Climate and average weather in Ruston

In Ruston, the summers are muggy, sweltering, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: early March to mid May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Ruston typically varies from 39°F to 93°F, and is rarely below 26°F or above 101°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 Ruston for warm-weather activities are from early March to mid May and late September to late November.

Hottest
Jul
93°
Coldest
Jan
39°
Wettest
Apr
5.4 in
Driest
Jul
3.0 in
Rain / yr
49.7 in
115 wet days
Daylight
9.9–14.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
335 ft
32.5°N
Clearest
Oct
42% cloud

Ruston is small city and parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States.

Density
408/km²
people per km²
Founded
1885

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

Ruston 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 early March to mid May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 19 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in Ruston is July, with an average high of 93°F and low of 74°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 25 to February 26, with daily high temperatures below 64°F. The coldest month of the year in Ruston is January, with an average low of 39°F and high of 57°F.

Days typically run about 19°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5739
Feb6142
Mar6949
Apr7656
May8464
Jun9071
Jul9374
Aug9373
Sep8868
Oct7856
Nov6647
Dec5841

How hot and cold Ruston 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, Ruston feels like about 100°F (around July 26). About 108 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)
Jan57573439
Feb61613842
Mar69694749
Apr76765656
May84846464
Jun94907271
Jul100937474
Aug99937373
Sep89886868
Oct78785756
Nov66664447
Dec58583641

Average hourly temperature in Ruston

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 93°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 39°F.

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

Ruston 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
Jan57° / 39°4.59.510.14.1
Feb61° / 42°4.59.310.85.0
Mar69° / 49°5.01111.86.3
Apr76° / 56°5.49.512.86.9
May84° / 64°3.910.713.65.6
Jun90° / 71°3.911.614.13.8
Jul93° / 74°3.011.713.93.0
Aug93° / 73°3.29.513.23.1
Sep88° / 68°3.37.212.24.9
Oct78° / 56°4.17.811.27.3
Nov66° / 47°3.97.910.36.5
Dec58° / 41°4.89.49.94.5

Chance of rain

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

Ruston gets about 49.7 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 3.5 months, from around Apr 18 to Aug 3, peaking in June at about 41% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 28.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 5.4 in over about 10 wet days; July is the driest, with 3.0 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 25 · 41%Sep 28 · 22%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3110
Feb339
Mar3511
Apr3310
May3411
Jun3912
Jul3712
Aug3110
Sep257
Oct258
Nov268
Dec319

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Ruston collects about 49.7 in of rain across 115 wet days — roughly 4.1 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 5.4 in, while July is the driest at just 3.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.54.55.05.43.93.93.03.23.34.13.94.8
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan4.510
Feb4.59
Mar5.011
Apr5.410
May3.911
Jun3.912
Jul3.012
Aug3.210
Sep3.37
Oct4.18
Nov3.98
Dec4.89

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Ruston, 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 May 14 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around November 18. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 67% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 19 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around May 13. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 30 · 70%Feb 19 · 43%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb4456
Mar4753
Apr5248
May5545
Jun5941
Jul6040
Aug6238
Sep6733
Oct6436
Nov5545
Dec4555

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 7, brings about 14 h 06 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.17:175:22
Feb10.87:015:49
Mar11.86:286:13
Apr12.85:476:35
May13.65:176:57
Jun14.15:077:15
Jul13.95:187:15
Aug13.25:386:51
Sep12.25:596:11
Oct11.26:205:31
Nov10.36:475:05
Dec9.97:115:03

Sunny days

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

Ruston averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 17 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.8 months, from around Aug 9 to Dec 1. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 15 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is May, down near 11 sunny days — about 29% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 3017 daysMay 2910 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun11Mixed
Jul11Mixed
Aug12Mixed
Sep15Mixed
Oct16Bright
Nov13Mixed
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 Ruston, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.2 months, from around April 30 to October 5. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 6 to April 29, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 95% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 22 · 96%Jul 19 · 2%humidoppressivemuggycomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan8874000
Feb84105100
Mar701612200
Apr4818211210
May1716223690
Jun161232471
Jul02622664
Aug141228505
Sep15121827281
Oct4816151550
Nov741211310
Dec8486200

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 Ruston is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.8 months, from around Oct 27 to May 20. The windiest month is April, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 21 to Oct 26, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeApr 5 · 7 mphAug 12 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Ruston

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid March, Ruston 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 Ruston for general outdoor tourist activities run from early March to mid May and again from late September to late November, with a peak score in the last week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 22 · 7.5

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
Jan4.1fair
Feb5.0fair
Mar6.3good
Apr6.9good
May5.6good
Jun3.8fair
Jul3.0poor
Aug3.1poor
Sep4.9fair
Oct7.2good
Nov6.5good
Dec4.5fair

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 Ruston for hot-weather 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.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 29 · 7.7

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 Ruston, 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 93°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 57°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Ruston sees daytime highs around 93°F and nights near 74°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Ruston 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 Ruston peaks around June 19 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 3 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 19UV 10Dec 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5High
Mar7High
Apr10Very high
May9Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov5Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Ruston

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 5.5 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)
Jan30
Feb50
Mar6.53
Apr7.55
May85
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug85
Sep74
Oct5.50
Nov40
Dec10

Air quality in Ruston 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 Ruston is worst in July — around 24 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.9× the cleanest month (January, 8 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1723 µg/m³Jan 138 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb11Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr12Good
May16Moderate
Jun19Moderate
Jul24Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov10Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Ruston is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 5 to November 22 (263 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 590%Nov 2290%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan7531
Feb8428
Mar953
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov925
Dec8031

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. Ruston banks about 6,095 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb47
Mar271
Apr473
May745
Jun920
Jul1,041
Aug1,029
Sep831
Oct530
Nov195
Dec12

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.

Ruston receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.4 and 6.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 21 to Oct 4. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 62% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 166.3 kWhDec 202.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.4Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May6.0Bright
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep5.0Bright
Oct4.0Bright
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.4Moderate

Where is Ruston?

Ruston sits at 32.5°N, 92.6°W, 335 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Monroe, 30 mi away.

Topography around Ruston

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Ruston has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 184 ft around an average of 302 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 325 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 525 ft.

The land around Ruston is covered by trees (58%) and grassland (23%) within 2 miles, trees (82%) within 10 miles, and trees (85%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
184 ft
10 miles
325 ft
50 miles
525 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Monroe 30 mi · El Dorado 47 mi · Natchitoches 59 mi · Bossier City 64 mi · Shreveport 65 mi · Alexandria 85 mi · Natchez 98 mi · Marshall 101 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 Ruston (32.5232°, -92.6379°, elevation 335 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).