How Cold Is a NYC Rooftop in Winter? The Numbers, Month by Month

Most advice about winter rooftops stops at "bring a coat." We wanted the actual numbers, so we pulled NOAA's climate normals, which are 30-year averages from 1991 to 2020. These are what a normal night looks like. Yours can be much warmer or colder, so check the forecast too.

A normal 7pm, month by month

NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals. Air, wind and feels-like at 7pm clock time from LaGuardia, the nearest station that publishes hourly wind. Snow is the monthly total at Central Park. Wet days have 0.1 inch or more of rain or melted snow, also Central Park. Sunset for mid-month at West 48th Street. Pulled November 2026.

How to read this

Feels like is what counts on an open deck. It's the wind chill, worked out with the National Weather Service formula. It's why a 41°F December evening feels like 34°F. The formula only applies at 50°F or colder, so October and April barely change.

The bad stretch is shorter than you'd guess, and it comes later. December is still 41°F at 7pm. January and February are the two months where an open deck stops being fun, and they're nearly the same. By March you're at 45°F, but it's the windiest month on the chart, so don't put the coat away yet.

These numbers aren't your roof. LaGuardia's instruments sit in the open near the standard height of about 33 feet, by the East River. A roof can be calmer, behind a wall, or windier, between two towers. We haven't measured any roof, so use the wind column as a starting point and not a promise.

Which roof works in which month

This is our own rule of thumb, based on the numbers above. If you only need one drink and a photo, you can push it further. If you're sitting through dinner, you can't.

Our other guide covers how closed roofs, domes and heat lamps work, and the questions to ask before you book.

Lunch isn't much warmer

People assume daytime is the warm option. Look at the hourly normals and in the deep of winter it barely is. In January, the normal at noon is 35.7°F and at 7pm it's 35.8°F. Noon in February is 37.4°F, against 37.7°F at 7pm. The warmest hour of a normal January day at LaGuardia is 3pm, and even that averages only about 37.6°F.

So choose a daytime rooftop for the sun and the view, not because it's warmer. And choose dinner for the lights, because the skyline is lit the moment you sit down.

When it gets dark

From the first Sunday of November to the second Sunday of March, sunset comes before most people's dinner reservations.

• Early December has the earliest sunset of the year, around 4:28pm. It's fully dark by about 5pm, with the skyline lit.
• January starts to pull back. Sunset is 4:39pm on the 1st and 5:13pm on February 1.
• March 14, 2027 is when the clocks change. Sunset goes from 6:00pm the day before to 7:01pm that evening. To watch it from a roof, a 5:30pm table catches it on March 13. Two days later you'd want 6:30pm.

If you want to see the sunset itself on a winter night, check that the place is open by then. In December, it can set before dinner service starts, and you'd be arriving to the lights instead. That's not a bad consolation.

Snow and rain

New York gets about 30 inches of snow in a normal season at Central Park, nearly all of it from December to March. In a normal January or February, about two days bring an inch or more. December and March bring just over one. Rain is more of a threat: about six or seven days a month get a tenth of an inch or more of rain or melted snow, all winter long.

What that means for a booking: if your date is fixed, like a birthday or a visit, assume one night in four or five could be wet, and pick a place with a real roof. A heat lamp can't do anything about sideways rain. Ask what happens to your booking if it snows, and whether you'd be moved indoors.

What changed this year at street level

You may also see outdoor tables on the street this winter, and the rules behind them just changed. Under the city's Dining Out NYC program, restaurants used to have to take roadway setups down from November 30 to March 31. Sidewalk cafes didn't have that limit. On August 31, 2026, the mayor signed a law making roadway dining year-round, and the city's Department of Transportation welcomed the change. The rules were still being written when we checked in November 2026, with a public hearing set for November 9.

So don't assume a shed you saw in October will be there in January. That program covers sidewalks and roadways. A rooftop is private property and isn't part of it.

What to wear, by feels-like

• Around 50°F or above: a jacket, and you're fine outside for a meal.
• Around 40°F: a real coat. You'll want it on the walk too, and on the deck it's not coming off.
• Around 30°F: coat, hat and gloves if you're outdoors. If it's heated and closed, dress for a room and leave the coat at your chair.
• In all cases: the walk to a West Side roof can be the coldest part of the night, because the river gives the wind a long run at you.

How it works on our roof

None of the numbers above describe our room, which is why we're telling you about it last. At Cantina Rooftop, 605 W 48th Street, the glass roof opens on warm days and it's closed and heated when it's cold. We're still on the far west side, so the walk from the subway is cold: about 13 min from the C and E at 50th Street.

Tuesday to Thursday 5pm to 11pm (last reservation 10pm), Friday 5pm to 3am, Saturday 12pm to 3am and Sunday 12pm to 9:30pm. Closed Mondays. In December, the skyline is already lit by the first dinner table. For holidays, call (212) 957-1700.