Climateby Month

Cape May, NJ climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 7 ft elevation · also covers Rehoboth Beach

Cape May has warm and oppressively humid summers and chilly winters. Highs peak at 86°F in July and fall to 43°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 9 to 12 a month. Normal snowfall is about 15 in a year. By our comfort score the best month is May.

Warmest month
86°F
July normal high
Coldest month
29°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
124
43.8 in of precipitation
Snow a year
14.8 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Cape May?

Normal highs range from 43°F in January to 86°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 43°F (6°C), low 29°F (-2°C) 43° 29° February: normal high 45°F (7°C), low 29°F (-2°C) March: normal high 52°F (11°C), low 35°F (2°C) April: normal high 62°F (17°C), low 44°F (7°C) May: normal high 71°F (22°C), low 54°F (12°C) June: normal high 80°F (27°C), low 63°F (17°C) July: normal high 86°F (30°C), low 68°F (20°C) 86° 68° August: normal high 84°F (29°C), low 67°F (19°C) September: normal high 79°F (26°C), low 62°F (17°C) October: normal high 68°F (20°C), low 51°F (11°C) November: normal high 57°F (14°C), low 41°F (5°C) December: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 33°F (1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Cape May?

March has the most wet days (about 12); the year brings about 44 in of precipitation.

January: 11 wet days February: 11 wet days March: 12 wet days 12 April: 11 wet days May: 11 wet days June: 10 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 9 wet days 9 September: 9 wet days October: 10 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 14.8 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 4.5 in of snow February: 5.7 in of snow 5.7 March: 2.5 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: 0.0 in of snow December: 2.0 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Cape May?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 20 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 2 muggy days June: 11 muggy days July: 20 muggy days 20 August: 18 muggy days September: 9 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 Millville Municipal Arpt, 31 mi NNW of the city center (the nearest airport with complete hourly records).

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: 10.8 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.2 hours of daylight May: 14.3 hours of daylight June: 14.8 hours of daylight 14.8 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 Cape May, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 43°F29°F 3.2 in11 4.5 in 0 9.8 h
February 45°F29°F 3.0 in11 5.7 in 0 10.8 h
March 52°F35°F 4.1 in12 2.5 in 0 12.0 h
April 62°F44°F 3.3 in11 0.1 in 0 13.2 h
May 71°F54°F 3.5 in11 0.0 in 2 14.3 h
June 80°F63°F 3.5 in10 0.0 in 11 14.8 h
July 86°F68°F 3.9 in10 0.0 in 20 14.6 h
August 84°F67°F 4.0 in9 0.0 in 18 13.7 h
September 79°F62°F 3.8 in9 0.0 in 9 12.4 h
October 68°F51°F 4.2 in10 0.0 in 2 11.2 h
November 57°F41°F 3.3 in9 0.0 in 0 10.1 h
December 48°F33°F 4.0 in11 2.0 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 Cape May

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 350612
Feb 39169
Mar 48373
Apr 62970
May 731670
Jun 64962
Jul 51167
Aug 53254
Sep 641261
Oct 661660
Nov 49561
Dec 37176

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 Cape May

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 1, and the first fall frost around Nov 9, leaving 222 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Cape May
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 1after Apr 15
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 9before Oct 26
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 19after Mar 31
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 23before Nov 7
Frost-free season222 daysunder 201 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: Cape May 2 Nw (USC00281351), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in New Jersey.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 102°F (July 23, 2011, and 1 other day); the lowest was -1°F (January 19, 1994).

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

Near Cape May

Similar climates elsewhere

Also covers

Rehoboth Beach uses the same temperature and rain stations as Cape May, so its monthly numbers are the ones on this page.

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth and frost dates: Cape May 2 Nw (USC00281351), 2.0 mi NW of the city center, 20 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Dover AFB (USW00013707), 33 mi WNW of the city center, 23 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Millville Municipal Arpt (724075-13735), 31 mi NNW of the city center, 58 ft (51 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

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