How extreme does Dayton's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Dayton has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Dayton Mcd station 3 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Dayton has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

105°F Jul 7, 2012

That is about 18°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Dayton (typical high near 87°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 105°F Jul 7, 2012

2 104°F Jul 31, 1999

3 104°F Jul 4, 2020

❄️ Coldest night

-21°F Jan 20, 1985

About 41°F colder than a normal January night in Dayton (typical low near 20°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -21°F Jan 20, 1985

2 -21°F Jan 21, 1985

3 -18°F Jan 17, 1977

🌧️ Most rain in one day

4.65 in Sep 14, 1979

More rain in a single day than Dayton usually gets in the whole month of September (typical September total about 3.0 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 4.65 in Sep 14, 1979

2 4.36 in Sep 27, 2002

3 4.17 in Jun 19, 2021

⛄ Most snow in one day

7.0 in Jan 17, 1994

Close to a whole typical January's snow in one day (Dayton averages about 7 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 7.0 in Jan 17, 1994

2 7.0 in Dec 20, 1995

3 6.0 in Feb 26, 1979

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Dayton's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 105°F is about 18°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Dayton's warmest days reach the high 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 105°F and as low as −21°F. A single day has delivered over 5 inches of rain or close to 7 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Dayton Mcd (NOAA GHCN station USC00332067), about 3 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

← Dayton city detail