Van Buren, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Van Buren's normal year runs from −4°F January nights to 76°F July afternoons, with 41.5 inches of precipitation and 97 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.6°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 25°C, 1,053 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVan Buren 2
- Station IDUSC00178965
- Location47.17°N 67.94°W
- Elevation456 ft (139 m)
- Population (town)1,999
- Census place1,614
On October 23, the normal high in Van Buren is 49°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 42%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Van Buren.
- Jan 19° -4°
- Feb 23° -5°
- Mar 33° 9°
- Apr 47° 26°
- May 62° 39°
- Jun 71° 49°
- Jul 76° 55°
- Aug 75° 53°
- Sep 67° 44°
- Oct 53° 33°
- Nov 39° 24°
- Dec 26° 8°
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 Van Buren each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −4°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.81 in), the least in February (2.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | −4°F | 7.4°F | 2.87 | 24.5 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 23°F | −5°F | 8.9°F | 2.27 | 20.0 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 33°F | 9°F | 20.9°F | 2.45 | 17.5 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 47°F | 26°F | 36.4°F | 3.06 | 5.7 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 3.61 | 0.1 | 14 | <1 | 7 | 15 h |
| June | 71°F | 49°F | 59.9°F | 3.97 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 76°F | 55°F | 65.7°F | 4.81 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 75°F | 53°F | 64.1°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 67°F | 44°F | 55.4°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 53°F | 33°F | 42.9°F | 4.37 | 0.8 | 13 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| November | 39°F | 24°F | 31.2°F | 3.37 | 7.4 | 12 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 26°F | 8°F | 17.3°F | 3.38 | 20.7 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 49°F | 28°F | 38.4°F | 41.47 | 96.7 | 143 | 2 | 193 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −7°C | −20°C | −13.7°C | 73 mm | 62 cm |
| February | −5°C | −20°C | −12.8°C | 58 mm | 51 cm |
| March | 1°C | −13°C | −6.2°C | 62 mm | 44 cm |
| April | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 78 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 22°C | 9°C | 15.5°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 12°C | 17.8°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | 7°C | 13.0°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11°C | 1°C | 6.1°C | 111 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 4°C | −5°C | −0.4°C | 86 mm | 19 cm |
| December | −3°C | −13°C | −8.2°C | 86 mm | 53 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00178965; 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 Van Buren?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USC00178965.
When is the last frost in Van Buren?
In Van Buren, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 11 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 231 year in 10 after June 5; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 125 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 150 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 7 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Van Buren in zone 4a in ZIP code 04785, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Van Buren's NOAA station is in zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −33°F (29 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Maine · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00178965; 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 Van Buren?
In a normal year in Van Buren, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 193 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 143 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 193a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 92high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 143a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 27a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1963) is 96°F, on June 20, 2020; the lowest is −47°F, on January 22, 1984.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2005, with 52.62 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 159.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00178965; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00178965. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Van Buren?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Van Buren, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (71%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.4 |
| February | 66% | 2.2 |
| March | 67% | 3.4 |
| April | 67% | 4.5 |
| May | 65% | 5.1 |
| June | 67% | 5.5 |
| July | 70% | 5.5 |
| August | 71% | 4.8 |
| September | 71% | 3.7 |
| October | 62% | 2.2 |
| November | 56% | 1.3 |
| December | 56% | 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 Van Buren need?
A normal year in Van Buren brings 9,852 heating degree days, 83% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 196 cooling degree days, 78% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,563 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,785 | 0 |
| February | 1,571 | 0 |
| March | 1,366 | 0 |
| April | 858 | 0 |
| May | 458 | 5 |
| June | 184 | 32 |
| July | 60 | 84 |
| August | 89 | 61 |
| September | 304 | 14 |
| October | 685 | 0 |
| November | 1,013 | 0 |
| December | 1,480 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,852 | 196 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00178965. 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 Van Buren been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 39.7°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 38.4°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 40.1°F | +1.7°F | 51.13 | – |
| 2023 | 41.5°F | +3.1°F | 39.14 | – |
| 2024 | 42.7°F | +4.3°F | 34.14 | 53.6 |
| 2025 | 39.7°F | +1.3°F | 35.96 | 81.0 |
Over 41 complete years from 1974 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 7.3°F per century (+0.41°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00178965; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Van Buren's climate compare?
Van Buren is warmer than 1 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 3. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 38.4°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Van Buren 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.
Questions about Van Buren's climate
What is the coldest month in Van Buren?
January, with a normal high of 19°F and a normal low of −4°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Van Buren?
Yes: 97 inches in a normal year, falling on 36 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (24.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Van Buren?
July, with 4.81 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Van Buren in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Van Buren in zone 4a in ZIP code 04785, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Van Buren's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −33°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Van Buren?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 5. Waiting until June 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Limestone, ME14 miles from this station, 38.6°F a year
- Frenchville Aroostook Airport, ME19 miles from this station, 40.1°F a year
- Caribou, ME21 miles from this station, 40.7°F a year
- Fort Kent, ME32 miles from this station, 37.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made