Big Stone Gap, VA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Big Stone Gap's primary NOAA station, BIG STONE GAP.
The climate verdict for Big Stone Gap
Water is the standout signal in Big Stone Gap, Virginia: 56.0 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 55°F. Its climate comfort score of 58/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 55°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 58/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 56.0"
- annual precipitation · 9" snow
- 186 days
- frost-free growing season
Big Stone Gap: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00440735 · Big Stone Gap, VA 55°F mean · 56.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 55°F
- RANK-MID #4,048
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ The Dalles
- PRCP-WET 56.0"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-MID 58/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,663 HDD
- STN-1 USC00440735
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: The Dalles Muni, WA ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every VA station list.
- Big Stone Gap (this station) 55°F
- Hot Abingdon, VA 55°F
- Near Saint Johns, AZ 55°F
- Cold Pickett State P…, TN 54°F
- Near The Dalles, WA 54°F
Climate Living Index · Big Stone Gap
Big Stone Gap: 55/100 · grade C
Big Stone Gap publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Big Stone Gap, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 58/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 118 calendar days | 66/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 9.2 inches/year | 64/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 54.5°F · 13.0° from 67.5°F | 58/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 186 days/year | 54/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 56.0 in · 21.0 from 35 in | 25/100 · F |
Big Stone Gap · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Big Stone Gap is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 33.9°F and warmest-month mean 73.5°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 73.5°F
- Coldest month
- 33.9°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Big Stone Gap sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Big Stone Gap's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 59th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 10% wettest
- Big Stone Gap's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 34th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Big Stone Gap compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Big Stone Gap's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
58 37th percentile score exceeds 37% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F (7°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 4.9" | 3.1" | 23.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 48°F (9°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 5.0" | 2.9" | 21.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 57°F (14°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 5.4" | 1.3" | 15.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 67°F (20°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 5.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 75°F (24°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.2 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 5.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| August | 83°F (29°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.7 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| October | 69°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.1" | 0.0" | 3.6 | 0.1 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.7" | 0.1" | 16.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 5.5" | 1.8" | 22.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 6, short of 90°F on every date, while 118 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 24°F near January 17.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 13, then returns to freezing around November 17, covering 118 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is May 16, when 44% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 6 at 29%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 141 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 9 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Big Stone Gap.
Where Big Stone Gap Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 56 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Big Stone Gap earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 3.1"
11.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.9"
11.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.3"
13.7 days with precipitation
12.1 days with precipitation
13.5 days with precipitation
13.0 days with precipitation
13.5 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
10.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.8"
12.4 days with precipitation
Big Stone Gap spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 27%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Big Stone Gap has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 39.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: December averages 5.5" and October 3.1". The three wettest months together take 29% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Big Stone Gap, it arrives in quantity
56.0" of precipitation falls across only about 141 wet days here, averaging 0.40 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 141 a year, 39% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.40 inches
- Most wet days
- March, about 14
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Big Stone Gap, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 9.2 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 4 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 20
50% probability date
Growing Season
186 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,663
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
863
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside VA closest to Big Stone Gap on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (55°F here).
- Chapman, KS 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Crossville, TN 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Estell Manor, NJ 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Fredericktown, MO 55°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (56.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Stearns, KY 56.1" · 0.1" off
- Natchitoches, LA 55.9" · 0.1" off
- Murfreesboro, TN 55.9" · 0.1" off
- Plant City, FL 56.1" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Big Stone Gap's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Big Stone Gap's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,663 annual heating degree days against 863 for cooling. Its 39.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Big Stone Gap's frost-free season lasts about 186 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Big Stone Gap's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 39.6°F. The annual average is 55°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Big Stone Gap carries 56.0 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Annual snowfall totals 9.2 inches. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Big Stone Gap's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Big Stone Gap, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Big Stone Gap's climate
How much rain does Big Stone Gap get? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Big Stone Gap's primary station: BIG STONE GAP (USC00440735). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 5107480). Match rule for Big Stone Gap: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Big Stone Gap comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.