Climate and average weather in Gainesville

In Gainesville, the summers are muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are mild and partly cloudy.

Best: mid October to early May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gainesville typically varies from 45°F to 90°F, and is rarely below 31°F or above 95°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Gainesville for warm-weather activities is from mid October to early May.

Hottest
Jul
90°
Coldest
Jan
45°
Wettest
Aug
5.8 in
Driest
Nov
1.6 in
Rain / yr
40.4 in
132 wet days
Daylight
10.1–13.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
177 ft
29.7°N
Clearest
Nov
50% cloud

Gainesville is city and county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States.

Density
899/km²
people per km²
Founded
1853

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Gainesville weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid October to early May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Gainesville, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 5.0 months, from May 4 to October 3, with daily high temperatures above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in Gainesville is July, with an average high of 90°F and low of 74°F.

The cool season lasts 2.7 months, from December 2 to February 21, with daily high temperatures below 71°F. The coldest month of the year in Gainesville is January, with an average low of 45°F and high of 66°F.

Days typically run about 19°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 22°F) in March.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan6645
Feb6948
Mar7553
Apr8058
May8665
Jun8972
Jul9074
Aug9074
Sep8771
Oct8163
Nov7453
Dec6848

How hot and cold Gainesville really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Gainesville feels like about 99°F (around July 19). About 123 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan66664245
Feb69694548
Mar75755353
Apr80805858
May87866565
Jun95897272
Jul98907474
Aug98907474
Sep93877171
Oct82816363
Nov74745353
Dec68684548

Average hourly temperature in Gainesville

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 90°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 45°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Gainesville weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan66° / 45°2.97.710.36.6
Feb69° / 48°2.56.910.96.9
Mar75° / 53°3.17.411.87.4
Apr80° / 58°2.26.612.77.0
May86° / 65°2.88.913.55.2
Jun89° / 72°5.318.613.93.3
Jul90° / 74°5.420.613.72.9
Aug90° / 74°5.821.413.12.9
Sep87° / 71°4.214.612.24.1
Oct81° / 63°2.27.711.36.7
Nov74° / 53°1.65.310.57.7
Dec68° / 48°2.46.710.16.9

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Gainesville gets about 40.4 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from around May 24 to Oct 2, peaking in August at about 70% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 11.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 5.8 in over about 21 wet days; November is the driest, with 1.6 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 14 · 70%Nov 11 · 17%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan248
Feb257
Mar237
Apr237
May309
Jun6019
Jul6721
Aug6821
Sep4915
Oct258
Nov175
Dec227

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gainesville collects about 40.4 in of rain across 132 wet days — roughly 3.4 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 5.8 in, while November is the driest at just 1.6 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 41% of the year’s total.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.92.53.12.22.85.35.45.84.22.21.62.4
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan2.98
Feb2.57
Mar3.17
Apr2.27
May2.89
Jun5.319
Jul5.421
Aug5.821
Sep4.215
Oct2.28
Nov1.65
Dec2.47

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Gainesville, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around February 11 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around June 1. The clearest month is May, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around June 2 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around October 6. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 62% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 2 · 63%Jul 29 · 35%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb5149
Mar5644
Apr5941
May6040
Jun4456
Jul3862
Aug3961
Sep4555
Oct5842
Nov5941
Dec5248

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 10, brings about 13 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 3 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.37:305:47
Feb10.97:166:12
Mar11.86:466:32
Apr12.76:086:51
May13.55:417:10
Jun13.95:337:26
Jul13.75:437:27
Aug13.16:017:06
Sep12.26:186:29
Oct11.36:365:52
Nov10.57:005:29
Dec10.17:225:29

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Gainesville averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 14 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 2.9 months, from around Oct 2 to Dec 29. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 4 sunny days — about 65% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 2414 daysJul 294 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb11Mixed
Mar13Mixed
Apr12Mixed
May12Mixed
Jun7Gloomy
Jul5Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep8Gloomy
Oct13Mixed
Nov12Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Gainesville, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around May 6 to October 22. The muggiest month is June, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 23 to May 5, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 87% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 24 · 90%Jun 25 · 0%miserablemuggyoppressivehumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan711610300
Feb661614300
Mar562019500
Apr3723241510
May12162634120
Jun01727622
Jul00088111
Aug00177716
Sep12822615
Oct19141926211
Nov4919181130
Dec621714700

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Gainesville is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.6 months, from around Sep 28 to May 16. The windiest month is March, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 17 to Sep 27, with July the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 4 · 7 mphJul 19 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar7calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Hazard calendar for Gainesville

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Gainesville's rainy season runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Gainesville

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gainesville throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late April, Gainesville is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gainesville for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid October to early May, with a peak score in the second week of November.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationNov 10 · 7.8

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan6.6good
Feb6.9good
Mar7.4good
Apr7.0good
May5.1fair
Jun3.3poor
Jul2.9poor
Aug3.0poor
Sep4.1fair
Oct6.7good
Nov7.7ideal
Dec6.9good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Gainesville for hot-weather activities run from mid March to late May and again from late September to mid November, with a peak score in the first week of May.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 2 · 7.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Gainesville, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 90°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 66°F), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Gainesville sees daytime highs around 90°F and nights near 74°F. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 21 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gainesville by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gainesville peaks around June 23 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 4 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 11Dec 20UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb6High
Mar8Very high
Apr8Very high
May9Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep9Very high
Oct7High
Nov5Moderate
Dec4Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Gainesville

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan40
Feb5.50
Mar6.53.5
Apr74
May7.55
Jun8.56
Jul8.56
Aug85.5
Sep74
Oct62
Nov4.50
Dec30

Air quality in Gainesville by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Gainesville is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodJul 1619 µg/m³Dec 108 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb17Moderate
Mar17Moderate
Apr18Moderate
May17Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct9Good
Nov8Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Gainesville is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about January 26 to December 29 (338 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeJan 2690%Dec 2990%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan8923
Feb940
Mar980
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov980
Dec932

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Gainesville banks about 7,330 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,0006,0008,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan177
Feb242
Mar420
Apr585
May801
Jun910
Jul989
Aug982
Sep873
Oct687
Nov409
Dec256

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Gainesville receives about 4.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.8 and 6.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 7 to Sep 13. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.9 kWh/m² — roughly 54% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 96.4 kWhDec 192.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.2Moderate
Feb3.9Moderate
Mar5.0Bright
Apr5.9Bright
May6.3Intense
Jun5.8Bright
Jul5.8Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct4.1Bright
Nov3.4Moderate
Dec2.9Moderate

Where is Gainesville?

Gainesville sits at 29.7°N, 82.3°W, 177 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Ocala, 34 mi away.

Topography around Gainesville

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Gainesville.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Gainesville has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 187 ft around an average of 164 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 223 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 299 ft.

The land around Gainesville is covered by trees (66%) and artificial surfaces (28%) within 2 miles, trees (77%) within 10 miles, and trees (74%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
187 ft
10 miles
223 ft
50 miles
299 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Ocala 34 mi · Marion Oaks 45 mi · Oakleaf Plantation 47 mi · Lakeside 47 mi · Fleming Island 47 mi · Fruit Cove 52 mi · The Villages 54 mi · St. Johns 55 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Gainesville (29.6516°, -82.3248°, elevation 177 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).