Buchanan, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Buchanan's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 43.6 inches of precipitation and 11 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.7°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,108 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBuchanan
- Station IDUSC00441121
- Location37.52°N 79.68°W
- Elevation880 ft (268 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,207
On October 22, the normal high in Buchanan is 66°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Buchanan.
- Jan 44° 27°
- Feb 49° 29°
- Mar 57° 35°
- Apr 70° 44°
- May 77° 54°
- Jun 83° 63°
- Jul 87° 67°
- Aug 85° 66°
- Sep 79° 59°
- Oct 68° 47°
- Nov 57° 36°
- Dec 47° 30°
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 Buchanan each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.54 in), the least in February (2.68 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 27°F | 35.5°F | 3.16 | 2.5 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 29°F | 38.6°F | 2.68 | 2.3 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 35°F | 45.9°F | 3.69 | 1.8 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 44°F | 56.8°F | 3.82 | 0.1 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 54°F | 65.3°F | 4.44 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 63°F | 73.1°F | 3.94 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 67°F | 76.9°F | 4.54 | 0.0 | 10 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 85°F | 66°F | 75.4°F | 3.03 | 0.0 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 59°F | 69.0°F | 4.13 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 47°F | 57.5°F | 3.41 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 36°F | 46.0°F | 3.28 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 30°F | 38.5°F | 3.49 | 4.7 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 46°F | 56.6°F | 43.61 | 11.4 | 97 | 42 | 96 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 80 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 68 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.7°C | 94 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.8°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 12°C | 18.5°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 20°C | 24.9°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 19°C | 24.1°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 8°C | −1°C | 3.6°C | 89 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00441121; 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 Buchanan?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00441121.
When is the last frost in Buchanan?
In Buchanan, 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 31 in half of years and before October 18 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 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 205 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 228 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 Buchanan in zone 7b in ZIP code 24066, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00441121; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Buchanan?
In a normal year in Buchanan, 42 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 96 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 97 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 42a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 96a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 97a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1917) is 107°F, on July 29, 1930; the lowest is −13°F, on February 5, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2003, with 66.34 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 48.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00441121; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00441121. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Buchanan?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Buchanan, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and February the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.3 |
| February | 70% | 3.1 |
| March | 71% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 78% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 76% | 2.7 |
| December | 70% | 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 Buchanan need?
A normal year in Buchanan brings 4,271 heating degree days, 21% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,223 cooling degree days, 35% 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 3,986 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 914 | 0 |
| February | 738 | 0 |
| March | 591 | 1 |
| April | 266 | 18 |
| May | 85 | 94 |
| June | 7 | 250 |
| July | 0 | 369 |
| August | 1 | 323 |
| September | 31 | 151 |
| October | 247 | 16 |
| November | 571 | 1 |
| December | 820 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,271 | 1,223 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00441121. 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.
How does Buchanan's climate compare?
Buchanan is warmer than 47 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.6°F is warmer than 65%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Buchanan 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 Buchanan share this climate record?
2 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.
- Montvale, VA379 people · 10 mi S
- Eagle Rock, VA122 people · 10 mi NW
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 Buchanan's climate
What is the coldest month in Buchanan?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Buchanan?
Yes: 11 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Buchanan?
July, with 4.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.68 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Buchanan in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Buchanan in zone 7b in ZIP code 24066, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Buchanan?
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
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bedford, VA16 miles from this station, 57.0°F a year
- Hollins, VA19 miles from this station, 55.5°F a year
- Roanoke, VA22 miles from this station, 58.1°F a year
- Lexington, VA22 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made