, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.9°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Salisbury is Cfa: temperate, 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 Salisbury share this climate record?
9 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.
- Fruitland, MD5,973 people · 6 mi W
- Delmar, MD4,748 people · 8 mi N
- Delmar, DE2,278 people · 9 mi N
- Pittsville, MD1,660 people · 7 mi NE
- Willards, MD1,005 people · 9 mi E
- Mount Vernon, MD885 people · 16 mi SW
- Eden, MD790 people · 9 mi SW
- Parsonsburg, MD170 people · 4 mi NE
- Allen, MD125 people · 11 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.
What do Salisbury's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Salisbury. This page uses Salisbury-Wicomico Regional Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury (2 mi N) USC00188004 | 6 mi NW | 20 ft | 58.4°F | 29°F | 88°F | 49.9 | – | April 2 |
| Salisbury station USC00188000 | 5 mi W | 10 ft | 58.7°F | 29°F | 89°F | 48.0 | – | April 3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Salisbury's climate
What is the coldest month in Salisbury?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Salisbury?
Yes: 8 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (3.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Salisbury?
August, with 5.27 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.16 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Salisbury in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Salisbury in zone 7b across its 2 ZIP code areas (7b in 21804, the largest). By the same method at Salisbury's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Salisbury?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 10; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Salisbury in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Maryland climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Snow Hill, MD11 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Vienna, MD20 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Ocean City, MD21 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Assateague, MD25 miles from this station, 58.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made