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📚Guides & Timing Advice 🗺️Best Months by State ❓Frequently Asked Questions 📋Weather Methodology ℹ️About & Trust

Best Months for Outdoor Projects, State by State

When is the best time to stain a deck, paint a house or pour concrete where you live? Each state guide rates every month for five common jobs using official NOAA climate normals for 1991–2020, the same temperature limits our forecasts use, and local notes on the weather that matters for that state.

The table shows the main city in each state. The state pages compare up to four places, because the coast, the mountains and the interior of a state can differ by months.

StatePlaceBest months to stain a deckBest months to pour concreteLast spring freezeFirst fall freeze
AlabamaBirminghamApril–May and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 21November 11
AlaskaAnchorageJune–AugustJune–AugustMay 5October 1
ArizonaPhoenixFebruary–April and NovemberOctober–MayRareRare
ArkansasLittle RockApril–May and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 16November 16
CaliforniaLos Angeles (LAX)every month of the yearevery month of the yearRareRare
ColoradoDenverJune and SeptemberJune–SeptemberMay 5October 9
ConnecticutHartfordMay–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 21October 16
DelawareWilmingtonMay–SeptemberMay–OctoberApril 7November 1
FloridaMiamiNovember–MayJuly and October–MayRareRare
GeorgiaAtlantaApril–May and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 15November 20
HawaiiHonoluluOctober–Juneevery month of the yearRareRare
IdahoBoiseJune and SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 24October 21
IllinoisChicago (O’Hare)May–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 16October 28
IndianaIndianapolisJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 15October 26
IowaDes MoinesJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 18October 20
KansasWichitaMay and SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 11October 29
KentuckyLouisvilleApril–June and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 31November 7
LouisianaNew OrleansFebruary–May and October–DecemberFebruary–DecemberJanuary 30December 31
MainePortlandJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 26October 15
MarylandBaltimore (BWI)May–June and August–SeptemberMay–OctoberApril 10October 31
MassachusettsBostonMay–SeptemberMay–OctoberApril 4November 9
MichiganDetroitMay–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 20October 27
MinnesotaMinneapolis–St. PaulMay–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 23October 18
MississippiJacksonApril–May and OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 14November 14
MissouriSt. LouisMay–June and September–OctoberApril–OctoberApril 2November 4
MontanaBillingsJune and August–SeptemberJune–SeptemberMay 4October 7
NebraskaOmahaMay–June and August–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 18October 21
NevadaLas VegasMarch–April and OctoberFebruary–May and September–NovemberJanuary 20December 15
New HampshireConcordJune–SeptemberJune–SeptemberMay 8October 3
New JerseyNewarkMay–OctoberApril–OctoberApril 2November 10
New MexicoAlbuquerqueMay and SeptemberMay–OctoberApril 6November 3
New YorkNew York City (Central Park)May–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 30November 20
North CarolinaCharlotteApril–June and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 30November 3
North DakotaBismarckJune–AugustJune–AugustMay 14September 27
OhioColumbusJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 18October 27
OklahomaOklahoma CityMay and September–OctoberApril–OctoberApril 4November 2
OregonPortlandMay–SeptemberApril–OctoberMarch 13November 19
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaMay–June and August–OctoberApril–OctoberApril 2November 10
Rhode IslandProvidenceMay–SeptemberMay–OctoberApril 11October 30
South CarolinaColumbiaApril–May and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 25November 7
South DakotaSioux FallsJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberMay 1October 6
TennesseeNashvilleApril–May and September–OctoberApril–OctoberMarch 31November 3
TexasHoustonMarch–May and October–NovemberMarch–NovemberFebruary 13December 9
UtahSalt Lake CityMay–June and SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 8October 31
VermontBurlingtonJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 29October 15
VirginiaRichmondMay–June and September–OctoberApril–OctoberApril 3November 4
WashingtonSeattleMay–SeptemberApril–OctoberMarch 2November 23
West VirginiaCharlestonAugust–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 16October 26
WisconsinMilwaukeeJune–SeptemberMay–SeptemberApril 19October 29
WyomingCheyenneJune–AugustJune–SeptemberMay 12October 1

How to read the ratings

Good means a typical month in that place meets the job’s weather limits: for deck stain, highs between about 62°F and 87°F, nights at 48°F or warmer, and not too many rainy days. Fair means some days will work but you will need to pick them, and poor means the average month is too cold, hot, wet or humid. The averages can’t tell you about a particular week, so check the 7-day project forecast before you start.

Frost dates are medians: in about half of years, the last spring freeze comes later than the date shown. Valleys and low ground freeze earlier in fall and later in spring than airports and city centers, where most weather stations are.

By climate

Humid South and Mid-Atlantic

Alabama · Arkansas · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maryland · Mississippi · Missouri · New Jersey · North Carolina · Oklahoma · South Carolina · Tennessee · Texas · Virginia · West Virginia

Northeast, Great Lakes and northern Plains

Alaska · Connecticut · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Maine · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Nebraska · New Hampshire · New York · North Dakota · Ohio · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Dakota · Vermont · Wisconsin

Dry West, Rockies and Plains

Arizona · California · Colorado · Idaho · Kansas · Montana · Nevada · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming

Pacific Northwest

Oregon · Washington

Hawaii

Hawaii