New Orleans climate

Name: New Orleans
Address: US

New Orleans is warmest in July, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 9.4 °C. August is the wettest month (157 mm) and November the driest (84 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year New Orleans averages 1,392 mm of rain, 189 days above 25 °C and 1 days below freezing.

United States · 0 m elevation · population 362,701 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 31 °C
Coldest month January 9.4 °C
Driest month November 84 mm
Wettest month August 157 mm
Least cloud October 39 % cloud
Hottest on record September 37 °C
Coldest on record January -5.3 °C
Warmest sea August 30 °C

What to expectNew Orleans through the year

New Orleans has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 16 °C in January to 31 °C in July, a swing of 15 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 189 days a year reach 25 °C, 73 of them reach 30 °C, 1 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C, in September.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 84 mm in November to 157 mm in August. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off New Orleans is warmest in August at 30 °C and coldest in January at 14 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	16.4 °C	116 mm	57 %
February	18.3 °C	113 mm	57 %
March	21.0 °C	118 mm	54 %
April	24.3 °C	101 mm	50 %
May	27.8 °C	93 mm	46 %
June	30.2 °C	139 mm	50 %
July	30.9 °C	150 mm	57 %
August	30.8 °C	157 mm	56 %
September	29.0 °C	128 mm	47 %
October	25.4 °C	89 mm	39 %
November	20.7 °C	84 mm	45 %
December	17.5 °C	103 mm	57 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	16.4 °C	9.4 °C	12.4 °C	25.0 °C	-5.3 °C	0	0	1
February	18.3 °C	11.0 °C	14.1 °C	27.1 °C	-4.3 °C	1	0	0
March	21.0 °C	13.8 °C	17.0 °C	29.9 °C	-1.2 °C	4	0	0
April	24.3 °C	17.3 °C	20.5 °C	31.7 °C	6.4 °C	13	0	0
May	27.8 °C	21.2 °C	24.2 °C	34.3 °C	10.2 °C	28	5	0
June	30.2 °C	24.3 °C	27.0 °C	35.7 °C	19.2 °C	30	16	0
July	30.9 °C	25.4 °C	27.8 °C	36.1 °C	21.0 °C	31	22	0
August	30.8 °C	25.4 °C	27.7 °C	36.5 °C	19.0 °C	31	20	0
September	29.0 °C	23.6 °C	26.1 °C	36.8 °C	15.6 °C	29	9	0
October	25.4 °C	19.0 °C	21.9 °C	33.1 °C	4.8 °C	19	1	0
November	20.7 °C	13.9 °C	16.9 °C	27.7 °C	0.3 °C	3	0	0
December	17.5 °C	10.8 °C	13.7 °C	26.3 °C	-1.7 °C	0	0	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	116 mm	10	10 h/day	57 %	76 %	22 km/h	14.2 °C
February	113 mm	9	11 h/day	57 %	76 %	22 km/h	14.6 °C
March	118 mm	10	12 h/day	54 %	76 %	22 km/h	17.6 °C
April	101 mm	9	13 h/day	50 %	75 %	22 km/h	21.5 °C
May	93 mm	9	14 h/day	46 %	76 %	19 km/h	25.4 °C
June	139 mm	15	14 h/day	50 %	78 %	16 km/h	28.8 °C
July	150 mm	18	14 h/day	57 %	80 %	15 km/h	29.8 °C
August	157 mm	18	13 h/day	56 %	80 %	15 km/h	29.9 °C
September	128 mm	13	12 h/day	47 %	78 %	17 km/h	28.2 °C
October	89 mm	8	11 h/day	39 %	74 %	19 km/h	24.2 °C
November	84 mm	7	11 h/day	45 %	74 %	20 km/h	19.6 °C
December	103 mm	9	10 h/day	57 %	77 %	21 km/h	16.2 °C

How New Orleans compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
New Orleans	31 °C	9.4 °C	1,392 mm	189
Baton Rouge · United States	32 °C	7.3 °C	1,354 mm	203
Mobile · United States	31 °C	7.5 °C	1,395 mm	184
Jackson · United States	33 °C	4.1 °C	1,256 mm	184
Montgomery · United States	33 °C	4.3 °C	1,158 mm	183
Shreveport · United States	34 °C	4.6 °C	1,233 mm	186

Where New Orleans ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Warmest sea temperatures in the world in August	49thof 50	30 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit New Orleans.

QuestionsCommon questions about New Orleans’s climate

When is the best time to visit New Orleans?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. March, April, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and November the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does New Orleans get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 73 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 37 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 9.4 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 1 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in New Orleans?

August, averaging 157 mm over 18 days with rain. The driest month is November with 84 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,392 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in New Orleans rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.