Cape Charles, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cape Charles's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 44.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.7°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,129 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCape Charles (5 mi ENE)
- Station IDUSW00003739
- Location37.29°N 75.93°W
- Elevation29 ft (9 m)
- Population1,288
On October 23, the normal high in Cape Charles is 66°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cape Charles.
- Jan 47° 32°
- Feb 49° 33°
- Mar 55° 39°
- Apr 65° 48°
- May 72° 58°
- Jun 81° 66°
- Jul 85° 71°
- Aug 83° 69°
- Sep 78° 64°
- Oct 69° 53°
- Nov 59° 43°
- Dec 51° 36°
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 Cape Charles each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.67 in), the least in February (2.91 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 32°F | 39.4°F | 3.37 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 33°F | 41.0°F | 2.91 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 55°F | 39°F | 46.8°F | 3.52 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 48°F | 56.1°F | 3.37 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 58°F | 64.9°F | 3.47 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 66°F | 73.5°F | 3.82 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 85°F | 71°F | 78.3°F | 4.67 | 11 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 83°F | 69°F | 76.2°F | 4.14 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 78°F | 64°F | 70.9°F | 4.21 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 53°F | 60.8°F | 4.35 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 43°F | 50.9°F | 3.08 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 51°F | 36°F | 43.3°F | 3.54 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 51°F | 58.5°F | 44.45 | 126 | 14 | 52 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 0°C | 4.1°C | 86 mm |
| February | 9°C | 1°C | 5.0°C | 74 mm |
| March | 13°C | 4°C | 8.2°C | 89 mm |
| April | 18°C | 9°C | 13.4°C | 86 mm |
| May | 22°C | 14°C | 18.3°C | 88 mm |
| June | 27°C | 19°C | 23.1°C | 97 mm |
| July | 30°C | 22°C | 25.7°C | 119 mm |
| August | 29°C | 21°C | 24.6°C | 105 mm |
| September | 26°C | 18°C | 21.6°C | 107 mm |
| October | 20°C | 12°C | 16.0°C | 110 mm |
| November | 15°C | 6°C | 10.5°C | 78 mm |
| December | 11°C | 2°C | 6.3°C | 90 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Painter (21 miles away), gets 7 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003739; 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 Cape Charles?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USW00003739.
When is the last frost in Cape Charles?
In Cape Charles, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 28 in half of years and after April 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 17 in half of years and before November 4 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
- March 281 year in 10 after April 10; 9 in 10 after March 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 171 year in 10 before November 4; 9 in 10 before December 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 234 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 262 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 15 in half of springs and before December 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cape Charles in zone 8a in ZIP code 23310, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cape Charles's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (15 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00003739; 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 Cape Charles?
In a normal year in Cape Charles, 14 days a year reach 90°F, 52 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 52a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 126a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 2004) is 102°F, on July 25, 2010; the lowest is 5°F, on January 30, 2014.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2009, with 51.76 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003739; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00003739. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cape Charles?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cape Charles, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (84%) and December the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.3 |
| February | 71% | 3.1 |
| March | 73% | 4.1 |
| April | 77% | 5.3 |
| May | 78% | 6.0 |
| June | 82% | 6.5 |
| July | 84% | 6.3 |
| August | 82% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.6 |
| October | 76% | 3.5 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| 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 Cape Charles need?
A normal year in Cape Charles brings 3,706 heating degree days, 31% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,374 cooling degree days, 51% 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 4,312 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 795 | 0 |
| February | 672 | 0 |
| March | 567 | 3 |
| April | 287 | 20 |
| May | 91 | 89 |
| June | 7 | 263 |
| July | 0 | 412 |
| August | 0 | 349 |
| September | 15 | 192 |
| October | 173 | 42 |
| November | 426 | 3 |
| December | 674 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,706 | 1,374 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003739. 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 Cape Charles been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 58.7°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.5°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.5°F | +1.0°F | 35.65 |
| 2022 | 59.0°F | +0.5°F | 38.13 |
| 2023 | 60.0°F | +1.5°F | 46.81 |
| 2024 | 59.7°F | +1.2°F | 41.56 |
| 2025 | 58.7°F | +0.2°F | 39.67 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003739. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cape Charles's climate compare?
Cape Charles is warmer than 61 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.5°F is warmer than 70%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cape Charles 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 Cape Charles share this climate record?
Cheriton has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Cheriton, VA458 people · 2 mi W
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 Cape Charles's climate
What is the coldest month in Cape Charles?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Cape Charles?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Cape Charles's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Painter (21 miles away), records 7 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Cape Charles?
July, with 4.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cape Charles in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cape Charles in zone 8a in ZIP code 23310, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cape Charles's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Cape Charles?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 28; in one year in ten it comes after April 10. Waiting until April 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eastville, VA7 miles from this station, 59.2°F a year
- Painter, VA21 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Hampton, VA27 miles from this station, 59.8°F a year
- N, VA30 miles from this station, 57.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made