Climateby Month

Frederick, MD climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 283 ft elevation · also covers Gaithersburg

Summers in Frederick are warm and often humid; winters are cold and snowy. Highs peak at 84°F in July and fall to 39°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 11 a month. Normal snowfall is about 31 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is May.

Warmest month
84°F
July normal high
Coldest month
25°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
119
47.9 in of precipitation
Snow a year
31.4 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Frederick?

Normal highs range from 39°F in January to 84°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 39°F (4°C), low 25°F (-4°C) 39° 25° February: normal high 43°F (6°C), low 26°F (-3°C) March: normal high 52°F (11°C), low 33°F (1°C) April: normal high 64°F (18°C), low 43°F (6°C) May: normal high 73°F (23°C), low 53°F (12°C) June: normal high 80°F (27°C), low 62°F (17°C) July: normal high 84°F (29°C), low 66°F (19°C) 84° 66° August: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 65°F (18°C) September: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 58°F (14°C) October: normal high 65°F (18°C), low 47°F (8°C) November: normal high 53°F (12°C), low 36°F (2°C) December: normal high 44°F (7°C), low 30°F (-1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Frederick?

May has the most wet days (about 11); the year brings about 48 in of precipitation.

January: 10 wet days February: 10 wet days March: 10 wet days April: 11 wet days May: 11 wet days 11 June: 11 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 9 wet days November: 8 wet days 8 December: 10 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 31.4 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 9.4 in of snow February: 11.1 in of snow 11.1 March: 4.8 in of snow April: 0.2 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: 0.8 in of snow December: 5.1 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Frederick?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 16 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: 16 muggy days 16 August: 13 muggy days September: 5 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 Etrn Wv Rgnl/Shpherd Fd Airport, 30 mi W 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: 9.8 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: 10.0 hours of daylight December: 9.4 hours of daylight 9.4 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Frederick, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 39°F25°F 3.4 in10 9.4 in 0 9.8 h
February 43°F26°F 3.0 in10 11.1 in 0 10.7 h
March 52°F33°F 4.0 in10 4.8 in 0 12.0 h
April 64°F43°F 3.6 in11 0.2 in 0 13.3 h
May 73°F53°F 4.3 in11 0.0 in 2 14.3 h
June 80°F62°F 4.7 in11 0.0 in 9 14.9 h
July 84°F66°F 4.5 in10 0.0 in 16 14.6 h
August 83°F65°F 4.2 in10 0.0 in 13 13.7 h
September 76°F58°F 4.8 in9 0.0 in 5 12.4 h
October 65°F47°F 4.0 in9 0.0 in 1 11.2 h
November 53°F36°F 3.5 in8 0.8 in 0 10.0 h
December 44°F30°F 3.9 in10 5.1 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 Frederick

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 311618
Feb 361613
Mar 50575
Apr 661270
May 711580
Jun 64982
Jul 54376
Aug 55574
Sep 661471
Oct 631360
Nov 47463
Dec 341712

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 Frederick

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 2, and the first fall frost around Nov 6, leaving 218 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Frederick
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 2after Apr 15
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 6before Oct 23
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 21after Apr 4
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 21before Nov 6
Frost-free season218 daysunder 196 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: Frederick Police Brks (USC00183348), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Maryland.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 100°F (July 22, 2011); the lowest was -12°F (January 19, 1994).

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

Near Frederick

Similar climates elsewhere

Also covers

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

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall and snow depth: Damascus 3 Ssw (USC00182336), 14 mi SE of the city center, 700 ft (417 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Frost dates: Frederick Police Brks (USC00183348), 1.5 mi W of the city center, 380 ft (97 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Martinsburg E Wv Rgnl Airport (USW00013734), 31 mi W of the city center, 534 ft (251 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Etrn Wv Rgnl/Shpherd Fd Airport (724177-13734), 30 mi W of the city center, 541 ft (258 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

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