Sanford, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sanford's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 51.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.5°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,303 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSanford (2 mi NNW)
- Station IDUSC00177479
- Location43.46°N 70.78°W
- Elevation289 ft (88 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population22,497
On October 23, the normal high in Sanford is 58°F and the normal low 33°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 Sanford.
- Jan 32° 10°
- Feb 35° 11°
- Mar 44° 20°
- Apr 57° 30°
- May 68° 41°
- Jun 76° 51°
- Jul 81° 56°
- Aug 80° 55°
- Sep 73° 47°
- Oct 61° 36°
- Nov 48° 27°
- Dec 37° 17°
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 Sanford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in October (5.35 in), the least in February (3.62 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 10°F | 20.8°F | 3.68 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 35°F | 11°F | 23.3°F | 3.62 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 44°F | 20°F | 31.7°F | 4.70 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 30°F | 43.6°F | 4.60 | 10 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 41°F | 54.3°F | 3.83 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 51°F | 63.3°F | 4.56 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 56°F | 68.7°F | 3.96 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 55°F | 67.4°F | 3.94 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 73°F | 47°F | 59.9°F | 3.82 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 36°F | 48.1°F | 5.35 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 27°F | 37.5°F | 4.46 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 37°F | 17°F | 27.3°F | 4.79 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 33°F | 45.5°F | 51.31 | 121 | 10 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −12°C | −6.2°C | 93 mm |
| February | 2°C | −11°C | −4.8°C | 92 mm |
| March | 6°C | −7°C | −0.2°C | 119 mm |
| April | 14°C | −1°C | 6.4°C | 117 mm |
| May | 20°C | 5°C | 12.4°C | 97 mm |
| June | 25°C | 10°C | 17.4°C | 116 mm |
| July | 27°C | 13°C | 20.4°C | 101 mm |
| August | 27°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 100 mm |
| September | 23°C | 8°C | 15.5°C | 97 mm |
| October | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 136 mm |
| November | 9°C | −3°C | 3.1°C | 113 mm |
| December | 3°C | −8°C | −2.6°C | 122 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Hollis (14 miles away), gets 81 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00177479; 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 Sanford?
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 USC00177479.
When is the last frost in Sanford?
In Sanford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 16 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 30 in half of years and before September 18 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 161 year in 10 after May 29; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 301 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 136 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sanford in zone 5b across its 2 ZIP code areas (5b in 04073, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Sanford's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (26 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maine · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00177479; 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 Sanford ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Sanford's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 5b. 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 Sanford?
In a normal year in Sanford, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 121 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 121a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1953) is 101°F, on August 2, 1975; the lowest is −28°F, on January 18, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 67.88 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 151.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00177479; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00177479. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Sanford?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sanford, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and December the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 1.7 |
| February | 69% | 2.5 |
| March | 69% | 3.6 |
| April | 70% | 4.7 |
| May | 69% | 5.3 |
| June | 70% | 5.6 |
| July | 77% | 5.9 |
| August | 79% | 5.3 |
| September | 78% | 4.3 |
| October | 70% | 2.8 |
| November | 68% | 1.8 |
| December | 64% | 1.4 |
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 Sanford need?
A normal year in Sanford brings 7,431 heating degree days, 38% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 351 cooling degree days, 61% 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 2,120 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,370 | 0 |
| February | 1,168 | 0 |
| March | 1,032 | 0 |
| April | 643 | 1 |
| May | 343 | 11 |
| June | 110 | 60 |
| July | 22 | 137 |
| August | 33 | 108 |
| September | 186 | 33 |
| October | 527 | 1 |
| November | 827 | 0 |
| December | 1,170 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,431 | 351 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00177479. 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 Sanford been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 49.5°F, 4.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.5°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 47.9°F | +2.4°F | 52.49 |
| 2023 | 48.9°F | +3.4°F | 65.72 |
| 2024 | 49.5°F | +4.0°F | 49.00 |
Over 49 complete years from 1954 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.9°F per century (+0.27°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00177479; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sanford's climate compare?
Sanford is warmer than 31 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 37. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.5°F is warmer than 21%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sanford 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 Sanford 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.
- Farmington, NH6,806 people · 15 mi W
- Sanbornville, NH1,225 people · 14 mi NW
- Alfred, ME3,163 people · 3 mi NE
- Alton, NH6,051 people · 22 mi W
- Milton, NH4,572 people · 11 mi W
- Union, NH354 people · 12 mi W
- Milton Mills, NH126 people · 10 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.
Questions about Sanford's climate
What is the coldest month in Sanford?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Sanford?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Sanford's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Hollis (14 miles away), records 81 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Sanford?
October, with 5.35 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.62 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sanford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sanford in zone 5b across its 2 ZIP code areas (5b in 04073, the largest). By the same method at Sanford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Sanford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 16; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hollis, ME14 miles from this station, 44.0°F a year
- Rochester, NH14 miles from this station, 47.7°F a year
- Kennebunkport, ME17 miles from this station, 45.3°F a year
- Cape Neddick, ME17 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made