Stamford, CT Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Stamford's primary NOAA station, STAMFORD 5 N.
The climate verdict for Stamford
Water is the standout signal in Stamford, Connecticut: 51.6 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 53°F. At 53/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 53°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 53/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 51.6"
- annual precipitation · 34" snow
- 189 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Stamford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00067970 · Stamford, CT 53°F mean · 51.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 53°F
- RANK-MID #3,568
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Lovelock
- PRCP-WET 51.6"
- SWING-MID 45°F
- COMF-LOW 53/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,358 HDD
- STN-1 USC00067970
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Lovelock, NV (+ 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 CT station list.
- Stamford (this station) 53°F
- Cold Glenmoore, PA 53°F
- Hot Cincinnati, OH 53°F
- Near Lovelock, NV 53°F
- Near Somerville Some…, NJ 53°F
Climate Living Index · Stamford
Stamford: 53/100 · grade D
Stamford publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Stamford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 53/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 116 calendar days | 67/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 189 days/year | 56/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.6°F · 14.9° from 67.5°F | 51/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 51.6 in · 16.6 from 35 in | 41/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 34.0 inches/year | 34/100 · F |
Stamford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Stamford is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 30.1°F and warmest-month mean 74.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 74.6°F
- Coldest month
- 30.1°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 Stamford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Stamford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 52nd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 16% wettest
- Stamford's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 56th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Stamford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Stamford's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
53 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Stamford's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 114 complete annual observations from 1892 to 2019, STAMFORD 5 N warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Stamford primary station fitted change +0.18 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F (3°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 4.3" | 9.1" | 26.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 3.1" | 11.9" | 24.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 4.7" | 5.9" | 19.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (17°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 4.4" | 0.5" | 6.3 | 0.2 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| June | 80°F (27°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.5 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 5.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.6" | 0.0" | 3.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 53°F (12°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 4.2" | 0.8" | 14.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 43°F (6°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 4.4" | 5.8" | 23.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 15, short of 90°F on every date, while 116 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near January 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 21, then returns to freezing around November 27, covering 116 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 April 22, when 40% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 29 at 27%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 124 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Stamford.
Where Stamford Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 52 inches.
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 23°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Stamford earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 9.1"
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.9"
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.9"
10.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
12.0 days with precipitation
12.4 days with precipitation
11.6 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
10.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.8"
11.4 days with precipitation
Stamford spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 24% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Stamford has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 44.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 5.2" and February 3.1". The three wettest months together take 29% 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 Stamford, it arrives in quantity
51.6" of precipitation falls across only about 124 wet days here, averaging 0.42 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 124 a year, 34% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- May, 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 Stamford
Stamford averages 34.0 inches of snowfall a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 15 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: 34.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 15 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 7% 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 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
189 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,358
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
858
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CT closest to Stamford 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 (53°F here).
- Buckhannon, WV 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Cascade Locks, OR 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Christiansburg, VA 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Cincinnati, OH 53°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (51.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bardstown, KY 51.6" · 0.0" off
- Cape Neddick, ME 51.6" · 0.0" off
- Wise, VA 51.6" · 0.0" off
- Belington, WV 51.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Stamford
heating led · wet · mid swing
Stamford's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,358 annual heating degree days against 858 for cooling. Its 44.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Stamford's frost-free season lasts about 189 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Stamford coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Stamford typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Stamford snow peak
February
Stamford averages 34.0 inches of snow a year, with February the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Stamford's climate
How much snow does Stamford get? ▼
How cold does Stamford get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Stamford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Stamford's primary station: STAMFORD 5 N (USC00067970). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 0973000). Match rule for Stamford: 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 Stamford 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.