Rochester climate

Name: Rochester
Address: US

Rochester is warmest in July, with average highs of 26 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average -6.7 °C. October is the wettest month (105 mm) and February the driest (65 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Rochester averages 1,045 mm of rain, 58 days above 25 °C and 108 days below freezing.

United States · 154 m elevation · population 209,802 · 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 26 °C
Coldest month February -6.7 °C
Driest month February 65 mm
Wettest month October 105 mm
Least cloud July 49 % cloud
Hottest on record July 35 °C
Coldest on record January -27 °C

What to expectRochester through the year

Rochester has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 0.9 °C in February to 26 °C in July, a swing of 25 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 58 days a year reach 25 °C, 8 of them reach 30 °C, 108 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 65 mm in February to 105 mm in October. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	0.2 °C	83 mm	84 %
February	0.9 °C	65 mm	75 %
March	5.0 °C	79 mm	66 %
April	11.4 °C	98 mm	63 %
May	17.8 °C	81 mm	60 %
June	22.9 °C	91 mm	56 %
July	26.0 °C	88 mm	49 %
August	25.4 °C	80 mm	50 %
September	22.1 °C	87 mm	54 %
October	15.2 °C	105 mm	63 %
November	8.6 °C	95 mm	72 %
December	3.0 °C	93 mm	81 %

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	0.2 °C	-6.3 °C	-3.4 °C	17.1 °C	-26.8 °C	0	0	26
February	0.9 °C	-6.7 °C	-3.4 °C	19.7 °C	-22.4 °C	0	0	25
March	5.0 °C	-3.0 °C	0.4 °C	24.6 °C	-20.7 °C	0	0	22
April	11.4 °C	3.0 °C	6.7 °C	28.4 °C	-8.6 °C	0	0	6
May	17.8 °C	9.3 °C	13.2 °C	31.9 °C	-1.5 °C	2	0	0
June	22.9 °C	15.0 °C	18.6 °C	34.6 °C	5.9 °C	10	1	0
July	26.0 °C	18.4 °C	21.9 °C	34.7 °C	11.1 °C	19	4	0
August	25.4 °C	18.0 °C	21.4 °C	34.2 °C	10.9 °C	17	2	0
September	22.1 °C	14.6 °C	17.8 °C	34.0 °C	3.6 °C	8	1	0
October	15.2 °C	8.7 °C	11.4 °C	30.3 °C	-2.1 °C	1	0	0
November	8.6 °C	2.6 °C	5.1 °C	24.2 °C	-13.2 °C	0	0	7
December	3.0 °C	-2.4 °C	-0.1 °C	18.9 °C	-17.2 °C	0	0	21

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	83 mm	14	9.4 h/day	84 %	73 %	27 km/h
February	65 mm	11	11 h/day	75 %	72 %	26 km/h
March	79 mm	11	12 h/day	66 %	71 %	24 km/h
April	98 mm	11	13 h/day	63 %	70 %	23 km/h
May	81 mm	11	15 h/day	60 %	72 %	20 km/h
June	91 mm	11	15 h/day	56 %	73 %	19 km/h
July	88 mm	11	15 h/day	49 %	71 %	18 km/h
August	80 mm	11	14 h/day	50 %	72 %	18 km/h
September	87 mm	11	13 h/day	54 %	72 %	20 km/h
October	105 mm	13	11 h/day	63 %	73 %	24 km/h
November	95 mm	14	9.7 h/day	72 %	73 %	25 km/h
December	93 mm	15	9.0 h/day	81 %	75 %	26 km/h

How Rochester 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
Rochester	26 °C	-6.7 °C	1,045 mm	58
Buffalo · United States	26 °C	-6.8 °C	1,026 mm	51
Oshawa · Canada	25 °C	-8.1 °C	892 mm	40
Markham · Canada	26 °C	-9.3 °C	888 mm	51
Toronto · Canada	25 °C	-8.1 °C	806 mm	43
Etobicoke · Canada	26 °C	-7.9 °C	804 mm	52
Vaughan · Canada	26 °C	-9.4 °C	812 mm	53

Where Rochester ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in North America in May	23rdof 50	18 °C
The coolest places in North America in April	24thof 50	11 °C
The coolest places in North America in March	24thof 50	5.0 °C
The coolest places in North America year-round	28thof 50	13 °C
The coolest places in North America in February	30thof 50	0.9 °C
The coolest places in North America in January	33rdof 50	0.2 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Rochester.

QuestionsCommon questions about Rochester’s climate

When is the best time to visit Rochester?

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

How hot does Rochester get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 26 °C. About 8 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -6.7 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 108 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Rochester?

October, averaging 105 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is February with 65 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,045 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 Rochester 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.