Bluefield, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bluefield's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 41.2 inches of precipitation and 35 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.2°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,047 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBluefield Mercer County Airport
- Station IDUSW00003859
- Location37.30°N 81.21°W
- Elevation2,870 ft (875 m)
- Population9,157
On October 22, the normal high in Bluefield is 61°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bluefield.
- Jan 40° 24°
- Feb 43° 27°
- Mar 51° 33°
- Apr 63° 43°
- May 70° 51°
- Jun 76° 58°
- Jul 79° 62°
- Aug 78° 61°
- Sep 73° 55°
- Oct 63° 45°
- Nov 52° 35°
- Dec 43° 28°
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 Bluefield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.61 in), the least in November (2.55 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 24°F | 31.9°F | 3.03 | 9.9 | 14 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 43°F | 27°F | 34.9°F | 2.90 | 8.8 | 14 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 51°F | 33°F | 42.2°F | 3.84 | 6.5 | 15 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 43°F | 52.7°F | 3.64 | 0.9 | 14 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 70°F | 51°F | 60.3°F | 4.61 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 76°F | 58°F | 67.1°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 62°F | 70.3°F | 4.36 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 78°F | 61°F | 69.3°F | 3.14 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 73°F | 55°F | 63.5°F | 3.24 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 45°F | 53.7°F | 2.78 | 0.5 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 52°F | 35°F | 43.5°F | 2.55 | 1.4 | 11 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 43°F | 28°F | 35.5°F | 3.01 | 6.6 | 13 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 43°F | 52.1°F | 41.24 | 34.6 | 154 | 2 | 92 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 77 mm | 25 cm |
| February | 6°C | −3°C | 1.6°C | 74 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 11°C | 1°C | 5.7°C | 98 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 17°C | 6°C | 11.5°C | 92 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 21°C | 11°C | 15.7°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 15°C | 19.5°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 17°C | 21.3°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 16°C | 20.7°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 13°C | 17.5°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 7°C | 12.1°C | 71 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 11°C | 2°C | 6.4°C | 65 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 6°C | −2°C | 1.9°C | 76 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003859; 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 Bluefield?
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 USW00003859.
When is the last frost in Bluefield?
In Bluefield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 22 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 211 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 221 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 182 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 205 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bluefield in zone 7a in ZIP code 24701. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bluefield's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (29 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00003859; 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 Bluefield?
In a normal year in Bluefield, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 92 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 154 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 92a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 21high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 154a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in Bluefield's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1909) is 99°F, on July 28, 1952; the lowest is −25°F, on December 30, 1917.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2004, with 54.17 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 77.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003859; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record BLFthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bluefield?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bluefield, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (76%) and February the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 60% | 2.0 |
| February | 60% | 2.7 |
| March | 65% | 3.8 |
| April | 70% | 5.0 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 74% | 5.8 |
| August | 76% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.5 |
| October | 71% | 3.4 |
| November | 71% | 2.5 |
| December | 61% | 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 Bluefield need?
A normal year in Bluefield brings 5,219 heating degree days, 3% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 536 cooling degree days, 41% 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 2,973 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,028 | 0 |
| February | 841 | 0 |
| March | 708 | 1 |
| April | 380 | 10 |
| May | 182 | 36 |
| June | 41 | 106 |
| July | 8 | 174 |
| August | 13 | 146 |
| September | 101 | 56 |
| October | 357 | 7 |
| November | 647 | 1 |
| December | 913 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,219 | 536 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003859. 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 Bluefield been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.5°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.1°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.0°F | +0.9°F | 34.05 | 34.6 |
| 2022 | 52.1°F | at normal | 49.78 | 35.4 |
| 2023 | 53.5°F | +1.4°F | 41.86 | 12.9 |
| 2025 | 52.5°F | +0.4°F | 31.11 | 43.0 |
Over 62 complete years from 1961 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.8°F per century (+0.26°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003859; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bluefield's climate compare?
Bluefield is warmer than 20 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 11. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.1°F is warmer than 50%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bluefield 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 Bluefield share this climate record?
12 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.
- Bluefield, VA4,871 people · 6 mi SW
- Bluewell, WV2,281 people · 3 mi NW
- Brush Fork, WV1,213 people · 2 mi SW
- Springville, VA953 people · 12 mi SW
- Lashmeet, WV734 people · 9 mi N
- Montcalm, WV541 people · 5 mi NW
- Bastian, VA417 people · 10 mi S
- Bramwell, WV263 people · 6 mi NW
- Falls Mills, VA97 people · 6 mi W
- Matoaka, WV92 people · 9 mi N
- Mechanicsburg, VA54 people · 18 mi SE
- Rocky Gap, VA7 people · 7 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.
What do Bluefield's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Bluefield. This page uses Bluefield Mercer County Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluefield station USC00460925 | 3 mi S | 2,870 ft | 51.5°F | 22°F | 81°F | 45.4 | 40 | April 30 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Bluefield's climate
What is the coldest month in Bluefield?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Bluefield?
Yes: 35 inches in a normal year, falling on 25 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bluefield?
May, with 4.61 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 2.55 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bluefield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bluefield in zone 7a in ZIP code 24701. By the same method at Bluefield's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Bluefield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 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
- Elkhorn, WV12 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- Athens, WV13 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- Bland, VA14 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Burkes Garden, VA16 miles from this station, 49.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made