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New Orleans weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Cradled in a bend of the Mississippi between river and lake, New Orleans pairs its Creole culture, jazz and Caribbean spirit with a steamy subtropical climate: humid summers, gentle winters and a deep familiarity with the hurricane season. New Orleans weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

+10.9°Fhigh well above average

89° / 64°Today
79° / 66°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+1.8°Faverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–492frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 1 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 1 in the 1940s86days above 86°F a year now (2016–2025) · 54 in the 1940sdays above 86°F · 54 in the 1940s+1.8°F vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 4.3 incheshigh 61°low 48°February, rain 4.4 incheshigh 64°low 51°March, rain 4.9 incheshigh 69°low 56°April, rain 3.9 incheshigh 75°low 63°May, rain 3.7 incheshigh 81°low 70°June, rain 4.3 incheshigh 86°low 76°July, rain 5.6 incheshigh 87°low 78°August, rain 5.6 incheshigh 87°low 77°September, rain 5.1 incheshigh 84°low 74°October, rain 2.8 incheshigh 77°low 65°November, rain 3.5 incheshigh 69°low 57°December, rain 4.3 incheshigh 63°low 51°wettest month August, 5.6 inches · 52.5 inches a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Mostly clear

Right now

65.8°

69°feels like
85%humidity
61°dew point
2 mphfrom W
UV index0.0
sunrise07:00sunset18:33day length11h 33m
TodayClear89°64°
TueClear89°62°
WedClear91°72°
ThuClear88°74°
FriOvercast86°75°
SatClear79°68°
SunOvercast77°63°

On this date: October 12

Today (forecast)
89° / 64°
Average for October 12
79° / 66°

High well above average · +10.9°F

  • Record high: 86.2° · 2017
  • Record low: 53.5° · 1992
  • One year ago: 79° / 64°

Every October 12 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 12 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for New Orleans is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 29.95°N, 90.08°W, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
29.95°N, 90.08°W
Time zone
America/Chicago
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

29 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +3.4°F.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

New Orleans has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) shaped by its setting in the Mississippi delta, much of it lying at or below sea level between the river and Lake Pontchartrain. Closeness to the Gulf of Mexico keeps winters mild (hard freezes are rare) and makes summers long, hot and oppressively humid, with frequent thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall and poor natural drainage leave the low-lying city chronically prone to flooding.

The city's history is bound up with hurricanes: Hurricane Betsy in 1965 exposed the weakness of its defenses, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 overwhelmed the levees and flooded about four-fifths of New Orleans. More recently, Hurricane Ida struck in 2021. Combined with its low, below-sea-level terrain, this exposure keeps storm surge and drainage at the heart of life in the city.

The year peaks in July, at around 87.2°F by mid-afternoon, with nights around 77.5°F. Around 180 nights a year stay above 68°F. In January, the coolest month, afternoons reach about 60.9°F and nights dip to 48.3°F.

New Orleans picks up roughly 52.5 inches a year, with a peak of 5.6 inches in August and as little as 2.8 inches in October.

Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in New Orleans has risen by 1.8°F between its first decade and its last. The count of days past 86°F has risen from roughly 55 a year to 85 between the record's first and last decades.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.comweather.gov

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 28°F. Wettest month: August (~5.6 in). Whole year averages ~52.5 inches of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 111 rainy days a year: most in July (~16), fewest in October (~6).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 0.08 in per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

New Orleans month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightRecord highRecord low
January60.9°48.3°4.3 in810.3 h79.6° (2022)14.1° (1985)
February63.6°50.9°4.4 in811.0 h79.9° (2023)19.9° (1951)
March68.9°56.4°4.9 in811.8 h83.6° (2020)28.0° (1980)
April75.0°63.1°3.9 in712.7 h87.1° (2006)39.5° (1987)
May81.4°70.2°3.7 in813.5 h93.8° (2000)49.1° (2013)
June86.1°75.8°4.3 in1113.9 h96.7° (1954)59.4° (1984)
July87.2°77.5°5.6 in1613.8 h96.4° (2009)68.0° (1967)
August87.1°77.4°5.6 in1513.1 h99.2° (2023)65.7° (2004)
September84.0°74.1°5.1 in1112.2 h96.2° (2000)52.6° (1967)
October77.4°65.3°2.8 in611.3 h90.1° (2019)39.1° (1993)
November69.2°56.7°3.5 in610.5 h82.7° (1973)30.6° (1970)
December63.4°51.2°4.3 in810.1 h79.5° (2021)14.3° (1989)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +1.8°F.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.20°F per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Mar–May is warming fastest: +0.28°F per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 86°F per year: 53.7 early in the record → 86.3 recently. Frost days: 1 → 2.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 2023, all-time low in 1985: 99.2°F / 14.1°F.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~52.5 in/year on average. Last decade: +16% vs that average. Long-term trend: +0.95 in per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about New Orleans

Which is the warmest month in New Orleans?
On long-term average, the warmest month in New Orleans is July (mean daily temperature of about 81.8°F) and the coolest is January (about 53.8°F).
How does today's temperature in New Orleans compare to the historical average?
On October 12, 2026, New Orleans is forecast to reach a high of 89.4°F and a low of 63.7°F. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 78.5°F and a low of 66.4°F, so today's high is 10.9°F warmer than that average.
How much has New Orleans warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in New Orleans is about 1.8°F warmer.
How much does it rain in New Orleans?
New Orleans receives about 52.5 inches of precipitation per year on long-term average, with August typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in New Orleans?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in New Orleans is about 69.1°F. The warmest month is July and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in New Orleans by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in New Orleans (°F, full record since 1940): January 61°/48°, February 64°/51°, March 69°/56°, April 75°/63°, May 81°/70°, June 86°/76°, July 87°/78°, August 87°/77°, September 84°/74°, October 77°/65°, November 69°/57°, December 63°/51°.
What is the weather like in New Orleans in summer?
In summer, June through August, New Orleans is wet and hot. Afternoons run 86–87°F and nights 76–78°F; July is the warmest month. Rain is steady at around 5.2 inches a month, spread over roughly 14 days.
What is the weather like in New Orleans in winter?
Winter in New Orleans (December to February) is wet and fairly mild. Expect 61–64°F by day and 48–51°F at night, with January the coldest month. Rain falls on about 8 days a month, adding up to around 4.4 inches.
What is the weather like in New Orleans in spring?
March to May is spring in New Orleans, and it is wet and pleasantly warm. It warms from 69°F by day and 56°F at night in March to 81°F and 70°F in May. Rain is steady at around 4.2 inches a month, spread over roughly 8 days.
What is the weather like in New Orleans in autumn?
Autumn in New Orleans (September to November) is pleasantly warm. September still brings 84°F afternoons and 74°F nights, November only 69°F and 57°F. Rain falls on about 8 days a month, adding up to around 3.8 inches.
How many days a year does it rain in New Orleans?
On long-term average, New Orleans has about 111 days a year with at least 0.08 inches of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 52.5 inches.

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