Climate and average weather in Waterville

In Waterville, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early June to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Waterville typically varies from 12°F to 77°F, and is rarely below -5°F or above 85°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 Waterville for warm-weather activities is from early June to late September.

Hottest
Jul
77°
Coldest
Jan
12°
Wettest
Oct
4.4 in
Driest
Feb
2.9 in
Rain / yr
41.5 in
118 wet days
Daylight
8.6–15.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
108 ft
44.6°N
Clearest
Sep
55% cloud

Waterville is city in Maine, United States.

Density
447/km²
people per km²
Founded
1802

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

Waterville 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 June to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Waterville, 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 26 to September 24, with daily high temperatures above 65°F. The hottest month of the year in Waterville is July, with an average high of 77°F and low of 62°F.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from December 4 to March 13, with daily high temperatures below 37°F. The coldest month of the year in Waterville is January, with an average low of 12°F and high of 28°F.

Days typically run about 15°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan2812
Feb3014
Mar3823
Apr5136
May6246
Jun7156
Jul7762
Aug7661
Sep6853
Oct5642
Nov4431
Dec3320

How hot and cold Waterville 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 0°F (around January 22), with roughly 172 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 98 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan2828212
Feb3030314
Mar38381523
Apr51513036
May62624346
Jun71715656
Jul77776262
Aug76766161
Sep68685253
Oct56563842
Nov44442531
Dec33331120

Average hourly temperature in Waterville

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 77°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 12°F.

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

Waterville 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
Jan28° / 12°3.18.96.890.0
Feb30° / 14°2.98.37.210.10.0
Mar38° / 23°3.610.26.111.60.1
Apr51° / 36°3.810.62.613.22.3
May62° / 46°3.2110.214.65.1
Jun71° / 56°3.811015.36.4
Jul77° / 62°3.19.90156.7
Aug76° / 61°2.99.3013.97.1
Sep68° / 53°3.38.2012.36.6
Oct56° / 42°4.410.10.410.73.9
Nov44° / 31°3.59.52.39.40.8
Dec33° / 20°4.010.76.98.70.0

Chance of rain

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

Waterville gets about 41.5 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, and that barely changes with the seasons — rain is spread fairly evenly through the year.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 4.4 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecmostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 25 · 37%Aug 29 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb308
Mar3310
Apr3511
May3511
Jun3611
Jul3310
Aug299
Sep288
Oct3210
Nov3210
Dec3411

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Waterville collects about 41.5 in of rain across 118 wet days — roughly 3.5 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 4.4 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.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.12.93.63.83.23.83.12.93.34.43.54.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.197
Feb2.987
Mar3.6106
Apr3.8113
May3.2110
Jun3.8110
Jul3.1100
Aug2.990
Sep3.380
Oct4.4100
Nov3.5102
Dec4.0117

Snow in Waterville

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.

Waterville averages about 33 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 21 to May 4 — about 6.4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 8 days of snow and an estimated 22 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 91 in of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 9
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan719
Feb722
Mar620
Apr36
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov25
Dec718

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Waterville, 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 30 and lasts for 3.9 months, ending around October 26. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 16 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around June 29. The cloudiest month is April, 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 27 · 56%May 27 · 37%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5248
Feb4654
Mar4258
Apr3862
May3862
Jun4258
Jul4852
Aug5248
Sep5248
Oct4852
Nov4654
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 17, brings about 15 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around December 17, only 8 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.07:184:18
Feb10.16:494:58
Mar11.66:005:37
Apr13.25:026:16
May14.64:176:53
Jun15.33:587:19
Jul15.04:137:16
Aug13.94:466:39
Sep12.35:245:42
Oct10.76:024:46
Nov9.46:434:04
Dec8.77:153:54

Sunny days

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

Waterville averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.4 months, from around Aug 13 to Feb 22. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 7 sunny days — about 40% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedSep 212 daysJun 36 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul8Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct11Mixed
Nov9Mixed
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 Waterville, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.5 months, from around June 10 to September 24. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 55% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 25 to June 9, and April 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 19 · 100%Jul 27 · 38%muggyhumiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar1000000
Apr1000000
May926200
Jun51271570
Jul153033202
Aug203131161
Sep58211640
Oct936200
Nov991000
Dec1000000

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

The windier part of the year lasts 7.4 months, from around Oct 6 to May 17. The windiest month is March, averaging about 7 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 18 to Oct 5, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 9 · 8 mphAug 5 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7light breeze
Apr7calm
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Waterville

In seasonPeak

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

Waterville 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 Waterville

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid June, Waterville 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 time of year to visit Waterville for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 27 · 7.3

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
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.1poor
Apr2.3poor
May5.1fair
Jun6.4good
Jul6.7good
Aug7.1good
Sep6.6good
Oct3.9fair
Nov0.9poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Waterville for hot-weather activities is from late June to early September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 2 · 6.3

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 Waterville, 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 77°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 28°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Waterville sees daytime highs around 77°F and nights near 62°F. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Waterville

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 39 mi away) is warmest in August at about 58°F and coldest in February near 35°F.

The water stays below 68°F all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

30°40°50°60°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan39Bracing
Feb35Bracing
Mar35Bracing
Apr40Bracing
May46Bracing
Jun52Bracing
Jul57Bracing
Aug58Bracing
Sep57Bracing
Oct54Bracing
Nov49Bracing
Dec44Bracing

UV index (midday) in Waterville 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 Waterville peaks around July 13 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateModerateLowJul 13UV 7Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug4Moderate
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Waterville

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 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4 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
Feb00
Mar3.50
Apr5.50
May72
Jun72
Jul84
Aug4.50
Sep5.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Waterville typically lasts about 221 days, from around April 7 to November 13 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 24 to October 21.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2410%Apr 750%Apr 2490%Oct 2190%Nov 1350%Dec 1910%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan531
Feb628
Mar1931
Apr7222
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct928
Nov4830
Dec1331

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. Waterville banks about 2,068 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,5002,0002,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May134
Jun406
Jul607
Aug569
Sep319
Oct33
Nov0
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.

Waterville receives about 3.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.4 and 5.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 12 to Sep 21. The brightest month is July, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 74% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 45.9 kWhDec 151.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.9Moderate
Mar4.0Moderate
Apr4.8Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun5.7Bright
Jul5.8Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep4.1Bright
Oct2.7Moderate
Nov1.8Dim
Dec1.4Dim

Where is Waterville?

Waterville sits at 44.6°N, 69.6°W, 108 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Augusta, 18 mi away.

Topography around Waterville

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Waterville has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 394 ft around an average of 157 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 696 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,298 ft.

The land around Waterville is covered by trees (60%) within 2 miles, trees (72%) within 10 miles, and trees (83%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
394 ft
10 miles
696 ft
50 miles
4,298 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Augusta 18 mi · Lewiston 42 mi · Auburn 43 mi · Bangor 45 mi · Brunswick 47 mi · Portland 69 mi · South Portland 70 mi · Westbrook 71 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 Waterville (44.552°, -69.6317°, elevation 108 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).