Maine

Orono, Maine Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Old Town 2 W, 5.5 km from Orono

The warmest month is July, with an average high of 79°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of 6°F. A normal year brings 44.4 in of precipitation and 74.6 in of snow.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Bangor International Airport (BGR), since 1953. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Orono through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.-50050100150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 24

Normal high
67°F
Normal low
43°F
Record high
89°Fin 2017
Record low
28°Fin 1963
Chance of a wet day
34%
Daylight
12 h 04 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysSnowfallFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January27°F6°F58°F (2007)-29°F (2005)3.66 in12.218.6 in30.41,4960
February31°F8°F65°F (2022)-30°F (1962)2.98 in11.217.5 in27.41,2750
March39°F19°F84°F (2012)-16°F (2001)3.78 in11.915.2 in28.51,1050
April52°F30°F92°F (1990)7°F (1954)3.68 in12.83.7 in18.77140
May65°F41°F96°F (1992)25°F (2008)3.47 in13.70.0 in4.03875
June73°F50°F98°F (2025)34°F (2002)4.19 in13.50.0 in0.114332
July79°F56°F99°F (1995)41°F (1969)3.45 in12.20.0 in0.029106
August78°F53°F102°F (1975)39°F (1978)3.15 in11.70.0 in0.05572
September70°F46°F97°F (2002)23°F (2000)3.67 in9.30.0 in1.523820
October57°F36°F86°F (1968)17°F (2024)4.27 in12.00.6 in10.75771
November44°F27°F75°F (2024)1°F (1989)3.99 in11.74.3 in22.88760
December34°F16°F65°F (1982)-24°F (2017)4.15 in14.714.7 in29.31,2510
Year54°F32°F44.44 in14774.6 in1738,146235

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

44.4 in in a normal year, most in October.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Orono, in percent, and of at least 0.1 inch of snowfall.01020304050JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day
  • Chance of snowfall

Snow

NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normals for Bangor Intl AP, 14.9 km away; Old Town 2 W keeps no snowfall normals.

74.6 in of snow in a normal year.

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Old Town 2 W. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

The last spring freeze typically comes around May 13 and the first fall freeze around September 28, a growing season of about 137 days.

Median at 36°F
last May 28, first September 18
Median at 32°F
last May 13, first September 28
Median at 28°F
last April 30, first October 11

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Orono.

The muggiest month is July, when 23 percent of days are muggy or worse, with a mean dew point of 65°F or more.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January14°F92%100%0%0%0%0%0%
February16°F93%100%0%0%0%0%0%
March24°F87%100%0%0%0%0%0%
April35°F81%100%0%0%0%0%0%
May46°F80%91%6%2%1%0%0%
June55°F82%49%26%18%6%0%0%
July61°F82%12%29%36%21%2%0%
August59°F80%20%33%31%15%1%0%
September52°F79%62%21%13%3%0%0%
October41°F81%94%5%1%0%0%0%
November31°F85%100%0%0%0%0%0%
December21°F90%100%0%0%0%0%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is August, with the sky 59 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is May, at 71 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is February, averaging 5.8 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 20, with 15 h 37 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 16, with 8 h 47 min.

Hours of daylight at Orono through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How Penobscot County is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in Penobscot County: 68.2°F (+2.1 °F against 1991-2020), the 9th warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in Penobscot County: 2.46 in (-1.08 in against 1991-2020), the 41st driest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Penobscot County: 44.5°F (+0.7 °F against 1991-2020), the 23rd warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Penobscot County: 22.67 in (-4.88 in against 1991-2020), the 22nd driest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
70.3°F in 1937
Coolest August
58.4°F in 1903
Wettest August
8.12 in in 1991
Driest August
0.49 in in 1899

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in Penobscot County against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1895 to 2025.-7.5-5-2.50+2.5+5+7.51900192019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

Maine climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Orono in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1953. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Nearby

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USW00094644 (Old Town 2 W), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USW00014606, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-24. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.