Utica, New York climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Utica's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 44.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.2°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,118 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationUtica Oneida County Airport
- Station IDUSW00094794
- Location43.15°N 75.38°W
- Elevation711 ft (217 m)
- From the center9 miles
- Population63,660
On October 14, the normal high in Utica is 60°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 47%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Utica.
- Jan 30° 14°
- Feb 32° 15°
- Mar 41° 23°
- Apr 55° 35°
- May 68° 46°
- Jun 76° 55°
- Jul 81° 60°
- Aug 79° 58°
- Sep 72° 51°
- Oct 59° 41°
- Nov 46° 31°
- Dec 35° 21°
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 Utica each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.68 in), the least in February (2.26 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 14°F | 21.7°F | 2.65 | 18 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 32°F | 15°F | 23.6°F | 2.26 | 15 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 41°F | 23°F | 31.8°F | 3.02 | 16 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 35°F | 44.6°F | 3.91 | 15 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 68°F | 46°F | 56.8°F | 3.88 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 76°F | 55°F | 65.5°F | 4.47 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 81°F | 60°F | 70.0°F | 4.18 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 58°F | 68.4°F | 4.68 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 72°F | 51°F | 61.3°F | 3.47 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 41°F | 50.0°F | 4.29 | 14 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 31°F | 38.5°F | 3.63 | 17 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 35°F | 21°F | 28.2°F | 3.56 | 17 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 37°F | 46.7°F | 44.00 | 174 | 5 | 140 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −10°C | −5.7°C | 67 mm |
| February | 0°C | −9°C | −4.7°C | 57 mm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 77 mm |
| April | 13°C | 1°C | 7.0°C | 99 mm |
| May | 20°C | 8°C | 13.8°C | 99 mm |
| June | 24°C | 13°C | 18.6°C | 114 mm |
| July | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 106 mm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.2°C | 119 mm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 88 mm |
| October | 15°C | 5°C | 10.0°C | 109 mm |
| November | 8°C | −1°C | 3.6°C | 92 mm |
| December | 2°C | −6°C | −2.1°C | 90 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Boonville (20 miles away), gets 164 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094794; 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 Utica?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USW00094794.
When is the last frost in Utica?
In Utica, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 13 in half of years and before September 29 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 11 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 131 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 164 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 188 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Utica in zone 5b across its 2 ZIP code areas (5b in 13502, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Utica's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (16 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 USW00094794; 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 Utica ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Utica'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 Utica?
In a normal year in Utica, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 140 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 174 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 140a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 53high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 174a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1950) is 100°F, on July 18, 1953; the lowest is −28°F, on January 15, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 61.62 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 186.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094794; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094794. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Utica?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Utica, 3.6 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (76%) and December the cloudiest (49%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 449th (with 2 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.4 |
| February | 59% | 2.2 |
| March | 65% | 3.5 |
| April | 65% | 4.5 |
| May | 69% | 5.4 |
| June | 71% | 5.8 |
| July | 76% | 5.9 |
| August | 76% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 4.1 |
| October | 61% | 2.5 |
| November | 58% | 1.6 |
| December | 49% | 1.0 |
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 Utica need?
A normal year in Utica brings 7,092 heating degree days, 32% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 457 cooling degree days, 50% 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 2,414 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,342 | 0 |
| February | 1,159 | 0 |
| March | 1,029 | 0 |
| April | 614 | 2 |
| May | 276 | 21 |
| June | 76 | 91 |
| July | 12 | 168 |
| August | 26 | 132 |
| September | 153 | 40 |
| October | 469 | 3 |
| November | 794 | 0 |
| December | 1,142 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,092 | 457 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094794. 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 Utica's climate compare?
Utica is warmer than 55 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in New York, and wetter than 67. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.7°F is warmer than 26%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Utica 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 Utica share this climate record?
21 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.
- Oneida, NY10,066 people · 15 mi W
- Whitesboro, NY3,596 people · 5 mi E
- New York Mills, NY3,197 people · 6 mi SE
- Sherrill, NY2,997 people · 12 mi SW
- Yorkville, NY2,592 people · 6 mi E
- Washington Mills, NY2,148 people · 9 mi SE
- Hamilton College, NY1,992 people · 6 mi S
- New Hartford, NY1,866 people · 7 mi SE
- Clinton, NY1,639 people · 7 mi S
- Clark Mills, NY1,606 people · 4 mi S
- Waterville, NY1,512 people · 15 mi S
- Oriskany, NY1,349 people · 3 mi E
- Verona, NY1,274 people · 10 mi W
- Vernon, NY1,158 people · 9 mi SW
- Chadwicks, NY824 people · 10 mi SE
- Durhamville, NY750 people · 14 mi W
- Oriskany Falls, NY641 people · 15 mi S
- Oneida Castle, NY583 people · 13 mi W
- Marcy, NY489 people · 7 mi E
- Clayville, NY336 people · 13 mi SE
- Westmoreland, NY73 people · 2 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 Utica's climate
What is the coldest month in Utica?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Utica?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Utica's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Boonville (20 miles away), records 164 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Utica?
August, with 4.68 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Utica in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Utica in zone 5b across its 2 ZIP code areas (5b in 13502, the largest). By the same method at Utica's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Utica?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; 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
- Utica in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- New York climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rome, NY6 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Trenton Falls, NY14 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Boonville, NY20 miles from this station, 42.0°F a year
- Camden, NY26 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made