Best Time to Visit New York

Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

October is the strongest month in New York: daytime highs of 18.4°C / 65.1°F, nights at 9.7°C / 49.5°F, and rain on only 7 days. September runs a close second at 25.6°C / 78.1°F with 9 wet days. Avoid July, which hit 31.8°C / 89.2°F with 15 rainy days, and May, which dumped 201.1mm / 7.9in of rain across 16 days — more than any other month by a wide margin.

Every figure on this page comes from measured 2025 climate data for New York. It is one year of real observations, not a thirty-year average, so treat it as a strong signal about what the city does rather than a guarantee about a specific date.

The best months: late September through October

October is the month the numbers point to hardest. An 18.4°C / 65.1°F high is the temperature where walking twenty blocks stops being a decision and just becomes how you get around. The 9.7°C / 49.5°F low means evenings need a jacket but not a coat, and the gap between day and night is only 8.7°C / 15.6°F — small enough that one layer covers the whole day.

The rain figure needs unpacking. October logged 110.5mm / 4.3in, which sounds heavy, but it fell across just 7 days. That is roughly 15.8mm per wet day: a small number of genuinely soaking days and 24 dry ones. In practice, that pattern is easier to travel through than a month with the same total spread thinly, because you can look at a three-day forecast, see the wet day coming, and move your museum plans onto it.

September is the warm-weather version of the same deal. Highs of 25.6°C / 78.1°F are summer temperatures without July's edge — you can sit outside at 2pm without hunting for shade. Nights at 16.6°C / 61.9°F are mild enough for rooftop bars and outdoor dinners, which is not true by mid-October. The tradeoff is more rain: 119.5mm / 4.7in over 9 days, and at 13.3mm per wet day those are real downpours, not drizzle. September also carries the tail of hurricane season, which is what tends to produce those concentrated totals.

If you want one sentence: go in September for warm evenings and outdoor eating, go in October for comfortable walking and the fewest wet days of the second half of the year.

The months to avoid: July, May, and March

July is the worst combination on the table. It hit 31.8°C / 89.2°F by day and did not cool off at night — the low was 22.4°C / 72.3°F, meaning the city stays warm around the clock and the subway platforms stay hot long after sunset. Add 111.4mm / 4.4in of rain across 15 days and you get the classic New York July: humid, hot, and interrupted by short violent thunderstorms most afternoons. Fifteen rainy days at 7.4mm each is not fifteen washed-out days — it is fifteen days where a storm rolls through for forty minutes and then the humidity comes straight back.

May is the surprise. Its temperatures are lovely — 21.1°C / 70.0°F high, 12.7°C / 54.9°F low, arguably the most comfortable numbers on the entire chart. But it recorded 201.1mm / 7.9in of rain over 16 days, which is more than half the month wet and nearly double October's total. That is 12.6mm on each wet day. Booking May on the strength of the temperature alone is the single easiest mistake to make with this data.

March is the other wet trap: 162.5mm / 6.4in over 10 days, or 16.3mm per wet day — the heaviest single-day intensity of the year. Highs of 12.6°C / 54.7°F with lows of 2.1°C / 35.8°F mean cold rain rather than warm rain, and a 10.5°C / 18.9°F day-to-night swing means you are over- or under-dressed for part of every day.

Shoulder season: April and November

The shoulder months are where the value sits. Both sit outside peak demand, and neither is genuinely bad.

April reached 17.1°C / 62.8°F by day with lows of 7.3°C / 45.1°F, and — importantly — recorded only 73.1mm / 2.9in of rain over 10 days. That is 7.3mm per wet day: light, frequent rain rather than downpours. An umbrella handles April. Compare it directly with May: April is 4.0°C / 7.2°F cooler but got barely a third of the rainfall. For anyone whose trip is built around walking, parks, and neighbourhoods, April beats May.

November is the quiet pick. Highs of 11.2°C / 52.2°F and lows of 3.6°C / 38.5°F make it properly cold-jacket weather, but it recorded just 49.7mm / 2.0in over 9 days — the second-driest month of the year after August. Those are light 5.5mm days. Clear, cold, dry, and the crowds are thinner than in October. If your itinerary is museums, food, and theatre rather than sitting in Central Park, November costs you almost nothing.

What each season actually means on the ground

Summer (June–August)

June at 28.8°C / 83.8°F and August at 28.5°C / 83.3°F are functionally the same temperature, but the rain separates them sharply. June had 74.9mm / 2.9in over 12 days; August had 23.8mm / 0.9in over 6 days — the driest month of the entire year. You will be dressing for heat and humidity: light fabrics, a change of shirt if you are out all day, and a plan for the hottest hours indoors. Nights stay above 18°C / 64°F in all three months, so evenings are t-shirt weather. Carry water; the walking distances in Manhattan are longer than they look on a map.

