New Castle in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), New Castle sees average daytime highs around 38°F and overnight lows near 24°F, with 9.0 in of precipitation over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 38°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is New Castle's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see New Castle's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
38°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
24°F
Precipitation
9.0 in
29 wet days
Avg wind
10 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in New Castle in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 38°F.

A typical winter day in New Castle reaches about 38°F and drops to 24°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in New Castle

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
53 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

New Castle weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan35° / 21°3.29.85.39.50.0
Feb38° / 24°2.68.84.610.40.0
Mar49° / 32°3.810.92.711.72.0
Apr62° / 43°4.712.50.7134.8
May71° / 53°4.613.6014.26.0
Jun79° / 63°4.212.2014.86.2
Jul82° / 66°3.411.4014.56.1
Aug81° / 64°3.09.8013.66.6
Sep76° / 56°2.97.9012.37.2
Oct63° / 45°3.28.80.210.95.7
Nov50° / 35°3.48.71.19.82.3
Dec39° / 26°3.210.33.99.20.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 20% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

New Castle gets around 9.0 in of rain and snow over 29 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 10 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 24 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.2 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit New Castle?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in New Castle.

What to pack for New Castle in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, New Castle sees daytime highs around 38°F and nights near 24°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in New Castle in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in New Castle peaks around June 20 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 20UV 9Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in New Castle in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in New Castle is worst in July — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.2× the cleanest month (October, 8 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1317 µg/m³Oct 228 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Good
Mar12Good
Apr12Good
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is New Castle?

New Castle sits at 39.9°N, 85.4°W, 1,063 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Muncie, 18 mi away.

Topography around New Castle

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around New Castle has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 187 ft around an average of 1,050 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 338 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 860 ft.

The land around New Castle is covered by trees (38%), cropland (22%) and grassland (21%) within 2 miles, cropland (68%) within 10 miles, and cropland (69%) and trees (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
187 ft
10 miles
338 ft
50 miles
860 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Muncie 18 mi · Anderson 21 mi · Greenfield 24 mi · Richmond 26 mi · Fishers 34 mi · Noblesville 35 mi · Lawrence 35 mi · Shelbyville 35 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 New Castle (39.9289°, -85.3702°, elevation 1,063 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.