Rain in the forecast? Check the National Weather Service for a Flood Watch before you set out.
Short answer: New Orleans gets about 63 inches of rain a year by NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normal for the airport, so a wet day deserves a plan: The National WWII Museum or the Ogden Museum of Southern Art downtown, a bookshop and a long lunch Uptown, then 30 quiet minutes in a private infrared sauna for $30, or $48 for two.
When you are ready to warm up, you can book a private infrared sauna at NOLA Chill, 6045 Magazine Street in Uptown New Orleans, open 7 days and until 7 pm on weekdays, and you can pay after your visit. You can hear the rain on the roof from the sauna, best with the music off or turned low. A 10-visit pack of 30-minute sessions is $200, one pack visit covers one or two people, so two friends sharing it pay $10 each a visit, and packages expire 12 months after purchase. The Chill membership is $85 a month with a 3-month minimum, for 2 sessions, the 30-minute sauna among them, then 20% off every additional session.
A rainy-day plan along Magazine Street
Magazine Street runs for six miles of shopping, dining and art, by its merchants association’s count, and this plan uses both ends of it. Every place below is indoors, and its hours here come from its own website, so check them again on the day you go.
Morning: a museum or a bookshop
Near the downtown end of Magazine Street, The National WWII Museum at 945 Magazine Street is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art is nearby at 925 Camp Street, open daily from 10 am to 5 pm with last admission at 4:45 pm. The Contemporary Arts Center sits across Camp Street from the Ogden at 900 Camp Street, open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 am to 9 pm and Friday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm, and closed on Monday and Tuesday. Any one of the three can fill a whole wet morning.
Uptown, a bookshop is the easier start. The Garden District Book Shop at 2727 Prytania Street is open from 9 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 7 pm on weekends. Octavia Books is at 513 Octavia Street, at the corner of Octavia and Laurel between Magazine and Tchoupitoulas, and its website lists no hours, so check with the shop before you go.
For a quiet hour with a book of your own, the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, a New Orleans Public Library branch at 5120 Saint Charles Avenue, is open from 10 am to 7 pm Monday through Thursday and from 10 am to 5 pm on Friday and Saturday, and it is closed on Sunday.
Midday: a long lunch
With restaurants all along Magazine Street, a long lunch fits easily between stops. Pick a place with tables inside and take your time while the rain comes down, and if you want ideas, the Magazine Street Merchants Association keeps an insider’s guide to the street’s restaurants, coffee and happy hours.
Afternoon: 30 quiet minutes in a private sauna
End the day in the private infrared sauna room at NOLA Chill, 6045 Magazine Street, which holds one to four people. Thirty minutes is $30 for one person, $48 for two, $63 for three and $72 for four, with no membership needed. 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 with the music off or turned low you can hear the rain on the roof from inside the sauna room, loud in a hard rain. Our rainy-day sauna page has more on a visit in wet weather, the infrared sauna page has the room details, and 30 or 45 minutes helps you choose a session length.
NOLA Chill is open 7 days: Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 4pm, Sun 10am to 3pm. On a Sunday, put the sauna earlier in the plan, since the studio closes at 3 pm and the library is closed all day.
Hours at a glance
| Place | Hours |
|---|---|
| The National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine Street | Daily, 9 am to 5 pm. Closed Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. |
| Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp Street | Daily, 10 am to 5 pm, last admission 4:45 pm. Check its calendar for holiday closures. |
| Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp Street | Wednesday and Thursday 11 am to 9 pm, Friday through Sunday 11 am to 5 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. |
| The Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania Street | Weekdays 9 am to 8 pm, weekends 9 am to 7 pm. |
| Octavia Books, 513 Octavia Street | No hours on its website. Check with the shop. |
| Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, 5120 Saint Charles Avenue | Monday through Thursday 10 am to 7 pm, Friday and Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, closed Sunday. |
| NOLA Chill private sauna, 6045 Magazine Street | Open 7 days: Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 4pm, Sun 10am to 3pm. |
Hours can change on holidays and for special events, so check a place’s own website on the day you go. The date at the top of this page is when we last checked them.
Getting around in the rain
RTA’s 11 Magazine bus runs along Magazine Street, and for the Latter Library, the library’s own directions are to take the St. Charles Streetcar to the stop at Dufossat, across the street from the library. Check RTA’s service alerts before you ride. RTA’s alerts page has carried a detour on the 11 Magazine since September 2, 2026, for road work on Felicity Street, with four stops closed, among them Magazine Street at Napoleon Avenue, and buses are covering the St. Charles streetcar line on S. Carrollton Avenue during rail work there.
If you drive, NOLA Chill has off-street parking in front of the studio.
When rain turns into flooding
Heavy rain can flood low streets here, so it helps to know the National Weather Service’s terms. A Flood Watch means conditions are favorable for flooding, which is possible but not certain. A Flood Warning means flooding is about to happen or already is. A Flash Flood Warning means a flash flood is about to happen or already is, and the Weather Service says to move to high ground right away if you are in an area that floods.
The Weather Service also says that 6 inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult and 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, so never walk or drive into flood water, and never drive around the barriers on a flooded road. On a warning day the plan can wait, and if you have a visit booked, you can text the studio at (504) 381-4207.
