Cape Charles, VA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Cape Charles's primary NOAA station, CAPE CHARLES 5 ENE.
The climate verdict for Cape Charles
Cape Charles, Virginia has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 59°F. It scores 80/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 76% of them.
- 59°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 80/100
- comfort score, above 76% of station-mapped location scores
- 44.5"
- yearly precipitation total
- 234 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Cape Charles: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00003739 · Cape Charles, VA 59°F mean · 44.5" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 59°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,871
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Murfreesboro
- PRCP-MID 44.5"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-TOP 80/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,706 HDD
- STN-1 USW00003739
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Murfreesboro, NC (+ 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.
- Cape Charles (this station) 59°F
- Hot Randleman, NC 59°F
- Near Murfreesboro, NC 59°F
- Near Chesnee, SC 59°F
- Near Tullahoma, TN 59°F
Climate Living Index · Cape Charles
Cape Charles: 81/100 · grade B
Cape Charles publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Cape Charles, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 80/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 21 calendar days | 98/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 234 days/year | 83/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 58.5°F · 9.0° from 67.5°F | 71/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 44.5 in · 9.5 from 35 in | 67/100 · C |
Cape Charles · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Cape Charles is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 39.4°F and warmest-month mean 78.3°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
- 78.3°F
- Coldest month
- 39.4°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 Cape Charles sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Cape Charles's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 29% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Cape Charles sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 67th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 31st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Cape Charles compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Cape Charles's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
80 Top 24% score exceeds 76% 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%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F (8°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 3.4" | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 2.9" | 13.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 55°F (13°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.5" | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 65°F (18°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.4" | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 3.5" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.8" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| July | 85°F (30°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 4.7" | 0.0 | 6.9 |
| August | 83°F (29°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 4.1" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.2" | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| October | 69°F (20°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 4.3" | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| November | 59°F (15°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 3.1" | 3.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 51°F (11°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 11.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 13, short of 90°F on every date, while 21 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 32°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
Freezing normal lows persist into February 2, covering 21 dates.
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 June 1, when 40% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 19 at 29%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 126 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 14 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 18°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Cape Charles.
Where Cape Charles Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 18°F.
Cape Charles 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
10.1 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
11.9 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
10.8 days with precipitation
12.1 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
Cape Charles spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Cape Charles has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 4.7" and February 2.9". 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 Cape Charles, it arrives in quantity
44.5" of precipitation falls across only about 126 wet days here, averaging 0.35 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 126 a year, 35% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.35 inches
- Most wet days
- August, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 9
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 17
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 28
50% probability date
Growing Season
234 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,706
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,374
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside VA closest to Cape Charles 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 (59°F here).
- Anna, IL 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Berkeley, CA 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Carthage, TN 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Cherokee, OK 59°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (44.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Plymouth, NH 44.5" · 0.0" off
- Old Town, ME 44.4" · 0.0" off
- Clarence, PA 44.5" · 0.0" off
- Weldon Spring, MO 44.4" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Cape Charles's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Cape Charles's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,706 annual heating degree days against 1,374 for cooling. Its 38.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Cape Charles's frost-free season lasts about 234 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 Cape Charles's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.9°F. The annual average is 59°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Cape Charles's 44.5 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Cape Charles'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 Cape Charles, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Cape Charles's climate
How much rain does Cape Charles get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Cape Charles? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Cape Charles's primary station: CAPE CHARLES 5 ENE (USW00003739). 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 5112808). Match rule for Cape Charles: 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 Cape Charles 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.