Big Sandy, Tennessee climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Big Sandy's normal year runs from 29°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 51.8 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.2°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,315 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBig Sandy
- Station IDUSC00400705
- Location36.23°N 88.09°W
- Elevation365 ft (111 m)
- Population497
On October 23, the normal high in Big Sandy is 69°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Big Sandy.
- Jan 47° 29°
- Feb 52° 33°
- Mar 62° 39°
- Apr 72° 47°
- May 79° 57°
- Jun 86° 66°
- Jul 88° 69°
- Aug 88° 68°
- Sep 82° 60°
- Oct 72° 48°
- Nov 60° 38°
- Dec 50° 32°
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 Big Sandy each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.32 in), the least in August (3.11 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 29°F | 38.1°F | 3.98 | 1.8 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 33°F | 42.3°F | 4.65 | 1.0 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 4.64 | 0.4 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 47°F | 59.3°F | 5.06 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 57°F | 68.0°F | 5.32 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 66°F | 75.7°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 9 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 69°F | 78.9°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 9 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 68°F | 77.8°F | 3.11 | 0.0 | 9 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 60°F | 71.4°F | 3.30 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 48°F | 60.0°F | 3.86 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 38°F | 49.3°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 32°F | 40.8°F | 5.22 | 0.6 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 49°F | 59.3°F | 51.79 | 4.1 | 121 | 52 | 80 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 101 mm | 5 cm |
| February | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 118 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 118 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 22°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 129 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 26°C | 14°C | 20.0°C | 135 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 21°C | 26.1°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.4°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 10°C | 0°C | 4.9°C | 133 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00400705; 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 Big Sandy?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00400705.
When is the last frost in Big Sandy?
In Big Sandy, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 8 in half of years and after April 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 29 in half of years and before October 14 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 81 year in 10 after April 23; 9 in 10 after March 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 291 year in 10 before October 14; 9 in 10 before November 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 202 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 225 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 28 in half of springs and before November 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Big Sandy in zone 7b in ZIP code 38221, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Big Sandy's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00400705; 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 Big Sandy?
In a normal year in Big Sandy, 52 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 80 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 121 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 52a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 80a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 121a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00400705.
How sunny is Big Sandy?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Big Sandy, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 2.3 |
| February | 63% | 2.8 |
| March | 68% | 3.9 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 81% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 65% | 2.0 |
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 Big Sandy need?
A normal year in Big Sandy brings 3,658 heating degree days, 32% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,618 cooling degree days, 78% 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 4,704 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 834 | 0 |
| February | 638 | 1 |
| March | 463 | 9 |
| April | 215 | 44 |
| May | 56 | 149 |
| June | 2 | 321 |
| July | 0 | 429 |
| August | 0 | 397 |
| September | 24 | 215 |
| October | 203 | 48 |
| November | 474 | 4 |
| December | 749 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,658 | 1,618 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00400705. 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 Big Sandy been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 60.3°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.3°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 59.6°F | +0.3°F | 45.76 | 6.6 |
| 2023 | 60.9°F | +1.6°F | 43.56 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | 61.3°F | +2.0°F | – | – |
| 2025 | 60.3°F | +1.0°F | – | 4.9 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00400705. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Big Sandy's climate compare?
Big Sandy is warmer than 86 of the other 115 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 15. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.3°F is warmer than 73%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Big Sandy 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.
Questions about Big Sandy's climate
What is the coldest month in Big Sandy?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Big Sandy?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Big Sandy?
May, with 5.32 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.11 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Big Sandy in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Big Sandy in zone 7b in ZIP code 38221, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Big Sandy's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Big Sandy?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 8; in one year in ten it comes after April 23. Waiting until April 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Paris, TN12 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Camden, TN12 miles from this station, 60.0°F a year
- Tennessee Ridge, TN18 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Waverly, TN21 miles from this station, 58.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made