Climateby Month

Newport, RI climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 28 ft elevation

Summers in Newport are warm and often humid; winters are cold and snowy. Highs peak at 83°F in July and fall to 40°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 9 to 13 a month. Normal snowfall is about 35 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is May.

Warmest month
83°F
July normal high
Coldest month
21°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
128
53.1 in of precipitation
Snow a year
34.5 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Newport?

Normal highs range from 40°F in January to 83°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 40°F (4°C), low 21°F (-6°C) 40° 21° February: normal high 43°F (6°C), low 22°F (-6°C) March: normal high 49°F (9°C), low 28°F (-2°C) April: normal high 60°F (16°C), low 37°F (3°C) May: normal high 70°F (21°C), low 47°F (8°C) June: normal high 78°F (26°C), low 56°F (13°C) July: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 62°F (17°C) 83° 62° August: normal high 82°F (28°C), low 60°F (16°C) September: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 53°F (12°C) October: normal high 65°F (18°C), low 42°F (6°C) November: normal high 55°F (13°C), low 34°F (1°C) December: normal high 45°F (7°C), low 26°F (-3°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Newport?

May has the most wet days (about 13); the year brings about 53 in of precipitation.

January: 11 wet days February: 9 wet days 9 March: 10 wet days April: 12 wet days May: 13 wet days 13 June: 11 wet days July: 10 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 12 wet days November: 10 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 34.5 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 10.0 in of snow 10.0 February: 9.9 in of snow March: 6.2 in of snow April: 1.1 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: 0.1 in of snow November: 0.6 in of snow December: 6.6 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Newport?

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: 0 muggy days June: 5 muggy days July: 13 muggy days 13 August: 12 muggy days September: 5 muggy days October: 0 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 Theodore F Green State Airport, 17 mi NNW of the city center (the nearest airport with complete hourly records).

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.2 hours in December to 15.1 hours in June.

January: 9.6 hours of daylight February: 10.6 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: 9.2 hours of daylight 9.2 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Newport, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 40°F21°F 4.2 in11 10.0 in 0 9.6 h
February 43°F22°F 3.8 in9 9.9 in 0 10.6 h
March 49°F28°F 5.6 in10 6.2 in 0 12.0 h
April 60°F37°F 4.9 in12 1.1 in 0 13.3 h
May 70°F47°F 3.8 in13 0.0 in 0 14.5 h
June 78°F56°F 4.1 in11 0.0 in 5 15.1 h
July 83°F62°F 3.3 in10 0.0 in 13 14.8 h
August 82°F60°F 4.3 in10 0.0 in 12 13.8 h
September 76°F53°F 4.4 in9 0.0 in 5 12.5 h
October 65°F42°F 5.0 in12 0.1 in 0 11.1 h
November 55°F34°F 4.5 in10 0.6 in 0 9.9 h
December 45°F26°F 5.3 in11 6.6 in 0 9.2 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 Newport

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 310716
Feb 360612
Mar 46275
Apr 59780
May 761881
Jun 721471
Jul 58564
Aug 58663
Sep 691660
Oct 641570
Nov 45371
Dec 331810

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 Newport

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 11, and the first fall frost around Nov 4, leaving 206 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Newport
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 11after Apr 24
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 4before Oct 22
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 31after Apr 10
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 16before Nov 2
Frost-free season206 daysunder 187 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: Newport State Airport (USW00014787), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Rhode Island.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 100°F (July 22, 2011); the lowest was -15°F (February 5, 1996).

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

Near Newport

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall and snow depth: Kingston (USC00374266), 12 mi W of the city center, 117 ft (89 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Frost dates: Newport State Airport (USW00014787), 3.4 mi NNE of the city center, 172 ft (144 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour: Providence T F Green Airport (USW00014765), 17 mi NNW of the city center, 60 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Theodore F Green State Airport (725070-14765), 17 mi NNW of the city center, 51 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.
  • Not available for this location: cloud cover (no station close enough or similar enough in elevation).

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