Ashland, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ashland's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 45.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.4°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,164 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAshland Hanover County Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00093775
- Location37.71°N 77.43°W
- Elevation205 ft (63 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population7,910
On October 22, the normal high in Ashland is 68°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ashland.
- Jan 47° 28°
- Feb 51° 30°
- Mar 59° 36°
- Apr 70° 45°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 85° 63°
- Jul 89° 68°
- Aug 87° 66°
- Sep 81° 59°
- Oct 70° 48°
- Nov 60° 38°
- Dec 51° 31°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Ashland each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.93 in), the least in February (2.87 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 28°F | 37.5°F | 3.48 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 51°F | 30°F | 40.2°F | 2.87 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 36°F | 47.5°F | 3.89 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 45°F | 57.4°F | 3.43 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 65.8°F | 4.33 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 63°F | 74.0°F | 4.14 | 12 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 89°F | 68°F | 78.3°F | 3.98 | 13 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 66°F | 76.5°F | 4.93 | 13 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 59°F | 70.0°F | 4.04 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 48°F | 58.8°F | 3.65 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 38°F | 48.6°F | 3.39 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 51°F | 31°F | 40.9°F | 3.68 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 47°F | 58.0°F | 45.81 | 131 | 43 | 88 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −2°C | 3.1°C | 88 mm |
| February | 11°C | −1°C | 4.6°C | 73 mm |
| March | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 99 mm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 14.1°C | 87 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 110 mm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 23.3°C | 105 mm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 25.7°C | 101 mm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.7°C | 125 mm |
| September | 27°C | 15°C | 21.1°C | 103 mm |
| October | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 93 mm |
| November | 15°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 86 mm |
| December | 10°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 93 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Ashland's own co-op station Ashland station does: 15 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093775; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Ashland?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (11).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093775.
When is the last frost in Ashland?
In Ashland, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 10 in half of years and after April 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 17 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 101 year in 10 after April 29; 9 in 10 after March 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 202 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 227 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 28 in half of springs and before November 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ashland in zone 7b in ZIP code 23005. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ashland's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (23 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00093775; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Ashland?
In a normal year in Ashland, 43 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 88 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 43a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 88a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 105°F, on July 24, 2010; the lowest is −5°F, on January 28, 2000.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 61.42 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093775; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093775. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ashland?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ashland, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and March the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.1 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 77% | 2.7 |
| December | 72% | 2.1 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Ashland need?
A normal year in Ashland brings 3,957 heating degree days, 26% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,420 cooling degree days, 56% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,310 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 851 | 0 |
| February | 695 | 1 |
| March | 550 | 6 |
| April | 264 | 36 |
| May | 87 | 113 |
| June | 8 | 278 |
| July | 0 | 411 |
| August | 1 | 357 |
| September | 30 | 181 |
| October | 227 | 35 |
| November | 496 | 2 |
| December | 749 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,957 | 1,420 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093775. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Ashland been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 60.9°F, 2.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.0°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.8°F | +1.8°F | 41.18 |
| 2022 | 59.3°F | +1.3°F | 43.12 |
| 2023 | 60.5°F | +2.5°F | 35.41 |
| 2024 | 60.9°F | +2.9°F | 42.03 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093775. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ashland's climate compare?
Ashland is warmer than 54 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 37. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.0°F is warmer than 69%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ashland is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Ashland share this climate record?
11 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Tuckahoe, VA48,610 people · 12 mi SW
- Mechanicsville, VA38,437 people · 7 mi SE
- Short Pump, VA28,177 people · 11 mi W
- Laurel, VA18,180 people · 6 mi SW
- Glen Allen, VA16,630 people · 4 mi SW
- Lakeside, VA12,845 people · 7 mi S
- Wyndham, VA12,084 people · 10 mi W
- Innsbrook, VA8,559 people · 9 mi SW
- Dumbarton, VA8,407 people · 8 mi SW
- Chamberlayne, VA5,000 people · 6 mi S
- Hanover, VA52 people · 5 mi NE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Ashland's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Ashland. This page uses Ashland Hanover County Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland station USC00440327 | 1 mi SW | 220 ft | 57.5°F | 27°F | 87°F | 45.3 | 15 | April 10 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Ashland's climate
What is the coldest month in Ashland?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Ashland?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Ashland's NOAA station; Ashland's own co-op station Ashland station records 15 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Ashland?
August, with 4.93 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ashland in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ashland in zone 7b in ZIP code 23005. By the same method at Ashland's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Ashland?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 10; in one year in ten it comes after April 29. Waiting until April 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sandston, VA14 miles from this station, 57.5°F a year
- Richmond, VA16 miles from this station, 59.0°F a year
- Walkerton (2 mi NW), VA22 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Crozier, VA24 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made