Charleston, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Charleston's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 46.2 inches of precipitation and 32 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.4°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,174 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCharleston - West Virginia International Yeager Airport
- Station IDUSW00013866
- Location38.38°N 81.59°W
- Elevation910 ft (277 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population46,482
On October 22, the normal high in Charleston is 67°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Charleston.
- Jan 44° 26°
- Feb 48° 29°
- Mar 57° 35°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 76° 53°
- Jun 83° 62°
- Jul 86° 66°
- Aug 85° 64°
- Sep 80° 57°
- Oct 69° 45°
- Nov 57° 36°
- Dec 48° 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 Charleston each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.38 in), the least in October (2.91 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 26°F | 35.0°F | 3.27 | 10.3 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 29°F | 38.2°F | 3.36 | 7.7 | 14 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 35°F | 46.0°F | 4.14 | 5.9 | 15 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 56.9°F | 3.56 | 0.5 | 13 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 53°F | 64.7°F | 4.93 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 62°F | 72.3°F | 4.72 | 0.0 | 13 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 66°F | 75.8°F | 5.38 | 0.0 | 13 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 64°F | 74.6°F | 3.75 | 0.0 | 11 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 57°F | 68.3°F | 3.46 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 45°F | 57.0°F | 2.91 | 0.6 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 36°F | 46.4°F | 3.20 | 1.5 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 30°F | 38.7°F | 3.56 | 5.0 | 14 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 46°F | 56.1°F | 46.24 | 31.5 | 151 | 24 | 94 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 1.7°C | 83 mm | 26 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 85 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 105 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.8°C | 90 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 25°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 23.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 74 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 8.0°C | 81 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 9°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 90 mm | 13 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013866; 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 Charleston?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, 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 USW00013866.
When is the last frost in Charleston?
In Charleston, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 16 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 26 in half of years and before October 13 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 161 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 261 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 192 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 217 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 1 in half of springs and before November 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Charleston in zone 7a across its 7 ZIP code areas (7a in 25314, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Charleston's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00013866; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Charleston ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Charleston's 7 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Charleston?
In a normal year in Charleston, 24 days a year reach 90°F, 94 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 151 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 24a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 94a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 15high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 151a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in Charleston's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1892) is 108°F, on July 4, 1931; the lowest is −17°F, on December 30, 1917.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 67.05 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 106.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013866; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record CRWthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Charleston, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 65°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 66°F, above the 65°F at which most people call the air sticky; the driest air comes in January (25°F). March is the windiest month (5.7 mph on average), and September has the most clear or nearly clear hours (47%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 68% | 54% | 5.3 mph | 31% | 46% |
| February | 29°F | 64% | 50% | 5.6 mph | 33% | 44% |
| March | 37°F | 58% | 41% | 5.7 mph | 38% | 34% |
| April | 47°F | 64% | 44% | 4.7 mph | 39% | 25% |
| May | 59°F | 73% | 52% | 3.7 mph | 37% | 18% |
| June | 65°F | 74% | 53% | 3.4 mph | 39% | 11% |
| July | 66°F | 77% | 55% | 2.9 mph | 37% | 11% |
| August | 64°F | 77% | 51% | 2.7 mph | 43% | 13% |
| September | 54°F | 76% | 50% | 3.2 mph | 47% | 20% |
| October | 40°F | 68% | 46% | 3.8 mph | 45% | 30% |
| November | 33°F | 69% | 53% | 4.8 mph | 34% | 44% |
| December | 28°F | 71% | 57% | 5.1 mph | 31% | 49% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00013866. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Charleston?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Charleston, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and January the cloudiest (57%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.8 |
| February | 59% | 2.5 |
| March | 64% | 3.6 |
| April | 69% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 76% | 5.8 |
| August | 78% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.5 |
| October | 70% | 3.2 |
| November | 69% | 2.3 |
| December | 57% | 1.6 |
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 Charleston need?
A normal year in Charleston brings 4,353 heating degree days, 19% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,162 cooling degree days, 28% 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 3,950 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 930 | 0 |
| February | 751 | 0 |
| March | 596 | 5 |
| April | 272 | 30 |
| May | 104 | 94 |
| June | 10 | 229 |
| July | 0 | 333 |
| August | 1 | 300 |
| September | 45 | 144 |
| October | 271 | 23 |
| November | 559 | 2 |
| December | 816 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,353 | 1,162 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013866. 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 Charleston been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.6°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.7°F | +0.6°F | 38.81 | 14.5 |
| 2022 | 55.7°F | −0.4°F | 54.65 | 33.2 |
| 2023 | 57.1°F | +1.0°F | 36.87 | 1.6 |
| 2024 | 58.9°F | +2.8°F | 41.29 | 15.2 |
| 2025 | 56.6°F | +0.5°F | 49.01 | 40.3 |
Over 74 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.7°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013866; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Charleston's climate compare?
Charleston is warmer than 57 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.1°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Charleston 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 Charleston share this climate record?
9 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.
- South Charleston, WV13,177 people · 7 mi W
- Pinch, WV3,893 people · 6 mi E
- Marmet, WV1,423 people · 9 mi S
- Coal Fork, WV1,414 people · 5 mi SE
- Rand, WV915 people · 7 mi S
- Elkview, WV800 people · 7 mi NE
- Big Chimney, WV497 people · 4 mi NE
- Dupont City, WV455 people · 8 mi S
- Malden, WV298 people · 6 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Charleston's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Charleston. This page uses Charleston - West Virginia International Yeager Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Weather Office USC00461579 | 5 mi SW | 918 ft | 54.4°F | 23°F | 86°F | 48.2 | – | April 23 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Charleston's climate
What is the coldest month in Charleston?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Charleston?
Yes: 32 inches in a normal year, falling on 24 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Charleston?
July, with 5.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 2.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Charleston in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Charleston in zone 7a across its 7 ZIP code areas (7a in 25314, the largest). By the same method at Charleston's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Charleston?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 16; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Charleston in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sissonville, WV10 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- St. Albans, WV13 miles from this station, 54.3°F a year
- Clendenin, WV16 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- London Locks, WV17 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made