Schenectady weather in October

In October, Schenectady sees average daytime highs of 59°F and overnight lows near 42°F, with 4.5 in of precipitation across 10.8 wet days and about 10.8 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 65°F in the first days to 54°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 30 min at the start of October to 10 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Schenectady's 4th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Schenectady's year-round climate.

Daytime high
59°
6th warmest
Overnight low
42°
7th coldest
Precipitation
4.5 in
10.8 wet days
Daylight
10 h 48 min
6:16 AM – 5:05 PM
Cloud cover
61%
4th clearest
Wind
6 mph
7th windiest
Solar energy
2.74 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.5
out of 10

Schenectady is county seat of Schenectady County, New York, United States.

Density
2,297/km²
people per km²
Founded
1765

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

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 65°F in the first days to 54°F by the end.

A typical October day in Schenectady reaches about 59°F in the afternoon and slips back to 42°F overnight — a 17°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 48°F and 71°F. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 12°F cooler than September and about 12°F warmer than November.

20°40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
16547
26547
36547
46446
56446
66446
76345
86345
96244
106244
116244
126143
136143
146043
156042
165942
175942
185841
195841
205741
215740
225640
235640
245640
255539
265539
275438
285438
295438
305337
315337

How October really feels in Schenectady

Once humidity and wind are folded in, October averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 1 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
1
wind chill below the day's low

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

Schenectady weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 6th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan31° / 17°3.09.87.19.20.0
Feb34° / 18°2.896.610.30.0
Mar43° / 26°3.811.25.311.60.6
Apr56° / 38°4.1121.713.13.7
May67° / 48°4.112.50.114.45.8
Jun76° / 57°4.812.8015.16.3
Jul80° / 62°4.412014.86.2
Aug79° / 60°4.211.5013.76.6
Sep72° / 53°4.29.6012.36.7
Oct59° / 42°4.510.80.410.84.5
Nov47° / 32°3.39.82.19.51.5
Dec36° / 23°3.810.86.28.90.0

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in October.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 55%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14951
24951
35050
45050
55050
65050
75050
85050
94951
104951
114852
124852
134753
144654
154654
164555
174456
184357
194258
204258
214159
224060
234060
244060
254060
263961
273961
283961
293961
303961
314060

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitationSnow

Schenectady gets around 4.5 in of rain and snow over 10.8 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 35% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1350
2350
3350
4350
5340
6340
7340
8340
9340
10340
11340
12340
13350
14350
15360
16360
17361
18371
19371
20371
21372
22372
23372
24373
25373
26363
27363
28353
29343
30343
31333

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, October lands in the dry band about 91% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
1791272
2811162
3811162
4831052
5841042
6851041
787931
887931
988831
1089821
1190721
1290721
1391621
1491621
1594510
1694510
1794510
1895410
1995410
2095410
2195410
2295410
2395410
2496310
2596310
2696310
2796310
2898200
2998200
3098200
3198200

Wind in October

Winds average 6 mph in October.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 30 min at the start of October to 10 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 84 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 5:59 AM to 6:35 AM, and sunset from 5:31 PM to 4:43 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.55:595:31
211.56:005:29
311.46:015:27
411.46:025:26
511.36:035:24
611.36:045:22
711.26:065:20
811.26:075:19
911.16:085:17
1011.16:095:15
1111.06:105:13
1211.06:125:12
1311.06:135:10
1410.96:145:08
1510.96:155:07
1610.86:165:05
1710.86:185:03
1810.76:195:02
1910.76:205:00
2010.66:214:59
2110.66:234:57
2210.56:244:56
2310.56:254:54
2410.46:264:53
2510.46:284:51
2610.36:294:50
2710.36:304:49
2810.36:324:47
2910.26:334:46
3010.26:344:45
3110.16:354:43

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 2.74 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.44 kWh/m² to a high of 5.93 kWh/m² in July across the year — October's 2.74 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.4Moderate
23.3Moderate
33.3Moderate
43.2Moderate
53.2Moderate
63.2Moderate
73.1Moderate
83.1Moderate
93.0Moderate
103.0Moderate
113.0Moderate
122.9Moderate
132.9Moderate
142.8Moderate
152.8Moderate
162.8Moderate
172.7Moderate
182.7Moderate
192.6Moderate
202.6Moderate
212.5Moderate
222.5Moderate
232.5Moderate
242.4Moderate
252.4Moderate
262.4Moderate
272.3Moderate
282.3Moderate
292.3Moderate
302.2Moderate
312.2Moderate
Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Schenectady?

Our two travel scores rate October for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

4.5
Sightseeing
6th-best month of the year
0.7
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

October is a reasonable time to visit Schenectady for sightseeing.

What to pack for Schenectady in October

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

In October, Schenectady sees daytime highs around 59°F and nights near 42°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Schenectady in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October peaks around 3 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Schenectady peaks around July 12 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 12UV 8Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug5Moderate
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Schenectady?

Schenectady sits at 42.8°N, 73.9°W, 243 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Rotterdam, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Schenectady

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Schenectady has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 272 ft around an average of 302 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,332 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,058 ft.

The land around Schenectady is covered by trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (41%) within 2 miles, trees (72%) within 10 miles, and trees (83%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
272 ft
10 miles
1,332 ft
50 miles
4,058 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
October weather nearby: Rotterdam 2.5 mi · Clifton Park 9.3 mi · Glenville 9.9 mi · Latham 11 mi · West Albany 12 mi · Cohoes 12 mi · Troy 14 mi · Albany 14 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 Schenectady (42.8142°, -73.9396°, elevation 243 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).