Charleston, WV Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Charleston's primary NOAA station, CHARLESTON WFO.
The climate verdict for Charleston
Water is the standout signal in Charleston, West Virginia: 48.2 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 54°F. Its climate comfort score of 64/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 49% of station-mapped location scores.
- 54°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 64/100
- comfort score, above 49% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.2"
- precipitation, annual total
- 180 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Charleston: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00461579 · Charleston, WV 54°F mean · 48.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 54°F
- RANK-MID #3,979
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Reno
- PRCP-MID 48.2"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-MID 64/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,846 HDD
- STN-1 USC00461579
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Reno, NV (+ 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 WV station list.
- Charleston (this station) 54°F
- Cold New York Jfk, NY 54°F
- Hot Reno, NV 54°F
- Near Clayton, NM 54°F
- Near Salem, MO 54°F
Climate Living Index · Charleston
Charleston: 56/100 · grade C
Charleston publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Charleston, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 64/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 127 calendar days | 60/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 54.4°F · 13.1° from 67.5°F | 57/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 48.2 in · 13.2 from 35 in | 54/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 180 days/year | 50/100 · D |
Charleston · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Charleston is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 32.7°F and warmest-month mean 74.7°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
- 74.7°F
- Coldest month
- 32.7°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 Charleston sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Charleston's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 58th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 23% wettest
- Charleston's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 44th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Charleston compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Charleston's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
64 49th percentile score exceeds 49% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F (6°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 3.5" | 24.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 46°F (8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 3.3" | 22.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 56°F (13°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 4.4" | 18.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.1" | 6.4 | 0.4 |
| May | 76°F (24°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 5.2" | 0.5 | 0.8 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.4" | 0.0 | 4.4 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 5.8" | 0.0 | 7.2 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.7" | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| September | 80°F (26°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 3.5" | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| October | 68°F (20°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.1" | 4.5 | 0.4 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.1" | 16.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 47°F (8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 4.1" | 22.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 9, short of 90°F on every date, while 127 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 22°F near January 20.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 21, then returns to freezing around November 16, covering 127 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 February 5, when 50% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 10 at 29%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 157 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 9 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Charleston.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
15.3 days with precipitation
14.1 days with precipitation
14.7 days with precipitation
14.4 days with precipitation
14.6 days with precipitation
13.7 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
10.8 days with precipitation
9.1 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
15.0 days with precipitation
Charleston spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Charleston has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 42°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 5.8" and October 3.1". The three wettest months together take 32% 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.
How Charleston's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 157 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 48.2" between them, or roughly 0.31 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 23
50% probability date
Growing Season
180 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,846
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,018
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WV closest to Charleston 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 (54°F here).
- Arlington, OR 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Bent Creek, NC 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Bloomfield, NM 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Effingham, IL 54°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Tifton, GA 48.2" · 0.0" off
- Springboro, PA 48.2" · 0.0" off
- Pageland, SC 48.2" · 0.0" off
- Milledgeville, GA 48.2" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Charleston's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Charleston's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,846 annual heating degree days against 1,018 for cooling. Its 42.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Charleston's frost-free season lasts about 180 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 Charleston's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 42.0°F. The annual average is 54°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Charleston carries 48.2 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Charleston'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 Charleston, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Charleston's climate
How much rain does Charleston get? ▼
How cold does Charleston get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Charleston? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Charleston's primary station: CHARLESTON WFO (USC00461579). 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 5414600). Match rule for Charleston: 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 Charleston 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.