New Orleans · Month comparison

April vs October

April ranks #1 overall vs October at #2. Jazz Fest weekend (late April): the city's other peak event — 500,000 people, 12 stages, the best live music in America.

New Orleans April — Louis Armstrong statue near Jazz Fest at the Fairgrounds

April

#1 of 12 months

Best match

Jazz Fest weekend (late April): the city's other peak event — 500,000 people, 12 stages, the best live music in America.

  • ↑New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (last weekend of April, first of May): 12 stages at the Fairgrounds with everyone from local brass bands to international headliners — the world's greatest concentrated live music event
  • ↑26°C and low humidity: the single most comfortable weather window of the year for outdoor eating, walking, and the festival grounds
New Orleans October — autumn colours in the Garden District

October

#2 of 12 months

Best match

The city reawakens as hurricane season closes: Voodoo Fest, pleasant temperatures, and a city that feels genuinely itself again.

  • ↑Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (Halloween weekend): a major three-day festival at City Park — rock, hip-hop, and electronic acts in an outdoor festival that has nothing of the tourist veneer of Mardi Gras
  • ↑25°C and the lowest humidity since May: finally comfortable for walking the Garden District, the cemeteries, and Magazine Street antique shops
FactorAprilOctober
Weather score
8
7
Value score
5
6
Crowd score
4
7
Events score
9
7
Atmosphere
9
8
Avg high temp26.4°C25.4°C
Monthly rain105mm88mm
Daily sunshine7.8hrs6.5hrs

April trade-offs

  • ↓Jazz Fest weekend: hotels within 20 blocks of the Fairgrounds sell out months in advance; prices spike 60–80%
  • ↓The city is genuinely packed during both festival weekends — book Commander's Palace, Dooky Chase, or Cochon weeks out
  • ↓105mm of rain: April showers are real — the Fairgrounds becomes muddy in wet years; bring boots

October trade-offs

  • ↓The hurricane season officially ends 30 November; October still carries residual risk, though the statistical peak has passed
  • ↓88mm of rain is light by New Orleans standards but showers remain frequent; an umbrella is still standard equipment
  • ↓The city is quiet enough that some smaller restaurants and bars keep reduced hours compared to Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras season
See all 12 months for New Orleans →April in detail →October in detail →
Scores compare months within New Orleans. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →