Bartow, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bartow's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 43.8 inches of precipitation and 67 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.6°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 25°C, 1,112 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBartow (1 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00460509
- Location38.53°N 79.77°W
- Elevation3,025 ft (922 m)
- Population (census place)74
On October 23, the normal high in Bartow is 59°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bartow.
- Jan 35° 17°
- Feb 39° 19°
- Mar 47° 26°
- Apr 60° 35°
- May 68° 45°
- Jun 74° 53°
- Jul 77° 56°
- Aug 76° 55°
- Sep 71° 48°
- Oct 61° 37°
- Nov 49° 28°
- Dec 39° 22°
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 Bartow each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.87 in), the least in October (2.86 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 17°F | 26.2°F | 3.42 | 16.0 | 17 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 39°F | 19°F | 29.0°F | 2.99 | 17.2 | 14 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 47°F | 26°F | 36.3°F | 4.09 | 13.9 | 15 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 35°F | 47.4°F | 3.81 | 2.5 | 15 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 68°F | 45°F | 56.4°F | 4.87 | 0.1 | 16 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 3.94 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 77°F | 56°F | 66.9°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 76°F | 55°F | 65.7°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 71°F | 48°F | 59.6°F | 3.49 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 37°F | 49.2°F | 2.86 | 0.6 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 49°F | 28°F | 38.4°F | 2.92 | 4.3 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 39°F | 22°F | 30.4°F | 3.67 | 12.8 | 15 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 37°F | 47.4°F | 43.78 | 67.4 | 163 | <1 | 153 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −8°C | −3.2°C | 87 mm | 41 cm |
| February | 4°C | −7°C | −1.7°C | 76 mm | 44 cm |
| March | 8°C | −4°C | 2.4°C | 104 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 97 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 124 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 23°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 14°C | 19.4°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 9°C | 15.3°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 3°C | 9.6°C | 73 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.6°C | 74 mm | 11 cm |
| December | 4°C | −6°C | −0.9°C | 93 mm | 33 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00460509; 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 Bartow?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00460509.
When is the last frost in Bartow?
In Bartow, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 5 in half of years and before September 21 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
- May 91 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 51 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 149 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 171 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bartow in zone 5b in ZIP code 26264, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bartow's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (28 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00460509; 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 Bartow?
In a normal year in Bartow, a 90°F day is rare, 153 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 163 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 153a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 163a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1944) is 93°F, on July 17, 2024; the lowest is −30°F, on January 20, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 64.23 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 112.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00460509; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00460509. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bartow?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bartow, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (75%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 2.0 |
| February | 66% | 2.9 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.9 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 4.4 |
| October | 71% | 3.3 |
| November | 72% | 2.4 |
| December | 64% | 1.8 |
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 Bartow need?
A normal year in Bartow brings 6,633 heating degree days, 23% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 250 cooling degree days, 72% 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 2,163 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,203 | 0 |
| February | 1,008 | 0 |
| March | 888 | 0 |
| April | 530 | 1 |
| May | 280 | 13 |
| June | 93 | 48 |
| July | 35 | 94 |
| August | 49 | 71 |
| September | 183 | 21 |
| October | 493 | 2 |
| November | 799 | 0 |
| December | 1,073 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,633 | 250 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00460509. 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 Bartow been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 48.9°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.4°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.3°F | +0.9°F | 42.31 | 34.5 |
| 2022 | 47.0°F | −0.4°F | 48.30 | 40.9 |
| 2023 | 48.9°F | +1.5°F | 32.63 | 18.2 |
Over 31 complete years from 1980 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.5°F per century (+0.36°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00460509; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bartow's climate compare?
Bartow is warmer than 3 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.4°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bartow is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Bartow share this climate record?
3 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.
- Durbin, WV243 people · 3 mi W
- Frank, WV193 people · 2 mi NW
- Monterey, VA164 people · 13 mi SE
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 Bartow's climate
What is the coldest month in Bartow?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Bartow?
Yes: 67 inches in a normal year, falling on 44 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (17.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bartow?
May, with 4.87 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 2.86 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bartow in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bartow in zone 5b in ZIP code 26264, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bartow's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Bartow?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Snowshoe, WV15 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Mill Gap, VA16 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Mustoe (1 mi SW), VA16 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Frost (3 mi NE), WV17 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made