Climateby Month

Dover, DE climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 28 ft elevation

Summers in Dover are warm and oppressively humid; winters are chilly. Highs peak at 87°F in July and fall to 44°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 7 to 10 a month. Normal snowfall is about 13 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is May.

Warmest month
87°F
July normal high
Coldest month
28°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
110
47.6 in of precipitation
Snow a year
13.2 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Dover?

Normal highs range from 44°F in January to 87°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 44°F (7°C), low 28°F (-2°C) 44° 28° February: normal high 47°F (8°C), low 29°F (-2°C) March: normal high 55°F (13°C), low 35°F (2°C) April: normal high 66°F (19°C), low 45°F (7°C) May: normal high 74°F (23°C), low 54°F (12°C) June: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 64°F (18°C) July: normal high 87°F (31°C), low 69°F (21°C) 87° 69° August: normal high 85°F (29°C), low 67°F (19°C) September: normal high 79°F (26°C), low 61°F (16°C) October: normal high 69°F (21°C), low 50°F (10°C) November: normal high 58°F (14°C), low 39°F (4°C) December: normal high 49°F (9°C), low 32°F (0°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Dover?

December has the most wet days (about 10); the year brings about 48 in of precipitation.

January: 10 wet days February: 9 wet days March: 10 wet days April: 10 wet days May: 10 wet days June: 9 wet days July: 9 wet days August: 8 wet days September: 8 wet days October: 8 wet days November: 7 wet days 7 December: 10 wet days 10 JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 13.2 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 4.1 in of snow February: 5.9 in of snow 5.9 March: 0.6 in of snow April: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 May: 0.0 in of snow June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.0 in of snow November: 0.0 in of snow December: 2.6 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Dover?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 23 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 4 muggy days June: 14 muggy days July: 23 muggy days 23 August: 20 muggy days September: 11 muggy days October: 2 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Dover AFB Airport, 3.5 mi ESE of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.5 hours in December to 14.9 hours in June.

January: 9.8 hours of daylight February: 10.7 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.3 hours of daylight May: 14.3 hours of daylight June: 14.9 hours of daylight 14.9 July: 14.6 hours of daylight August: 13.7 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.2 hours of daylight November: 10.1 hours of daylight December: 9.5 hours of daylight 9.5 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Dover, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 44°F28°F 3.4 in10 4.1 in 0 9.8 h
February 47°F29°F 3.1 in9 5.9 in 0 10.7 h
March 55°F35°F 4.2 in10 0.6 in 0 12.0 h
April 66°F45°F 3.7 in10 0.0 in 0 13.3 h
May 74°F54°F 3.9 in10 0.0 in 4 14.3 h
June 83°F64°F 4.6 in9 0.0 in 14 14.9 h
July 87°F69°F 4.1 in9 0.0 in 23 14.6 h
August 85°F67°F 4.9 in8 0.0 in 20 13.7 h
September 79°F61°F 4.3 in8 0.0 in 11 12.4 h
October 69°F50°F 4.1 in8 0.0 in 2 11.2 h
November 58°F39°F 3.4 in7 0.0 in 0 10.1 h
December 49°F32°F 4.0 in10 2.6 in 0 9.5 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Dover

By our comfort score, the best month is May.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 372612
Feb 41278
Mar 52673
Apr 671370
May 711571
Jun 59675
Jul 481611
Aug 50266
Sep 611062
Oct 671650
Nov 52751
Dec 39277

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Dover

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 4, and the first fall frost around Nov 4, leaving 214 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Dover
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 4after Apr 17
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 4before Oct 23
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 25after Apr 5
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 16before Nov 3
Frost-free season214 daysunder 195 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Dover (USC00072730), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Delaware.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 101°F (July 7, 2012, and 3 other days); the lowest was -3°F (January 19, 1994).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Dover

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth and frost dates: Dover (USC00072730), 1.3 mi SE of the city center, 30 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Dover AFB (USW00013707), 3.5 mi ESE of the city center, 23 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Dover AFB Airport (724088-13707), 3.5 mi ESE of the city center, 28 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error