Buchanan, VA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Buchanan's primary NOAA station, BUCHANAN.
The climate verdict for Buchanan
Buchanan, Virginia has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 57°F. It scores 78/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 72% of them.
- 57°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 78/100
- comfort score, above 72% of station-mapped location scores
- 43.6"
- annual precipitation · 11" snow
- 206 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Buchanan: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00441121 · Buchanan, VA 57°F mean · 43.6" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 57°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,460
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Holbrook
- PRCP-MID 43.6"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-TOP 78/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,271 HDD
- STN-1 USC00441121
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Holbrook, AZ (+ 0 °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.
- Buchanan (this station) 57°F
- Cold Mccarty Rch, NM 57°F
- Hot Veyo Powerhouse, UT 57°F
- Near Holbrook, AZ 57°F
- Near Huntington Tri…, WV 57°F
Climate Living Index · Buchanan
Buchanan: 69/100 · grade C
Buchanan publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Buchanan, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 78/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 96 calendar days | 77/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 43.6 in · 8.6 from 35 in | 70/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 206 days/year | 69/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 56.6°F · 10.9° from 67.5°F | 65/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 11.4 inches/year | 61/100 · C |
Buchanan · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Buchanan is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 35.5°F and warmest-month mean 76.9°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
- 76.9°F
- Coldest month
- 35.5°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 Buchanan sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Buchanan's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 65th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 66th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 42nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Buchanan compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Buchanan's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
78 Top 28% score exceeds 72% 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%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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) | 27°F (-3°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 3.2" | 2.5" | 22.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 2.7" | 2.3" | 19.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 57°F (14°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 3.7" | 1.8" | 13.7 | 0.1 |
| April | 70°F (21°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.8" | 0.1" | 3.3 | 0.8 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| June | 83°F (29°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 9.2 |
| July | 87°F (30°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.4 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.1 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| October | 68°F (20°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 2.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 47°F (8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 3.5" | 4.7" | 21.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 5, short of 90°F on every date, while 96 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 26°F near January 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 3, then returns to freezing around November 29, covering 96 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 27, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 3 at 21%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 97 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 20 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Buchanan.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 2.5"
7.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.3"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.8"
8.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
9.0 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.7"
7.4 days with precipitation
Buchanan 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 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Buchanan has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 4.5" and February 2.7". The three wettest months together take 30% 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 Buchanan, it arrives in quantity
43.6" of precipitation falls across only about 97 wet days here, averaging 0.45 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 97 a year, 26% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.45 inches
- Most wet days
- May, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 6
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 Buchanan, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 11.4 inches of snow a year here, most likely in December. 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 5 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 31
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 8
50% probability date
Growing Season
206 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,271
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,223
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside VA closest to Buchanan 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 (57°F here).
- Albion, IL 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Calico Rock, AR 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Eminence, MO 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Girard, KS 57°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (43.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Charlotte, NC 43.6" · 0.0" off
- Key West, FL 43.6" · 0.0" off
- Boston, MA 43.6" · 0.0" off
- Butler, MO 43.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Buchanan's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Buchanan's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,271 annual heating degree days against 1,223 for cooling. Its 41.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Buchanan's frost-free season lasts about 206 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 Buchanan's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 41.4°F. The annual average is 57°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Buchanan's 43.6 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Annual snowfall totals 11.4 inches. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Buchanan'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 Buchanan, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Buchanan's climate
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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 Buchanan's primary station: BUCHANAN (USC00441121). 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 5110744). Match rule for Buchanan: 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 Buchanan 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.