When Does It Get Cold in New Orleans? The Cool-Night Index

New Orleans usually cools off in October, and most winters bring a freeze near New Year’s.

By NOLA Chill’s count of NOAA daily records for New Orleans International Airport, the first night at 59°F or below came on a median date of October 8 in the falls of 1991 to 2020 and October 22 from 2016 to 2025, and 25 of the 30 winters from 1991 to 2021 had a freeze.

This fall’s first night in the 50s came on October 17, and when the evenings turn cool you can book a private infrared sauna at NOLA Chill, 6045 Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, where 30 minutes is $30 on your own or $48 for two and you pay after your visit. The room is private, so it is only you and whoever you bring, and half an hour of steady heat is a good way to end a cool, damp evening.

First cool nights at a glance

Each row gives the median date of the first night of fall at or below a temperature at the airport, with the earliest and latest dates under it, for the 30 falls of 1991 to 2020 and the 10 falls of 2016 to 2025.

Computed by NOLA Chill from NOAA daily records for New Orleans International Airport, so these are not official National Weather Service statistics.

This fall so far

Through October 28, 2026, by preliminary readings, the airport’s first night at 69°F or below this fall came on September 26 and its first night in the 50s on October 17, at 57°F. The coolest night so far was 54°F on October 21. That first night in the 50s came later than the 1991 to 2020 median of October 8 and earlier than the 2016 to 2025 median of October 22.

The next marker is the first night in the 40s, which came on a median date of October 28 in the falls of 1991 to 2020 and November 2 from 2016 to 2025. By October 28, 18 of those 30 falls and 2 of the last 10 had already had one, so a fall still waiting at this point is later than the 1991 to 2020 median but not yet later than the 2016 to 2025 median.

What 35 falls of airport records show

The first night in the 50s has come later in the recent decade at the airport. Its median date moved from October 8 across the falls of 1991 to 2020 to October 22 across 2016 to 2025, and only two of those ten recent falls, 2020 and 2022, had a night in the 50s before October 9. The two periods share the years 2016 to 2020, so this describes the record rather than forecasting any single fall.

The step from the 50s down to the 40s varies a lot from one fall to the next. Across the 35 falls from 1991 to 2025, the first night in the 40s followed the first night in the 50s by a median of 16 days, but the gap was as short as 2 days, in 2004 and 2017, and as long as 48 days, in 2003.

Freezes at the airport are common but not certain. The five winters from 1991 to 2021 without a single night at 32°F or lower were 2003 to 2004, 2012 to 2013, 2015 to 2016, 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020, while the median winter in that period had 4 freezing nights and the most was 20, in 1995 to 1996.

The winter of 2025 to 2026 had more freezing nights than most recent ones. The airport recorded 11 nights at 32°F or lower that winter, beginning December 16, 2025, which was the most in any winter since 2017 to 2018, when there were 14.

What the 30-year normals say

NOAA’s official 1991 to 2020 normals for the airport describe the average night on each date rather than the first cool one. The daily normal low first drops below 70°F on October 1 and keeps sliding until it reaches its lowest point, 45.7°F, from January 13 to January 16.

By month, the normal low at the airport is 64.3°F in October, 53.7°F in November, 48.4°F in December, 46.1°F in January and 49.7°F in February, as the National Weather Service office in New Orleans lists them.

The median first night in the 50s, October 8, comes almost three weeks before the normal low itself falls below 60°F on October 27. A normal averages many years of nights for each date, so it moves slowly, while the first cool night of a fall is a single night that can arrive well before the average catches up with it.

First cool nights by season since 1991

Each row is one fall and winter at the airport, counted from August 1 to July 31 so that a winter stays in one row, and each date is the first night of that season with a low at or below the temperature at the top of its column.

Computed by NOLA Chill from NOAA daily records for New Orleans International Airport, so these are not official National Weather Service statistics. The 2026 to 2027 row uses preliminary readings through October 28, 2026.

Freezes by winter since 1991

A freeze here means a night at 32°F or below at the airport, and the table gives the first one of each winter and the number of freezing nights that winter had.

Computed by NOLA Chill from NOAA daily records for New Orleans International Airport, so these are not official National Weather Service statistics. The 2026 to 2027 row uses preliminary readings through October 28, 2026.

Checking the week ahead

The seven-day forecast from the National Weather Service office for New Orleans and Baton Rouge is the place to see whether a cool night is coming this week, because the dates on this page record past falls rather than forecast the next one. Comparing its forecast lows with the medians above shows whether a coming night would be early or late for the season, and our page on the next cold front in New Orleans follows the fronts that bring those nights, while our first cool weekend guide has ideas for spending one.

A warm room on a cool night

A private infrared sauna is a comfortable way to warm up when the evenings turn cool, and the sauna room at NOLA Chill is booked only for you or your group. The sauna is set to about 175 F (80 C), with the room air usually in the 150s and a lower setting on request, and the full 30 or 45 minutes you book is your time in the sauna room.

These are single-visit prices with no package or membership needed, and the prices for three or four people are on the pricing page.

