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Best time to visit New Orleans

The best time to visit New Orleans is January–May and October–November, judged on twenty years of weather records and the events worth going for.

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

°C

mm

−10°0°10°20°30°40°
0100200300400500
  • Average daily high and low
  • Precipitation
  • Good month
  • Best month
  • Made good or best by an event
Average daily high and low temperature, average precipitation and each month's verdict
MonthAverage daily highAverage daily lowPrecipitationVerdict
January16 °C / 61 °F8.9 °C / 48 °F97 mm / 3.8 inbest month, for Mardi Gras. The weather alone makes it good.
February18.2 °C / 65 °F11 °C / 52 °F107 mm / 4.2 inbest month, for Mardi Gras. The weather alone makes it good.
March21.4 °C / 71 °F14.5 °C / 58 °F104 mm / 4.1 inbest month
April24.3 °C / 76 °F17.8 °C / 64 °F101 mm / 4 inbest month
May27.8 °C / 82 °F21.7 °C / 71 °F114 mm / 4.5 inbest month, for New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest). The weather alone makes it good.
June30.7 °C / 87 °F25 °C / 77 °F119 mm / 4.7 inneither best nor good
July31.1 °C / 88 °F25.8 °C / 78 °F159 mm / 6.3 inneither best nor good
August31.2 °C / 88 °F25.9 °C / 79 °F194 mm / 7.6 inneither best nor good
September29.5 °C / 85 °F24 °C / 75 °F131 mm / 5.1 inneither best nor good
October25.8 °C / 78 °F19 °C / 66 °F78 mm / 3.1 inbest month
November20.8 °C / 69 °F13.5 °C / 56 °F78 mm / 3.1 inbest month
December17.9 °C / 64 °F11.2 °C / 52 °F103 mm / 4 ingood month
Good and best months depend on more than temperature, rain and events. How they are chosen

Each activity on this page has its own good and best months, rated on twenty years of daily weather records. Which measures count, and how much, depends on the activity: humidity for exploring outdoors, wind for the beach, hiking and skiing, snow for skiing alone. Between them, the activities are rated on:

  • Daytime highs
  • Night-time lows
  • How warm it feels
  • Humidity
  • How much of the day is sunny
  • Hours of daylight
  • Monthly rainfall
  • How many days it rains
  • Days of heavy rain
  • Wind
  • Snowfall and days with snow
  • Major events, such as festivals

The chart shows the good and best months for exploring outdoors.

The event icon marks a month that an event lifts to good or best, such as a festival or a natural spectacle. Choose “Weather only” in the toolbar to rate the months on weather alone.

Best months by activity

Exploring outdoors

Mild days and nights, mostly dry and bright. The default for 'when should I go'.

  1. JJanuary: best
  2. FFebruary: best
  3. MMarch: best
  4. AApril: best
  5. MMay: best
  6. JJune: neither
  7. JJuly: neither
  8. AAugust: neither
  9. SSeptember: neither
  10. OOctober: best
  11. NNovember: best
  12. DDecember: good
Best
January–May, October–November
Good
December

New Orleans is at its best January-April (Mardi Gras lifts the still-mild but rainier January-February to match the naturally excellent March-April) and again October-November, when rain falls to its lowest and warmth stays comfortable; May stays warm and increasingly rain-prone but Jazz Fest lifts it to best too; June-September turn brutally hot, humid and prone to heavy, afternoon-concentrated thunderstorms, the weakest season for a day on foot; December is a milder but wetter lull.

Why these months

  • January · best

    Good weather, made best by Mardi Gras.

    In its favour: share of daylight that is sunny 72%, feels like (high) 14.1 °C / 57 °F, average daily high 16 °C / 61 °F, precipitation 97 mm / 3.8 in, average daily low 8.9 °C / 48 °F, relative humidity 73%.

    Against: wet days 10 days, days with heavy rain 3.1 days.

    Watch out for: Holiday season travel crowding, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, New Year's Day.

  • February · best

    Good weather, made best by Mardi Gras.

    In its favour: feels like (high) 17 °C / 63 °F, average daily high 18.2 °C / 65 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 72%, precipitation 107 mm / 4.2 in, average daily low 11 °C / 52 °F.

    Against: wet days 9.9 days, relative humidity 75%, days with heavy rain 3 days.

    Watch out for: Mardi Gras traffic and parking disruption, Presidents' Day.

  • March · best

    In its favour: feels like (high) 21.3 °C / 70 °F, average daily high 21.4 °C / 71 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 79%, precipitation 104 mm / 4.1 in, average daily low 14.5 °C / 58 °F, relative humidity 74%.

    Against: wet days 10.1 days, days with heavy rain 3.1 days, share of rain falling in the daytime 46%.

    Also on: Mardi Gras.

    Watch out for: Easter, Good Friday.

  • April · best

    In its favour: feels like (high) 25.3 °C / 78 °F, average daily high 24.3 °C / 76 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 80%, precipitation 101 mm / 4 in, average daily low 17.8 °C / 64 °F, relative humidity 74%.

    Against: days with heavy rain 3.2 days, wet days 9.2 days, share of rain falling in the daytime 46%.

    Also on: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest), French Quarter Festival, Louisiana strawberry season.

    Watch out for: Easter, Good Friday.

  • May · best

    Good weather, made best by New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest).

    In its favour: share of daylight that is sunny 84%, average daily high 27.8 °C / 82 °F, precipitation 114 mm / 4.5 in, average daily low 21.7 °C / 71 °F.

    Against: feels like (high) 30.8 °C / 87 °F, wet days 10.3 days, days with heavy rain 3.5 days, relative humidity 76%, share of rain falling in the daytime 50%.

    Also on: Louisiana strawberry season.

