Climateby Month

Wilmington, DE climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 91 ft elevation · also covers Newark

Summers in Wilmington are warm and often humid; winters are cold and snowy. Highs peak at 87°F in July and fall to 41°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 9 to 12 a month. Normal snowfall is about 20 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is May.

Warmest month
87°F
July normal high
Coldest month
26°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
122
45.3 in of precipitation
Snow a year
20.2 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Wilmington?

Normal highs range from 41°F in January to 87°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 41°F (5°C), low 26°F (-3°C) 41° 26° February: normal high 44°F (7°C), low 27°F (-3°C) March: normal high 53°F (12°C), low 34°F (1°C) April: normal high 64°F (18°C), low 44°F (7°C) May: normal high 74°F (23°C), low 53°F (12°C) June: normal high 82°F (28°C), low 63°F (17°C) July: normal high 87°F (31°C), low 68°F (20°C) 87° 68° August: normal high 85°F (29°C), low 67°F (19°C) September: normal high 79°F (26°C), low 59°F (15°C) October: normal high 67°F (19°C), low 47°F (8°C) November: normal high 56°F (13°C), low 37°F (3°C) December: normal high 46°F (8°C), low 30°F (-1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Wilmington?

May has the most wet days (about 12); the year brings about 45 in of precipitation.

January: 11 wet days February: 10 wet days March: 11 wet days April: 11 wet days May: 12 wet days 12 June: 11 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 9 wet days September: 9 wet days 9 October: 9 wet days November: 9 wet days December: 11 wet days 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 20.2 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 6.1 in of snow February: 7.8 in of snow 7.8 March: 3.1 in of snow April: 0.1 in of snow May: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 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: 0.2 in of snow December: 2.9 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Wilmington?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 17 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 2 muggy days June: 9 muggy days July: 17 muggy days 17 August: 16 muggy days September: 7 muggy days October: 1 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 Philadelphia International Airport, 19 mi ENE of the city center (the nearest airport with complete hourly records).

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.4 hours in December to 14.9 hours in June.

January: 9.7 hours of daylight February: 10.7 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.3 hours of daylight May: 14.4 hours of daylight June: 14.9 hours of daylight 14.9 July: 14.7 hours of daylight August: 13.7 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.1 hours of daylight November: 10.0 hours of daylight December: 9.4 hours of daylight 9.4 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Wilmington, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 41°F26°F 3.2 in11 6.1 in 0 9.7 h
February 44°F27°F 2.8 in10 7.8 in 0 10.7 h
March 53°F34°F 4.2 in11 3.1 in 0 12.0 h
April 64°F44°F 3.5 in11 0.1 in 0 13.3 h
May 74°F53°F 3.6 in12 0.0 in 2 14.4 h
June 82°F63°F 4.7 in11 0.0 in 9 14.9 h
July 87°F68°F 4.4 in10 0.0 in 17 14.7 h
August 85°F67°F 4.0 in9 0.0 in 16 13.7 h
September 79°F59°F 4.4 in9 0.0 in 7 12.4 h
October 67°F47°F 3.7 in9 0.0 in 1 11.1 h
November 56°F37°F 3.1 in9 0.2 in 0 10.0 h
December 46°F30°F 3.9 in11 2.9 in 0 9.4 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 Wilmington

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 331615
Feb 381611
Mar 49474
Apr 661270
May 731671
Jun 61774
Jul 502710
Aug 52366
Sep 641362
Oct 641460
Nov 49561
Dec 36179

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 Wilmington

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 7, and the first fall frost around Nov 4, leaving 209 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Wilmington
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 7after Apr 24
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 4before Oct 21
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 29after Apr 10
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 15before Nov 1
Frost-free season209 daysunder 189 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: Wilmington Porter Rsch (USC00079605), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Delaware.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 103°F (July 7, 2010, and 1 other day); the lowest was -5°F (January 19, 1994).

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

Near Wilmington

Similar climates elsewhere

Also covers

Newark uses the same temperature and rain stations as Wilmington, so its monthly numbers are the ones on this page.

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall and snow depth: Wilmington New Castle Co Airport (USW00013781), 5.8 mi SSW of the city center, 79 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Frost dates: Wilmington Porter Rsch (USC00079605), 1.9 mi N of the city center, 270 ft (179 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour: Philadelphia Intl Airport (USW00013739), 19 mi ENE of the city center, 10 ft (81 ft lower than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Cloud cover: Millville Muni Airport (USW00013735), 37 mi SE of the city center, 70 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Philadelphia International Airport (724080-13739), 19 mi ENE of the city center, 7 ft (84 ft lower than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

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