Big Stone Gap, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Big Stone Gap's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 56.0 inches of precipitation and 9 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.5°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,423 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBig Stone Gap
- Station IDUSC00440735
- Location36.86°N 82.80°W
- Elevation1,466 ft (447 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population5,087
On October 22, the normal high in Big Stone Gap is 67°F and the normal low 40°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 Stone Gap.
- Jan 44° 24°
- Feb 48° 26°
- Mar 57° 33°
- Apr 67° 41°
- May 75° 51°
- Jun 81° 59°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 83° 62°
- Sep 79° 56°
- Oct 69° 43°
- Nov 57° 32°
- Dec 48° 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 Big Stone Gap each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in December (5.53 in), the least in October (3.14 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 24°F | 33.9°F | 4.87 | 3.1 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 26°F | 37.3°F | 4.95 | 2.9 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 33°F | 44.7°F | 5.38 | 1.3 | 14 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 41°F | 54.0°F | 5.03 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 51°F | 62.7°F | 5.08 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 59°F | 70.2°F | 4.59 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.5°F | 5.49 | 0.0 | 14 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 83°F | 62°F | 72.6°F | 4.49 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 56°F | 67.2°F | 3.80 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 43°F | 55.7°F | 3.14 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 32°F | 44.8°F | 3.66 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 27°F | 37.3°F | 5.53 | 1.8 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 43°F | 54.5°F | 56.01 | 9.2 | 141 | 13 | 108 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −5°C | 1.1°C | 124 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 126 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 137 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 5°C | 12.2°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 23.1°C | 139 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 6°C | 13.2°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 140 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00440735; 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 Stone Gap?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00440735.
When is the last frost in Big Stone Gap?
In Big Stone Gap, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 20 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 11 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 201 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 186 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 210 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 4 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Big Stone Gap in zone 7a in ZIP code 24246, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Big Stone Gap's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°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 USC00440735; 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 Stone Gap?
In a normal year in Big Stone Gap, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 108 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 141 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 108a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 141a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1990) is 102°F, on July 1, 2012; the lowest is −17°F, on February 20, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 73.01 in; the snowiest season is 2014–15, with 36.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00440735; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00440735. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Big Stone Gap?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Big Stone Gap, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and February the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.2 |
| February | 62% | 2.8 |
| March | 68% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 73% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 75% | 5.9 |
| August | 78% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.6 |
| November | 74% | 2.7 |
| 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 Stone Gap need?
A normal year in Big Stone Gap brings 4,663 heating degree days, 13% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 863 cooling degree days, 5% 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 3,474 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 964 | 0 |
| February | 777 | 0 |
| March | 628 | 0 |
| April | 335 | 6 |
| May | 127 | 56 |
| June | 15 | 171 |
| July | 2 | 265 |
| August | 1 | 239 |
| September | 48 | 113 |
| October | 303 | 13 |
| November | 606 | 0 |
| December | 857 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,663 | 863 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00440735. 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 Stone Gap been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 57.1°F, 2.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.5°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.3°F | +0.8°F | 49.40 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | 54.3°F | −0.2°F | 58.30 | 6.5 |
| 2023 | 56.4°F | +1.9°F | 43.09 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 57.1°F | +2.6°F | 58.19 | 10.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00440735. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Big Stone Gap's climate compare?
Big Stone Gap is warmer than 28 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 72. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.5°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Big Stone Gap 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 Big Stone Gap share this climate record?
7 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.
- Cumberland, KY1,788 people · 14 mi NW
- East Stone Gap, VA792 people · 3 mi E
- Lynch, KY601 people · 10 mi NW
- Benham, KY466 people · 11 mi NW
- Big Stone Gap East, VA430 people · 3 mi NE
- Keokee, VA294 people · 6 mi W
- Duffield, VA69 people · 9 mi S
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 Big Stone Gap's climate
What is the coldest month in Big Stone Gap?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Big Stone Gap?
Yes: 9 inches in a normal year, falling on 4 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Big Stone Gap?
December, with 5.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.14 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Big Stone Gap in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Big Stone Gap in zone 7a in ZIP code 24246, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Big Stone Gap's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Big Stone Gap?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 20; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pennington Gap, VA14 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Wise, VA16 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Whitesburg, KY17 miles from this station, 53.9°F a year
- Skyline (1 mi SE), KY19 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made