    Watch out for: Memorial Day.

  • October · best

    In its favour: feels like (high) 27.3 °C / 81 °F, average daily high 25.8 °C / 78 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 86%, precipitation 78 mm / 3.1 in, days with heavy rain 2.3 days, average daily low 19 °C / 66 °F, relative humidity 74%.

    Against: wet days 7.5 days, share of rain falling in the daytime 46%.

    Also on: Halloween.

    Watch out for: Columbus Day.

  • November · best

    In its favour: feels like (high) 20.3 °C / 69 °F, average daily high 20.8 °C / 69 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 80%, precipitation 78 mm / 3.1 in, days with heavy rain 2.5 days, average daily low 13.5 °C / 56 °F, relative humidity 74%.

    Against: wet days 7 days.

    Watch out for: Holiday season travel crowding, Thanksgiving, Veterans Day.

  • December · good

    In its favour: feels like (high) 16.8 °C / 62 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 71%, average daily high 17.9 °C / 64 °F, precipitation 103 mm / 4 in, average daily low 11.2 °C / 52 °F.

    Against: days with heavy rain 3.7 days, relative humidity 78%, wet days 10.2 days.

    Also on: Satsuma season.

    Watch out for: Christmas, Holiday season travel crowding.

An activity is listed only where it applies: skiing at ski destinations, beach and swimming at beach destinations. The nearest ski area is Sugar Mountain Resort, 1026 km away.

Weather averages

Monthly averages over twenty years, 2006–2025. Highs, lows and precipitation are in the chart at the top.

  JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels like (high) 14.1 °C17 °C21.3 °C25.3 °C30.8 °C35.8 °C36.9 °C37 °C33.8 °C27.3 °C20.3 °C16.8 °C
Days with heavy rain 3.1 days3 days3.1 days3.2 days3.5 days3.4 days5.9 days5.3 days3.4 days2.3 days2.5 days3.7 days
Time rain usually falls 3 pm5 am4 pm12 pm3 pm3 pm3 pm3 pm3 pm3 pm9 am4 pm
Sunshine per day 7.6 h8.1 h9.5 h10.3 h11.5 h12.1 h11.2 h10.5 h10.5 h9.9 h8.5 h7.3 h
Relative humidity 73%75%74%74%76%77%79%79%78%74%74%78%

Air quality

Averaged over a shorter period (2022–2025) than the twenty-year averages above, and not counted towards good or best months.

  JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Air pollution (PM2.5) 2022–20256.8 µg/m³7.6 µg/m³7.4 µg/m³7.6 µg/m³10.8 µg/m³11.9 µg/m³15.6 µg/m³12.5 µg/m³9.6 µg/m³8.5 µg/m³6.7 µg/m³6.8 µg/m³
Air pollution (PM2.5, daily peak) 2022–202511.2 µg/m³11.9 µg/m³11.9 µg/m³10.9 µg/m³16.4 µg/m³19.7 µg/m³28.7 µg/m³20.5 µg/m³14.6 µg/m³13.5 µg/m³10.3 µg/m³11.4 µg/m³
  • Good 15 µg/m³ or less
  • Fair 15 to 25 µg/m³
  • Moderate 25 to 37.5 µg/m³
  • Poor 37.5 to 50 µg/m³
  • Very poor 50 to 75 µg/m³
  • Extremely poor over 75 µg/m³

Each figure is compared with the World Health Organization's guideline for a day's air, 15 µg/m³ or less, and with its interim targets above that. The words are ours: the WHO does not name its steps. The figures are modelled monthly averages, so single days can be well above them. The daily peak is the average of each day's highest hour, shaded on the same scale.

Events and seasons

What the weather records cannot show. A major event can lift a month to good or best. The warnings are there to help you plan, and never count against a month.

Reasons to go

  • Mardi Gras Major

    January, February and March, dates vary from year to year

  • New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest) Major

    24 April–3 May, dates vary from year to year

  • French Quarter Festival

    April, dates vary from year to year

  • Louisiana strawberry season

    April and May, dates vary from year to year

  • Creole tomato season

    June

  • Essence Festival

    1–7 July, dates vary from year to year

  • San Fermin in Nueva Orleans

    July

  • Tales of the Cocktail

    July

  • Satchmo Summer Festival

    1–7 August, dates vary from year to year

  • Halloween

    29–31 October

  • Satsuma season

    December

Worth knowing before you go

  • New Year's Day

    1 January

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    January, dates vary from year to year

  • Holiday season travel crowding

    26 November–1 January, dates vary from year to year

  • Mardi Gras traffic and parking disruption

    February, dates vary from year to year

  • Presidents' Day

    February, dates vary from year to year

  • Good Friday

    March and April, dates vary from year to year

  • Easter

    March and April, dates vary from year to year

  • Memorial Day

    May, dates vary from year to year

  • Juneteenth

    19 June

  • Independence Day

    4 July

  • Labor Day

    September, dates vary from year to year

  • Columbus Day

    October, dates vary from year to year

  • Veterans Day

    11 November

  • Thanksgiving

    25–29 November, dates vary from year to year

  • Christmas

    24–25 December

Other places in United States

Compare places month by month on the travel calendar

Monthly averages over 2006–2025, unless stated otherwise.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC-BY 4.0), generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5). City data from GeoNames (CC-BY 4.0). Air quality from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and sea temperature from Météo-France / Copernicus Marine, both via Open-Meteo.com. Coastline from Natural Earth. Ski areas from OpenSkiMap.org, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Skimap.org. World Heritage sites from Wikidata (CC0), from the World Heritage List © UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Readership from Wikimedia pageview data (CC0). Destination classification derived from English Wikivoyage, © Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).