Best Time to Visit New Orleans

The best time to visit New Orleans for weather is March, April, October and November, when NOAA's normals show average highs of 73 to 83 F. The worst is July and August, with highs near 94 F and lows of 77 F, and hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November.

Month by month

Note: Temperature and rain are NOAA NCEI 1991 to 2020 monthly normals for the New Orleans Audubon station (USW00012930), pulled from the NCEI Data Service on 15 Oct 2026. "Rain days" means days with 0.10 inch or more. Events are from the sources named in the sections below

These are 30-year averages. A given week can be much hotter, colder or wetter. In NOAA's normals, nights at or below 32 F average 2.3 days in January, 0.5 in February and 0.7 in December, and 0.2 or less in other months, so frost is rare.

Rain, humidity and hurricanes

Rain falls all year. The wet months are June to August, with 9.3 to 10.6 rain days a month. October and November are the driest, at 4.4 and 4.7 days.

Note: "The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30," and "the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is September 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October." NHC adds that storms sometimes form before and after those dates (NOAA National Hurricane Center, climatology page, read 15 Oct 2026)

So a trip in September falls at the peak of the season, and a trip in March or April falls outside it. We did not look up how often storms hit New Orleans, and we did not check any travel insurance terms. Look at the National Hurricane Center forecast the week you leave.

Humidity: not confirmed. The NOAA monthly normals we pulled give temperature and rain, and we found no humidity figure in them. The heat figures above are air temperatures only.

The big events, 2027 dates

Note: Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday) is 9 February 2027. Lundi Gras is Monday 8 February. Carnival begins on 6 January. The tourism board says hotels on St. Charles Avenue and near Canal Street fill first (New Orleans & Company, The Ultimate Guide to Mardi Gras, read 15 Oct 2026)

Note: French Quarter Festival: 8 to 11 April 2027 (frenchquarterfest.org, page header, read 15 Oct 2026). The site did not say whether entry is free

Note: Jazz Fest 2027: Thursday to Sunday on the weekends of 22 to 25 April and 29 April to 2 May, at the Fair Grounds Race Course in Gentilly. "Jazz Fest 2027 tickets are not yet on sale." The lineup "will be announced closer to the event date" (New Orleans & Company, Jazz Fest guide, read 15 Oct 2026). The festival's own ticket page says "Tickets to the 2027 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Presented by Shell Are Not Currently On Sale" and gives no 2027 dates (nojazzfest.com, home and tickets pages, read 15 Oct 2026)

• Mardi Gras: the parades are the draw. Read our Mardi Gras 2027 page, linked above, for the usual parade days and the streetcar rules.

• French Quarter Festival: one weekend in April. Same weather as a normal April day: average high 80.9 F.

• Jazz Fest: two weekends spanning late April and early May. The tourism board says it happens "rain or shine" and warns of heavy traffic on festival weekends.

Check each festival's own site for ticket and schedule changes. We did not check ticket prices.

When it is busiest: official facts and our estimate

Official: the tourism board says Mardi Gras hotels on the route fill first, and warns of heavy traffic on Jazz Fest weekends. We found no official hotel occupancy or rate figures for any month, so we give none.

Our estimate, from the dates above and not from data: the busiest stretch is Carnival season in late January and early February, the two Jazz Fest weekends, and the French Quarter Festival weekend. March, much of May, October and November have no festival we confirmed, so we would expect them to be calmer. We did not verify that. Book early for the festival dates.

The worst time to go, and why

July and August, in our judgment. NOAA's normals give average highs of 93.9 and 94.0 F, lows of 76.6 and 76.9 F, and the most rain days of the year in July. August also sits just before the hurricane peak on 10 September. If you go then, plan indoor stops for the afternoons.

September is the second weakest choice because it holds the hurricane peak, even though the average high is down to 90.1 F.

Which month for which plan

• Walking the French Quarter in comfort: March, April, October and November.

• Parades: late January to 9 February 2027.

• Music festivals: French Quarter Festival (8 to 11 April) or Jazz Fest (22 April to 2 May).

• Driest weather: October, at 3.58 inches and 4.4 rain days.

• Cool and quiet, in our estimate: December and January, with highs of 64 to 66 F.

What we checked and what can change

Read on 15 October 2026: NOAA NCEI 1991 to 2020 monthly normals for the Audubon station through the NCEI Data Service, the National Hurricane Center climatology page, frenchquarterfest.org, New Orleans & Company's Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras guides, and the nojazzfest.com home and tickets pages.

Not confirmed: any humidity figure, hotel rates or occupancy by month, Jazz Fest and French Quarter Festival ticket prices, the Jazz Fest dates on the festival's own site, 2027 parade schedules, and how often storms have hit the city. The Audubon station is one point in the city, so other neighborhoods can differ a little. Dates and festival plans can change, so check the official site before you book. We did not visit New Orleans for this page.