Rochester weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · city break · hot-summer continental climate
The best time to visit Rochester is May — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 74/100), with August and September close behind. Rochester averages about 1,838 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 20°C / 68°F and roughly 85 mm of rain in May.
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- Sun hours / year
- 1,838
- Sunniest month
- May
- Peak score
- 74/100
- Rain / year
- 947 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈2 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 7 (high)
- Population
- 755k
- Elevation
- 166 m
When is the best time to visit Rochester?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Rochester is May, then August and September. The dullest month is January (0/100, 58 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Rochester?
Rochester gets a moderate 1,838 hours of sunshine a year. 74 Sunshine Score points separate May (74) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #464 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,279 hours. The year's 947 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | -1° / 30°F | -7° / 19°F | 58 mm | 1 |
| February | 0 | 0° / 32°F | -7° / 19°F | 56 mm | 1 |
| March | 0 | 5° / 41°F | -4° / 25°F | 62 mm | 3 |
| April | 31 | 13° / 55°F | 2° / 36°F | 78 mm | 4 |
| May | 74 | 20° / 68°F | 8° / 46°F | 85 mm | 6 |
| June | 72 | 25° / 77°F | 14° / 57°F | 93 mm | 7 |
| July | 71 | 28° / 82°F | 17° / 63°F | 98 mm | 7 |
| August | 74 | 28° / 82°F | 16° / 61°F | 86 mm | 6 |
| September | 74 | 24° / 75°F | 13° / 55°F | 86 mm | 5 |
| October | 47 | 16° / 61°F | 6° / 43°F | 100 mm | 3 |
| November | 6 | 9° / 48°F | 1° / 34°F | 69 mm | 1 |
| December | 0 | 2° / 36°F | -4° / 25°F | 76 mm | 1 |
See Rochester on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Buffalo United States · 88 km · best in Aug · 1,831 h sun/yr
- Syracuse United States · 127 km · best in May · 1,862 h sun/yr
- Toronto Canada · 170 km · best in Aug · 1,957 h sun/yr
- Waterloo (Ontario) Canada · 222 km · best in Aug · 2,026 h sun/yr
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton United States · 255 km · best in May · 1,919 h sun/yr
- Ottawa Canada · 292 km · best in Sep · 2,034 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Niagara Falls United States · 103 km · 1,886 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Ithaca United States · 121 km · 1,864 h sun/yr · best in May
- Niagara-on-the-Lake Canada · 122 km · 1,955 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Elmira/Corning United States · 124 km · 1,863 h sun/yr · best in May
Head-to-head
How Rochester compares month by month: Rochester vs Toronto · Rochester vs Buffalo · Rochester vs Syracuse · Rochester vs Waterloo (Ontario) · all comparisons
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