April brings 22°C daytime highs, 114mm of precipitation across about 8 wet days and 12.8 hours of daylight — best for hiking, cycling and reliable sunshine. The strongest run of the year is March to May. July is the quietest month: hot and slow-paced, and still good for beach days, swimming and quiet and local.
Long-run climate normals for New Orleans. Month ratings compare months within New Orleans only — they are not a ranking of New Orleans against other destinations, and they are not a forecast for a specific year.
Last updated: · Live forecast data refreshes hourly.
| Best month | April — Hiking, Cycling, Reliable sunshine |
| Best 3-month window | March–May |
| Quietest month | July — Hot and slow-paced |
| Driest month | October — 82mm |
| Wettest month | June — 175mm |
| Warmest / coolest | July 33°C / February 16°C |
| Seasonality | Fairly even across the year |
| Annual rainfall | 1575mm over roughly 115 rain days |
July gets roughly 49% more precipitation than April — 170mm against 114mm. That difference, more than temperature, is what changes how a day here feels.
Daytime highs only move 17°C across the whole year (16–33°C), so timing matters far less here than rainfall does.
June gives you 13.9 hours of daylight against just 10.1 in December — a 4-hour difference in how much you can actually fit into a day.
October is the driest month at 82mm across roughly 6 wet days, while June peaks at 175mm.
May is almost as good as April, but usually quieter and cheaper. If your dates are flexible, it is the easier trip.
New Orleans stays fairly consistent all year, so there is no month you need to avoid. What you plan to do matters more than when you go.
Ratings compare months within New Orleans, not against destinations worldwide: five stars means the best time to be here, not that New Orleans beats anywhere else. Tags describe what the conditions actually suit.
| Month | Rating | High / Low | Precipitation | Wet days | Sun | Daylight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | ★★★☆☆ | 16°C / 7°C | 137mm | 10 | 5h | 10.3h | Hiking · Cycling · Quiet and local |
| February | ★★★☆☆ | 16°C / 7°C | 116mm | 9 | 5h | 10.9h | Hiking · Cycling |
| March | ★★★☆☆ | 18°C / 9°C | 121mm | 9 | 5h | 11.8h | Hiking · Cycling · Spring greenery |
| April | ★★★★★ | 22°C / 13°C | 114mm | 8 | 9h | 12.8h | Hiking · Cycling · Reliable sunshine |
| May | ★★★★★ | 27°C / 18°C | 116mm | 9 | 10h | 13.5h | Beach days · Swimming · Reliable sunshine |
| June | ★★☆☆☆ | 31°C / 22°C | 175mm | 13 | 7h | 13.9h | Beach days · Swimming · Quiet and local |
| July | ★★☆☆☆ | 33°C / 24°C | 170mm | 13 | 5h | 13.7h | Beach days · Swimming · Quiet and local |
| August | ★★☆☆☆ | 33°C / 24°C | 165mm | 12 | 5h | 13.1h | Beach days · Swimming · Quiet and local |
| September | ★★☆☆☆ | 31°C / 22°C | 130mm | 10 | 5h | 12.2h | Beach days · Swimming · Quiet and local |
| October | ★★★★☆ | 27°C / 18°C | 82mm | 6 | 4h | 11.2h | Beach days · Swimming |
| November | ★★★★★ | 22°C / 13°C | 102mm | 8 | 9h | 10.5h | Hiking · Cycling · Reliable sunshine |
| December | ★★★★☆ | 18°C / 9°C | 126mm | 9 | 8h | 10.1h | Hiking · Cycling |
| You are planning | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sun & beach days | April | 9h daily sunshine, 22°C highs and only 8 rain days. |
| City walking & sightseeing | April | 22°C highs with 12.8h of daylight — long days without heat fatigue. |
| Photography & light | May | 10h of sun and 13.5h daylight give the widest window for golden-hour work. |
| Value & fewer crowds | October | Scores 68/100 — close to peak conditions but outside the busiest window. |
| Cooler-weather travel | February | 16°C highs and 7°C nights suit anyone who dislikes heat. |
Each month in New Orleans is described from long-run climate normals and then rated relative to the other eleven months in the same city. A five-star January in a cold destination means January is one of the best times to be there — not that it beats a Mediterranean summer.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Described | Average daytime high and overnight low for the month, shown as measured rather than judged. |
| Precipitation | Described | Monthly millimetres and wet-day count, labelled as snow or rain/snow where temperatures make that the likely phase. |
| Sunshine & daylight | Described | Average daily sunshine hours and astronomical daylight length at mid-month, from the city’s latitude. |
| “Best for” tags | Derived | Applied only when the conditions genuinely support the activity — snow depth-friendly cold for skiing, 13–24°C and low rain risk for hiking, dark evenings at high latitude for aurora. A month with few strong use cases gets fewer tags rather than padded ones. |
| Star rating | Relative | Ranks the month against the other eleven months in the same city. Never a comparison between cities. |
Figures are long-run climate averages, not a forecast for a specific year. Where a month lacks sourced rainfall or humidity, the value is modelled from temperature range and rain frequency.
April is the best all-round month in New Orleans: 22°C highs, 114mm of precipitation and 12.8 hours of daylight, which suits hiking, cycling and reliable sunshine. The strongest three-month window is March to May.
July — 33°C highs, 170mm of precipitation over roughly 13 days and 13.7 hours of daylight. It is the cheapest and least crowded time to go, and it still works for beach days, swimming and quiet and local.
October is the driest month at 82mm over about 6 rain days, against 175mm in June. Across the year New Orleans records around 1575mm.
Yes — conditions in New Orleans stay fairly even all year, so there is no month you need to avoid. What you plan to do matters more than when you go.
Daylight ranges from 10.1 hours in December to 13.9 hours in June, calculated from the city's latitude.