How often it rains here
By our count of NOAA’s daily records for the airport from 1991 to 2020, New Orleans averages about 115 days a year with measurable rain and about 20 days with an inch or more, and on about 59 of those rainy days less than a quarter of an inch falls, so most wet days are showers rather than a washout. Winter rain comes on fewer days than summer rain, with about 9 days of measurable rain in each of December, January and February against 13 or 14 in each of June, July and August. NOAA’s normals put November at 3.87 inches, December at 4.82, January at 5.18 and February at 4.13.
This winter may run wet
The three super El Niño winters since 1950 averaged 8.3 days with an inch or more of rain at the airport from December through February, nearly twice the normal 4.3, by our count of NOAA’s daily records. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, in its October 15, 2026 outlook for November through January, favors above-normal rain for the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast, and it says the very strong El Niño now under way weighs heavily on its outlooks for the winter and spring. No one knows yet how wet this winter will be.
If the rain comes with cooler air, our next cold front page keeps a dated forecast, and our first cool weekend guide has ideas indoors and out.
Who should skip the sauna
Heat is not right for everyone. Skip the sauna, or ask your doctor first, if you have a fever or an active illness, are pregnant, have high blood pressure that is not under control or unstable heart disease, have been drinking alcohol or are dehydrated, or are sensitive to heat, as some people with multiple sclerosis are. If you take a medicine that changes sweating, blood pressure or heart rate, ask your pharmacist or doctor before you use a sauna, and keep taking your medicine as prescribed. Our page on using a sauna when you are sick covers when to wait.
Other quiet options at the studio
If you would rather stay clothed, hydromassage is 30 minutes of warm water pressure under a dry bed surface for $30. NuCalm is a 30-minute guided relaxation session with audio and an eye mask for $40, with no heat or cold at all. Prices for every service are on the pricing page.
Two people can also share the sauna room. Our guide to a private sauna with a friend shows how the $48 visit for two works, the couples sauna page covers a date night, and where to unwind in New Orleans compares the studio’s quieter options.
Where the numbers come from
The rain normal is NOAA’s official 1991 to 2020 normal for New Orleans International Airport, station USW00012916, as the National Weather Service New Orleans/Baton Rouge office lists it. The day counts are our own count of NOAA’s daily records for the same station, read through the Applied Climate Information System, and El Niño strength is NOAA’s Oceanic Niño Index for December to February. Hours and addresses come from each place’s own website, and the date at the top of this page is when we last checked them.
- National Weather Service New Orleans/Baton Rouge, 1991 to 2020 climate normals
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 1991 to 2020 climate normals
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers, Applied Climate Information System
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center, seasonal outlook discussion, October 15, 2026
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Oceanic Niño Index
- National Weather Service, flood watch and warning terms
- National Weather Service, Turn Around Don’t Drown
- The National WWII Museum, plan your visit
- Ogden Museum of Southern Art, visit
- Contemporary Arts Center, hours
- The Garden District Book Shop, about us and hours
- Octavia Books, store information
- New Orleans Public Library, hours
- New Orleans Public Library, visit libraries by streetcar
- Magazine Street Merchants Association
- New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, service alerts
Frequently asked questions
What are the best things to do in New Orleans when it rains?
Plan a day indoors along Magazine Street. Start at The National WWII Museum, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art or the Contemporary Arts Center near the downtown end, or at a bookshop Uptown, and after a long lunch, finish with 30 quiet minutes in a private infrared sauna at NOLA Chill, 6045 Magazine Street, for $30, or $48 for two, where you can hear the rain on the roof with the music turned low.
How much does it rain in New Orleans?
About 63 inches in a normal year. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normal for New Orleans International Airport is 63.35 inches, and by our count of NOAA’s daily records the airport averages about 115 days a year with measurable rain and about 20 with an inch or more.
Does it rain all day in New Orleans?
Usually not. By our count of NOAA’s daily records for the airport from 1991 to 2020, about 115 days a year get measurable rain, on about 59 of them less than a quarter of an inch falls, and about 20 days a year bring an inch or more. Summer has the most rainy days, 13 or 14 a month in June, July and August, against about 9 in each of December, January and February.
Will this winter be rainy in New Orleans?
No one knows for sure. The three super El Niño winters since 1950 averaged 8.3 days with an inch or more of rain from December through February, nearly twice the normal 4.3, and NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center’s October 15, 2026 outlook favors above-normal rain from November through January for the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast.
What should you wear in New Orleans when it rains?
Shoes you do not mind getting wet and a light rain jacket or an umbrella, since low spots on side streets pool water after a hard rain. NOAA’s normals put the average high at the airport at 62.5 F in January and 91.4 F in July, so a heavy coat is rarely needed, and 30 minutes of dry heat in the sauna is an easy way to dry out and warm up at the end of the day.
Is it safe to drive through flooded streets in New Orleans?
No. The National Weather Service says 6 inches of fast-moving water can knock over an adult and 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, and it says never to drive or walk into flood water and never to drive around the barriers on a flooded road.
What is open on a rainy Sunday near Magazine Street?
The National WWII Museum and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art are open daily, the Contemporary Arts Center is open from 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday, and The Garden District Book Shop is open from 9 am to 7 pm on weekends. NOLA Chill is open 7 days: Mon to Fri 9am to 7pm, Sat 9am to 4pm, Sun 10am to 3pm, so on a Sunday plan the sauna for earlier in the day. The Latter Library is closed on Sunday.
NOLA Chill is a wellness studio at 6045 Magazine Street in New Orleans, not a medical clinic.