Autumn (September–November)

The temperature drops 14.4°C / 25.9°F from September's 25.6°C / 78.1°F to November's 11.2°C / 52.2°F — a bigger swing than any other season. Pack for the specific weeks you are travelling, not for "autumn". Early September is still shorts; late November needs gloves. Across all three months rainfall thins out to 7–9 wet days each. This is the season for walking bridges, sitting in parks, and outdoor markets.

Winter (December–February)

January is the coldest month at 1.3°C / 34.3°F high and -5.3°C / 22.5°F low — below freezing every night, and cold enough that exposed skin is uncomfortable within minutes. December (3.3°C / 37.9°F high, -3.9°C / 25.0°F low) and February (4.1°C / 39.4°F high, -3.2°C / 26.2°F low) are marginally milder but still sub-zero overnight. Precipitation totals are moderate — January was the second-driest month at 30.3mm / 1.2in over 6 days — but at these temperatures a fair share of it falls as snow or freezing slush. Practically: insulated coat, hat, gloves, waterproof shoes, and an itinerary that lets you get indoors every ninety minutes.

Spring (March–May)

Spring warms fast — 8.5°C / 15.3°F from March to May — and rains hard. March and May together account for 363.6mm / 14.3in, roughly a third of the year's rainfall in two months. April is the dry gap between them. Layers, a real waterproof jacket rather than a fashion one, and shoes you do not mind soaking.

Month-by-month

• January — 1.3°C / 34.3°F, low -5.3°C / 22.5°F. Coldest month, but only 6 wet days and 30.3mm / 1.2in. Cold and dry.
• February — 4.1°C / 39.4°F, low -3.2°C / 26.2°F. Still freezing at night, and 11 wet days with 79.4mm / 3.1in. The least pleasant winter month.
• March — 12.6°C / 54.7°F, low 2.1°C / 35.8°F. Wettest per rainy day of the whole year: 162.5mm / 6.4in over 10 days.
• April — 17.1°C / 62.8°F, low 7.3°C / 45.1°F, 73.1mm / 2.9in over 10 days. The best-value spring month.
• May — 21.1°C / 70.0°F, low 12.7°C / 54.9°F. Perfect temperatures, ruined by 201.1mm / 7.9in over 16 days.
• June — 28.8°C / 83.8°F, low 18.9°C / 66.0°F, 74.9mm / 2.9in over 12 days. Summer arrives properly.
• July — 31.8°C / 89.2°F, low 22.4°C / 72.3°F, 15 wet days. Hottest and among the wettest. Skip it.
• August — 28.5°C / 83.3°F, low 18.4°C / 65.1°F, and only 23.8mm / 0.9in over 6 days. Hot, but the driest month of the year.
• September — 25.6°C / 78.1°F, low 16.6°C / 61.9°F, 119.5mm / 4.7in over 9 days. Warm evenings, occasional heavy storms.
• October — 18.4°C / 65.1°F, low 9.7°C / 49.5°F, 7 wet days. The best all-round month.
• November — 11.2°C / 52.2°F, low 3.6°C / 38.5°F, 49.7mm / 2.0in over 9 days. Cold, dry, uncrowded.
• December — 3.3°C / 37.9°F, low -3.9°C / 25.0°F, 79.9mm / 3.1in over 8 days. Freezing nights; holiday season peak.

FAQ

What is the single best month to visit New York?

October. It combines the mildest walking temperature outside spring (18.4°C / 65.1°F) with the fewest wet days in the second half of the year (7). September is warmer at 25.6°C / 78.1°F if you want outdoor evenings, but it gets two more rainy days and heavier rain when it comes.

Is New York too hot in July and August?

July genuinely is. At 31.8°C / 89.2°F with an overnight low of 22.4°C / 72.3°F, the city does not cool down, and 15 rainy days means humid air most of the month. August is a different story despite near-identical heat (28.5°C / 83.3°F): it recorded just 23.8mm / 0.9in of rain over 6 days, the driest month of the year. If you are locked into summer travel, August is the better half of it.

Which month has the most rain, and how bad is it?

May, by a distance — 201.1mm / 7.9in across 16 days, meaning rain on more than half the days at an average of 12.6mm each. That is enough to disrupt outdoor plans repeatedly rather than occasionally. March is second at 162.5mm / 6.4in, and its 10 wet days average 16.3mm, the heaviest per-day intensity in the data. October's 110.5mm / 4.3in looks similar as a total but lands on only 7 days, which is why it reads so differently on a trip.

When is New York cheapest, and is the weather survivable then?

January and February are the low-demand months, and January's weather is more manageable than its reputation suggests: it is very cold (-5.3°C / 22.5°F overnight) but recorded only 6 wet days and 30.3mm / 1.2in. It is a dry cold, and New York's museums, restaurants, and theatres are all indoors. February is the weaker of the two — barely warmer at 4.1°C / 39.4°F but with 11 wet days and 79.4mm / 3.1in. If you want cheap without the deep freeze, November is the compromise: 11.2°C / 52.2°F, 49.7mm / 2.0in over 9 days, and none of October's crowds.

Decided when to go? Here is the New York packing list for those exact conditions.