Climate and average weather in Olney

In Olney, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid April to mid June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Olney typically varies from 28°F to 87°F, and is rarely below 14°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 times of year to visit Olney for warm-weather activities are from mid April to mid June and late August to late October.

Hottest
Jul
87°
Coldest
Jan
28°
Wettest
Sep
4.5 in
Driest
Feb
2.9 in
Rain / yr
43.2 in
116 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
541 ft
39.2°N
Clearest
Oct
52% cloud

Olney is census-designated place and unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, suburb of Washington, DC.

Density
804/km²
people per km²
Founded
1832

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

Olney 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 April to mid June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.0 months, from May 24 to September 21, with daily high temperatures above 75°F. The hottest month of the year in Olney is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from December 1 to March 5, with daily high temperatures below 50°F. The coldest month of the year in Olney is January, with an average low of 28°F and high of 41°F.

Days typically run about 16°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4128
Feb4429
Mar5336
Apr6546
May7356
Jun8265
Jul8769
Aug8468
Sep7861
Oct6649
Nov5539
Dec4532

How hot and cold Olney 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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 18°F (around January 24), with roughly 123 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan41412028
Feb44442129
Mar53533036
Apr65654346
May73735656
Jun83826565
Jul88877069
Aug85846868
Sep78786161
Oct66664749
Nov55553439
Dec45452532

Average hourly temperature in Olney

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 87°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 28°F.

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

Olney weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan41° / 28°3.18.43.19.60.1
Feb44° / 29°2.98.43.210.50.9
Mar53° / 36°3.910.22.311.73.0
Apr65° / 46°3.410.20.2135.7
May73° / 56°3.811.3014.16.5
Jun82° / 65°3.711.2014.75.7
Jul87° / 69°4.111.6014.54.7
Aug84° / 68°3.610.5013.55.4
Sep78° / 61°4.59.6012.36.9
Oct66° / 49°3.57.80116.4
Nov55° / 39°3.07.60.39.93.7
Dec45° / 32°3.68.91.99.31.1

Chance of rain

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

Olney gets about 43.2 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 5.9 months, from around Feb 25 to Aug 24, peaking in June at about 40% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 8.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 4.5 in over about 10 wet days; February is the driest, with 2.9 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 24 · 40%Nov 8 · 24%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan288
Feb308
Mar3310
Apr3410
May3611
Jun3711
Jul3712
Aug3511
Sep3010
Oct268
Nov268
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Olney collects about 43.2 in of rain across 116 wet days — roughly 3.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 4.5 in, while February is the driest at just 2.9 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 29% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.12.93.93.43.83.74.13.64.53.53.03.6
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.183
Feb2.983
Mar3.9102
Apr3.4100
May3.8110
Jun3.7110
Jul4.1120
Aug3.6110
Sep4.5100
Oct3.580
Nov3.080
Dec3.692

Snow in Olney

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Olney averages about 11 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 26 to Apr 7 — about 4.4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 11 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 31 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 9
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan38
Feb311
Mar27
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec25

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Olney, 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 June 27 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around November 29. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 55% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around January 3 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around June 26. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 10 · 57%Mar 26 · 41%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb4654
Mar4456
Apr4357
May4357
Jun4555
Jul5050
Aug5248
Sep5149
Oct5545
Nov5149
Dec4753

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 19, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around December 19, only 9 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.67:325:04
Feb10.57:095:37
Mar11.76:276:08
Apr13.05:386:39
May14.15:007:09
Jun14.74:467:31
Jul14.54:597:29
Aug13.55:266:59
Sep12.35:556:10
Oct11.06:255:22
Nov9.96:594:48
Dec9.37:274:42

Sunny days

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

Olney averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.4 months, from around Aug 23 to Dec 5. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 8 sunny days — about 40% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedOct 1913 daysJun 57 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr8Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul8Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct13Mixed
Nov11Mixed
Dec10Mixed

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 Olney, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.5 months, from around May 19 to October 2. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 78% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 3 to May 18, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 23 · 100%Jul 25 · 17%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan991000
Feb1000000
Mar991000
Apr908200
May60181570
Jun251922268
Jul913253519
Aug1115243316
Sep362120185
Oct7613731
Nov954100
Dec991000

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 Olney is typically calm, near 7 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.8 months, from around Oct 17 to May 10. The windiest month is March, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 11 to Oct 16, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyMar 3 · 8 mphAug 9 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan8light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr7light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Olney

In seasonPeak

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

Olney sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Olney

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late April, Olney is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 times of year to visit Olney for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid April to mid June and again from late August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 22 · 7.0

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
Jan0.2poor
Feb0.9poor
Mar3.0poor
Apr5.6good
May6.5good
Jun5.7good
Jul4.7fair
Aug5.4fair
Sep6.8good
Oct6.3good
Nov3.7fair
Dec1.2poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Olney for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 25 · 7.0

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 Olney, 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 87°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 41°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Olney sees daytime highs around 87°F and nights near 69°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Olney

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 37 mi away) is warmest in August at about 78°F and coldest in February near 36°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 16 to Oct 5 — about 3.7 months when the water holds above 68°F.

30°40°50°60°70°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan38Bracing
Feb36Bracing
Mar40Bracing
Apr47Bracing
May58Bracing
Jun68Refreshing
Jul76Warm
Aug78Warm
Sep74Refreshing
Oct65Cool
Nov53Bracing
Dec44Bracing

UV index (midday) in Olney 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 Olney peaks around July 11 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 11UV 9Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Olney

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 July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 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)
Jan00
Feb10
Mar50
Apr6.51.5
May7.54.5
Jun85
Jul8.55
Aug73
Sep61
Oct30
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Olney 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 Olney is worst in July — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.9× the cleanest month (November, 9 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1317 µg/m³Nov 129 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan11Good
Feb12Moderate
Mar13Moderate
Apr13Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep12Moderate
Oct9Good
Nov9Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Olney typically lasts about 288 days, from around March 2 to December 14 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 4 to November 2.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 250%Apr 490%Nov 290%Dec 1450%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan3231
Feb3728
Mar6831
Apr962
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct980
Nov7926
Dec5031

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. Olney banks about 3,805 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr161
May448
Jun707
Jul869
Aug808
Sep572
Oct235
Nov4
Dec0

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.

Olney receives about 4.1 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.9 and 6.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 19. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.0 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.9 kWh/m² — roughly 68% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 16.3 kWhDec 161.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.2Moderate
Feb3.1Moderate
Mar4.1Bright
Apr5.2Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.1Intense
Jul6.0Intense
Aug5.3Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.3Moderate
Nov2.4Moderate
Dec1.9Dim

Where is Olney?

Olney sits at 39.2°N, 77.1°W, 541 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Redland, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around Olney

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Olney has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 256 ft around an average of 476 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 541 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,313 ft.

The land around Olney is covered by trees (72%) and grassland (20%) within 2 miles, trees (68%) within 10 miles, and trees (58%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
256 ft
10 miles
541 ft
50 miles
2,313 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Redland 4.3 mi · Cloverly 5.0 mi · Aspen Hill 5.0 mi · Rockville 6.8 mi · Montgomery Village 6.8 mi · Gaithersburg 7.5 mi · Wheaton 8.1 mi · Fairland 8.1 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 Olney (39.1532°, -77.0669°, elevation 541 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).