New Orleans has a subtropical climate which means it has hot and humid summers and mild winters. This therefore makes it a year round holiday destination. If you are visiting in midsummer you can expect temperatures to average around 30 degrees and the highest ever temperature recorded in New Orleans was 39 degrees and this was in 1980. Even in winter the temperatures hover around 15 degrees although the mornings are much colder. The winter months are December, January and February and the lowest temperature on record in New Orleans is –14 which occurred on 13th February 1899.
You can expect heavy rainfall in the late summer months, which is often left over’s from tropical storms. They normally experience heavy rain between June and September during the gulf coast hurricane season. This has caused flooding in the past. The average rainfall in New Orleans each year is 1630mm. The area is at great risk of hurricanes because of low elevation and it is surrounded by water from the north, south and east side of the city. New Orleans has even been classed as the nation’s most vulnerable city to hurricanes by the federal emergency management agency.
Parts of greater New Orleans have been flooded in the past due to major hurricanes such as the Grand Isle hurricane of 1909, New Orleans hurricane of 1915, the 1947 Fort Lauderdale hurricane, hurricane Flossy in 1956, hurricane Betsy in 1965, hurricane George in 1998, hurricane Katrina in 2005, hurricane Rita in 2005 and hurricane Ike in 2008. The most famous in modern times being hurricane Katrina in 2005, which the area is still recovering from and is considered to be the most disastrous hurricane the city has seen.