If you plan to come back through the cool months, a package lowers the price of each visit, with five 30-minute visits for $125 and ten for $200, or five 45-minute visits for $160 and ten for $250. One package visit covers one or two people in the room together, so two friends sharing the ten-visit 30-minute pack pay $10 each a visit, and packages can be shared or split between people and expire 12 months after purchase. Our guide to sharing a private sauna with a friend shows how that works.

With the music off or turned low, you can hear the rain on the roof from inside the sauna room, and in a hard rain it is loud. Our cold or rainy day sauna guide covers those afternoons, our page on the infrared sauna in cooler weather covers the season, and the infrared sauna page has the room details. For how past super El Niño winters went here, see our super El Niño winter page.

NOLA Chill is open 7 days: Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 4pm, Sun 10am to 3pm, with off-street parking in front of the studio, and you pay after your visit. A NOLA Chill gift card never expires, so it makes an easy present for someone who would enjoy a warm room on a cold night.

Heat is not right for everyone. If you are pregnant, have a heart or blood pressure condition, or take medication that affects how you handle heat, check with your healthcare professional first, and if you have a fever, our page on using a sauna when you are sick covers when to wait.

How we counted

Each night’s value is the daily minimum temperature in NOAA’s daily record for New Orleans International Airport, station USW00012916, in whole degrees Fahrenheit, read through the Applied Climate Information System that NOAA’s Regional Climate Centers run, and it is usually but not always the overnight low.

A season runs from August 1 to July 31 so that a winter stays in one row. The count for 69°F starts on September 1, so a brief dip in August is not called a fall night, and every other temperature counts from August 1, which gives the same dates as starting on September 1.

Medians are taken across seasons by calendar date, and with an even number of seasons the median is the midpoint of the two middle dates, rounded down to the earlier day. The first-freeze medians count only the winters that had a freeze, and the 1991 to 2020 and 2016 to 2025 periods overlap, so they are two views of one record rather than separate samples.

We downloaded the record on October 30, 2026, when the latest day available was October 28, 2026. These dates are computed by NOLA Chill from NOAA daily records for New Orleans International Airport, so they are not official National Weather Service statistics, and the most recent days are preliminary and can be revised. The airport sits west of the city, and a reading there can differ from your neighborhood on any given night. The heat side of the year is in our New Orleans heat and recovery index.

• NOAA Regional Climate Centers, Applied Climate Information System
• NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 1991 to 2020 climate normals
• National Weather Service New Orleans, 1991 to 2020 climate normals
• National Weather Service New Orleans and Baton Rouge forecast

Frequently asked questions

When does it get cold in New Orleans?

The first cool nights usually come in October. At New Orleans International Airport, the first night at 59°F or below came on a median date of October 8 in the falls of 1991 to 2020 and October 22 from 2016 to 2025, the first night in the 40s followed in late October or early November, and most winters brought a freeze around late December or January. NOLA Chill computed these dates from NOAA daily records, so they are not official National Weather Service statistics.

Has it gotten cold in New Orleans yet this fall?

Through October 28, 2026, by preliminary readings, the airport’s first night at 69°F or below this fall came on September 26 and its first night in the 50s on October 17, at 57°F. The coolest night so far was 54°F on October 21. That first night in the 50s came later than the 1991 to 2020 median of October 8 and earlier than the 2016 to 2025 median of October 22. The next marker, the first night in the 40s, came on a median date of October 28 in the falls of 1991 to 2020 and November 2 from 2016 to 2025.

When is the first freeze in New Orleans?

Among the 25 winters from 1991 to 2021 that had a freeze at the airport, the first one came on a median date of December 26, as early as November 1 and as late as February 15. In the 8 winters with a freeze from 2016 to 2026, the median first freeze was January 11. Winters without a freeze are left out of these medians.

Does New Orleans freeze every winter?

Not every winter, although most do. The airport reached 32°F or lower in 25 of the 30 winters from 1991 to 2021, and the five without a freeze were the winters of 2003 to 2004, 2012 to 2013, 2015 to 2016, 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020. The winter of 2025 to 2026 had 11 freezing nights, the most since the 14 of 2017 to 2018.

What is the coldest month in New Orleans?

January is the coldest month, with a normal high of 62.5°F and a normal low of 46.1°F at the airport in NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, and the daily normal low bottoms out at 45.7°F from January 13 to January 16. December and February are close behind, with normal lows of 48.4°F and 49.7°F.

Is it cold in New Orleans in November?

November is usually mild rather than cold. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals for the airport give November a normal high of 71.2°F and a normal low of 53.7°F, and the first night in the 40s usually arrives by early November, with medians of October 28 for the falls of 1991 to 2020 and November 2 for 2016 to 2025.

Where can I warm up in a private sauna in New Orleans?

NOLA Chill, a recovery studio at 6045 Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, has a private infrared sauna. A visit is $30 for 30 minutes or $40 for 45 minutes on your own, or $48 or $64 for two people together, and you pay after your visit. NOLA Chill is open 7 days: Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 4pm, Sun 10am to 3pm.