Wiscasset, Maine climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wiscasset's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 46.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.7°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,186 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWiscasset Airport
- Station IDUSW00094623
- Location43.96°N 69.71°W
- Elevation68 ft (21 m)
- Population (town)3,951
- Census place1,273
On October 23, the normal high in Wiscasset is 57°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 41%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wiscasset.
- Jan 32° 12°
- Feb 35° 14°
- Mar 43° 23°
- Apr 54° 33°
- May 65° 42°
- Jun 74° 52°
- Jul 79° 58°
- Aug 79° 57°
- Sep 71° 49°
- Oct 59° 38°
- Nov 48° 29°
- Dec 38° 20°
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 Wiscasset each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in October (5.13 in), the least in February (3.08 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 12°F | 22.1°F | 3.51 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 35°F | 14°F | 24.4°F | 3.08 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 43°F | 23°F | 32.8°F | 3.77 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 33°F | 43.3°F | 3.94 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 65°F | 42°F | 53.6°F | 3.46 | 13 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| June | 74°F | 52°F | 62.9°F | 4.47 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 79°F | 58°F | 68.7°F | 3.44 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| August | 79°F | 57°F | 67.6°F | 3.08 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 71°F | 49°F | 60.0°F | 4.15 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 38°F | 48.7°F | 5.13 | 13 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 29°F | 38.7°F | 4.45 | 12 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 38°F | 20°F | 28.6°F | 4.22 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 9 h |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 36°F | 45.9°F | 46.70 | 147 | 3 | 160 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −11°C | −5.5°C | 89 mm |
| February | 2°C | −10°C | −4.2°C | 78 mm |
| March | 6°C | −5°C | 0.4°C | 96 mm |
| April | 12°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 100 mm |
| May | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 88 mm |
| June | 23°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 114 mm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 87 mm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 78 mm |
| September | 22°C | 10°C | 15.6°C | 105 mm |
| October | 15°C | 4°C | 9.3°C | 130 mm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 113 mm |
| December | 3°C | −7°C | −1.9°C | 107 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Bath (8 miles away), gets 72 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094623; 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 Wiscasset?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USW00094623.
When is the last frost in Wiscasset?
In Wiscasset, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after May 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 24 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 81 year in 10 after May 20; 9 in 10 after April 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 151 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 177 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wiscasset in zone 5b in ZIP code 04578. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wiscasset's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (24 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 USW00094623; 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 Wiscasset?
In a normal year in Wiscasset, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 160 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 147 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 160a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 41high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 147a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 99°F, on June 24, 2025; the lowest is −21°F, on February 24, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2005, with 65.90 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094623; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094623. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wiscasset?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wiscasset, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.6 |
| February | 69% | 2.5 |
| March | 70% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 72% | 5.8 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 80% | 4.4 |
| October | 71% | 2.8 |
| November | 67% | 1.8 |
| December | 62% | 1.3 |
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 Wiscasset need?
A normal year in Wiscasset brings 7,232 heating degree days, 35% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 321 cooling degree days, 65% 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 2,067 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,328 | 0 |
| February | 1,137 | 0 |
| March | 998 | 0 |
| April | 651 | 0 |
| May | 361 | 6 |
| June | 111 | 46 |
| July | 19 | 132 |
| August | 28 | 108 |
| September | 178 | 28 |
| October | 505 | 1 |
| November | 791 | 0 |
| December | 1,127 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,232 | 321 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094623. 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 Wiscasset been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 48.2°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.9°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.0°F | +2.1°F | 45.69 |
| 2022 | 47.5°F | +1.6°F | 43.81 |
| 2023 | 48.2°F | +2.3°F | 49.49 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094623. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wiscasset's climate compare?
Wiscasset is warmer than 34 of the other 41 places with their own NOAA record in Maine, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.9°F is warmer than 23%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wiscasset 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 Wiscasset's climate
What is the coldest month in Wiscasset?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Wiscasset?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Wiscasset's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Bath (8 miles away), records 72 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Wiscasset?
October, with 5.13 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wiscasset in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wiscasset in zone 5b in ZIP code 04578. By the same method at Wiscasset's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Wiscasset?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after May 20. Waiting until May 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Maine climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Westport Island, ME5 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Bath, ME7 miles from this station, 44.6°F a year
- Newcastle, ME11 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Brunswick, ME12 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made