Athens, Ohio climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Athens's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 41.6 inches of precipitation and 18 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.2°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,056 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAthens Ou
- Station IDUSC00330279
- Location39.32°N 82.10°W
- Elevation684 ft (209 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population24,824
On October 14, the normal high in Athens is 66°F and the normal low 43°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 Athens.
- Jan 38° 22°
- Feb 42° 23°
- Mar 52° 30°
- Apr 65° 40°
- May 72° 50°
- Jun 80° 59°
- Jul 82° 63°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 76° 54°
- Oct 65° 42°
- Nov 53° 32°
- Dec 43° 27°
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 Athens each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.50 in), the least in January (2.89 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 22°F | 29.8°F | 2.89 | 5.8 | 13 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 23°F | 32.8°F | 2.94 | 5.9 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 30°F | 41.1°F | 3.57 | 2.3 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 40°F | 52.4°F | 3.78 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 61.1°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 80°F | 59°F | 69.4°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 82°F | 63°F | 72.7°F | 4.34 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.4°F | 3.16 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 54°F | 65.0°F | 3.18 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 42°F | 53.8°F | 2.93 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 32°F | 42.6°F | 2.91 | 0.5 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| December | 43°F | 27°F | 34.6°F | 3.16 | 3.0 | 13 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 42°F | 52.2°F | 41.56 | 17.6 | 138 | 11 | 124 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −6°C | −1.2°C | 73 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.4°C | 75 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 11°C | −1°C | 5.1°C | 91 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.3°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 74 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 6°C | −3°C | 1.4°C | 80 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00330279; 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 Athens?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00330279.
When is the last frost in Athens?
In Athens, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 8 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 251 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 179 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 202 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Athens in zone 6b in ZIP code 45701, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Ohio · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00330279; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Athens?
In a normal year in Athens, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 124 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 124a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 23high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in Athens's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 106°F, on July 25, 1934; the lowest is −28°F, on January 24, 1936.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 52.39 in; the snowiest season is 1984–85, with 58.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00330279; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ATHO1thr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Athens?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Athens, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.7 |
| February | 60% | 2.5 |
| March | 64% | 3.6 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 78% | 5.9 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 71% | 3.1 |
| November | 69% | 2.2 |
| December | 56% | 1.5 |
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 Athens need?
A normal year in Athens brings 5,386 heating degree days, 0% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 767 cooling degree days, 15% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,198 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,093 | 0 |
| February | 902 | 0 |
| March | 741 | 2 |
| April | 387 | 11 |
| May | 169 | 50 |
| June | 28 | 158 |
| July | 3 | 241 |
| August | 7 | 207 |
| September | 85 | 85 |
| October | 361 | 14 |
| November | 671 | 0 |
| December | 941 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,386 | 767 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00330279. 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.
How does Athens's climate compare?
Athens is warmer than 62 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Ohio, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.2°F is warmer than 50%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Athens is Dfa: continental, 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 Athens share this climate record?
10 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.
- The Plains, OH2,584 people · 3 mi NW
- Glouster, OH1,647 people · 12 mi N
- Chauncey, OH950 people · 6 mi N
- Stewart, OH560 people · 11 mi E
- Buchtel, OH519 people · 11 mi NW
- Jacksonville, OH397 people · 11 mi N
- Trimble, OH329 people · 11 mi N
- Amesville, OH168 people · 9 mi NE
- Millfield, OH112 people · 8 mi N
- New Marshfield, OH94 people · 6 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Athens's climate
What is the coldest month in Athens?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Athens?
Yes: 18 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Athens?
June, with 4.50 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 2.89 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Athens in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Athens in zone 6b in ZIP code 45701, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Athens?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Ohio climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Carpenter (2 mi S), OH14 miles from this station, 52.7°F a year
- Logan, OH21 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- McConnellsville Lake 7, OH26 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- New Lexington, OH29 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made