Climateby Month

Paterson, NJ climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 84 ft elevation

Summers in Paterson are warm and often humid; winters are cold and snowy. Highs peak at 87°F in July and fall to 40°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 9 to 12 a month. Normal snowfall is about 30 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
124
46.3 in of precipitation
Snow a year
29.8 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Paterson?

Normal highs range from 40°F in January to 87°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 40°F (4°C), low 26°F (-3°C) 40° 26° February: normal high 43°F (6°C), low 27°F (-3°C) March: normal high 51°F (11°C), low 34°F (1°C) April: normal high 63°F (17°C), low 44°F (7°C) May: normal high 73°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 69°F (21°C) 87° 69° August: normal high 85°F (29°C), low 67°F (19°C) September: normal high 78°F (26°C), low 60°F (16°C) October: normal high 67°F (19°C), low 48°F (9°C) November: normal high 56°F (13°C), low 38°F (3°C) December: normal high 45°F (7°C), low 31°F (-1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Paterson?

May has the most wet days (about 12); the year brings about 46 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: 10 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 9 wet days 9 October: 10 wet days November: 9 wet days December: 12 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 29.8 in a year, most of it in February.

January: 8.8 in of snow February: 10.1 in of snow 10.1 March: 5.0 in of snow April: 0.4 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: 0.1 in of snow November: 0.5 in of snow December: 4.9 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Paterson?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 13 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 1 muggy days June: 5 muggy days July: 13 muggy days 13 August: 11 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 Teterboro Airport, 7.2 mi ESE of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.3 hours in December to 15.1 hours in June.

January: 9.6 hours of daylight February: 10.7 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.3 hours of daylight May: 14.5 hours of daylight June: 15.1 hours of daylight 15.1 July: 14.8 hours of daylight August: 13.8 hours of daylight September: 12.5 hours of daylight October: 11.1 hours of daylight November: 9.9 hours of daylight December: 9.3 hours of daylight 9.3 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Paterson, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 40°F26°F 3.3 in11 8.8 in 0 9.6 h
February 43°F27°F 2.8 in10 10.1 in 0 10.7 h
March 51°F34°F 4.1 in11 5.0 in 0 12.0 h
April 63°F44°F 4.0 in11 0.4 in 0 13.3 h
May 73°F53°F 3.9 in12 0.0 in 1 14.5 h
June 82°F63°F 4.3 in10 0.0 in 5 15.1 h
July 87°F69°F 4.5 in10 0.0 in 13 14.8 h
August 85°F67°F 4.3 in10 0.0 in 11 13.8 h
September 78°F60°F 4.1 in9 0.0 in 5 12.5 h
October 67°F48°F 3.7 in10 0.1 in 1 11.1 h
November 56°F38°F 3.3 in9 0.5 in 0 9.9 h
December 45°F31°F 4.1 in12 4.9 in 0 9.3 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 Paterson

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 310617
Feb 371612
Mar 46275
Apr 641071
May 741772
Jun 64975
Jul 502610
Aug 52477
Sep 651362
Oct 641460
Nov 48562
Dec 341711

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 Paterson

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 3, and the first fall frost around Nov 4, leaving 215 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Paterson
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 3after Apr 16
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 4before Oct 21
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 23after Apr 4
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 16before Nov 2
Frost-free season215 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: Teterboro Airport (USW00094741), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in New Jersey.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 104°F (July 22, 2011); the lowest was -4°F (January 27, 1994, and 1 other day).

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

Near Paterson

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, frost dates, humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Teterboro Airport (USW00094741), 7.4 mi SE of the city center, 9 ft (75 ft lower than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Snowfall: New York Cntrl Pk Twr (USW00094728), 14 mi SE of the city center, 130 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Snow depth: Newark Intl Airport (USW00014734), 16 mi S of the city center, 7 ft (77 ft lower than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Teterboro Airport (725025-94741), 7.2 mi ESE of the city center, 3 ft (81 ft lower than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

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