Shirley, New York climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Shirley's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 44.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.3°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,124 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationShirley Brookhaven Airport
- Station IDUSW00054790
- Location40.82°N 72.87°W
- Elevation82 ft (25 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population (census place)27,807
On October 14, the normal high in Shirley is 65°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 39%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Shirley.
- Jan 39° 24°
- Feb 41° 25°
- Mar 47° 31°
- Apr 58° 40°
- May 68° 49°
- Jun 77° 60°
- Jul 83° 66°
- Aug 81° 65°
- Sep 74° 57°
- Oct 64° 46°
- Nov 54° 37°
- Dec 45° 29°
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 Shirley each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in March (4.62 in), the least in January (2.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 24°F | 31.6°F | 2.97 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 41°F | 25°F | 32.8°F | 3.10 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 47°F | 31°F | 39.3°F | 4.62 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 40°F | 48.7°F | 4.06 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 49°F | 58.5°F | 3.47 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 77°F | 60°F | 68.0°F | 3.70 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 83°F | 66°F | 74.1°F | 3.24 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 81°F | 65°F | 72.8°F | 3.04 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 57°F | 65.8°F | 3.90 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 46°F | 54.9°F | 3.99 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 54°F | 37°F | 45.3°F | 3.65 | 10 | <1 | 10 | 10 h |
| December | 45°F | 29°F | 36.9°F | 4.50 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 44°F | 52.4°F | 44.24 | 134 | 7 | 104 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.2°C | 75 mm |
| February | 5°C | −4°C | 0.4°C | 79 mm |
| March | 9°C | 0°C | 4.1°C | 117 mm |
| April | 14°C | 4°C | 9.3°C | 103 mm |
| May | 20°C | 10°C | 14.7°C | 88 mm |
| June | 25°C | 15°C | 20.0°C | 94 mm |
| July | 28°C | 19°C | 23.4°C | 82 mm |
| August | 27°C | 18°C | 22.7°C | 77 mm |
| September | 24°C | 14°C | 18.8°C | 99 mm |
| October | 18°C | 8°C | 12.7°C | 101 mm |
| November | 12°C | 3°C | 7.4°C | 93 mm |
| December | 7°C | −1°C | 2.7°C | 114 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Islip (12 miles away), gets 32 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054790; 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 Shirley?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USW00054790.
When is the last frost in Shirley?
In Shirley, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 18 in half of years and after May 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 28 in half of years and before October 13 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 181 year in 10 after May 1; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 281 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 193 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 218 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Shirley in zone 7a in ZIP code 11967. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Shirley's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New York · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00054790; 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 Shirley?
In a normal year in Shirley, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 104 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 134 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 104a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 17high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 134a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1999) is 103°F, on July 6, 2010; the lowest is −5°F, on January 17, 2009.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 62.54 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00054790; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00054790. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Shirley?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Shirley, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.8 |
| February | 69% | 2.7 |
| March | 71% | 3.8 |
| April | 73% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.6 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 82% | 6.1 |
| August | 82% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 72% | 3.0 |
| November | 70% | 2.1 |
| December | 64% | 1.5 |
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 Shirley need?
A normal year in Shirley brings 5,346 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 784 cooling degree days, 14% 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 3,060 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,037 | 0 |
| February | 900 | 0 |
| March | 798 | 0 |
| April | 493 | 2 |
| May | 220 | 19 |
| June | 38 | 130 |
| July | 2 | 284 |
| August | 4 | 247 |
| September | 68 | 92 |
| October | 324 | 11 |
| November | 591 | 0 |
| December | 871 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,346 | 784 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054790. 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 Shirley been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 54.9°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.4°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.5°F | +2.1°F | 42.49 |
| 2022 | 54.0°F | +1.6°F | 36.88 |
| 2023 | 54.8°F | +2.4°F | 42.41 |
| 2024 | 54.9°F | +2.5°F | 45.96 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00054790. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Shirley's climate compare?
Shirley is warmer than 117 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in New York, and wetter than 69. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.4°F is warmer than 51%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Shirley 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 Shirley share this climate record?
10 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.
- Medford, NY25,681 people · 6 mi W
- Mastic Beach, NY16,382 people · 4 mi SE
- Mastic, NY15,031 people · 1 mi SE
- North Bellport, NY10,999 people · 5 mi SW
- Center Moriches, NY8,155 people · 4 mi E
- Yaphank, NY6,140 people · 3 mi W
- East Moriches, NY5,794 people · 6 mi E
- Brookhaven, NY3,080 people · 4 mi SW
- Moriches, NY2,407 people · 2 mi SE
- Bellport, NY2,211 people · 6 mi SW
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 Shirley's climate
What is the coldest month in Shirley?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Shirley?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Shirley's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Islip (12 miles away), records 32 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Shirley?
March, with 4.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 2.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Shirley in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Shirley in zone 7a in ZIP code 11967. By the same method at Shirley's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Shirley?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 18; in one year in ten it comes after May 1. Waiting until May 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New York climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Upton Cooperative - Weather Office New York, NY3 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Baiting Hollow, NY11 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Mount Sinai, NY11 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Islip, NY12 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made