Charlottesville, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Charlottesville's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 41.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,057 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCharlottesville Albemarle Airport
- Station IDUSW00093736
- Location38.14°N 78.45°W
- Elevation641 ft (195 m)
- From the center7 miles
- Population44,767
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Charlottesville.
- Jan 47° 30°
- Feb 51° 31°
- Mar 60° 38°
- Apr 70° 47°
- May 78° 56°
- Jun 86° 64°
- Jul 90° 68°
- Aug 87° 67°
- Sep 81° 60°
- Oct 71° 48°
- Nov 60° 39°
- Dec 51° 32°
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 Charlottesville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.38 in), the least in February (2.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 30°F | 38.4°F | 2.96 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 51°F | 31°F | 41.4°F | 2.35 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 38°F | 48.7°F | 3.54 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 47°F | 58.5°F | 3.17 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 78°F | 56°F | 66.6°F | 4.17 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 64°F | 74.8°F | 4.38 | 12 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 90°F | 68°F | 79.0°F | 3.37 | 13 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 67°F | 76.9°F | 3.87 | 11 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 60°F | 70.4°F | 4.09 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 48°F | 59.3°F | 3.31 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 39°F | 49.1°F | 3.36 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 51°F | 32°F | 41.5°F | 3.04 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 48°F | 58.7°F | 41.61 | 124 | 34 | 88 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −1°C | 3.6°C | 75 mm |
| February | 11°C | 0°C | 5.2°C | 60 mm |
| March | 15°C | 3°C | 9.3°C | 90 mm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 81 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 106 mm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 111 mm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 26.1°C | 86 mm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.9°C | 98 mm |
| September | 27°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 104 mm |
| October | 21°C | 9°C | 15.2°C | 84 mm |
| November | 15°C | 4°C | 9.5°C | 85 mm |
| December | 10°C | 0°C | 5.3°C | 77 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Charlottesville's own co-op station Charlottesville (2 mi W) does: 17 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093736; 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 Charlottesville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USW00093736.
When is the last frost in Charlottesville?
In Charlottesville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 19 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 31 year in 10 after April 23; 9 in 10 after March 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 19; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 211 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 21 in half of springs and before November 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Charlottesville in zone 7b in ZIP code 22908, 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 USW00093736; 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 Charlottesville?
In a normal year in Charlottesville, 34 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 88 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 124 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 34a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 88a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 7high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 124a normal year
The highest temperature in Charlottesville's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 107°F, on July 20, 1930; the lowest is −6°F, on January 17, 1982.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2003, with 68.68 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 46.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093736; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record CHOthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Charlottesville?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Charlottesville, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and January the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.2 |
| February | 70% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 74% | 3.4 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 70% | 1.9 |
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 Charlottesville need?
A normal year in Charlottesville brings 3,767 heating degree days, 30% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,497 cooling degree days, 65% 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 4,455 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 825 | 0 |
| February | 663 | 1 |
| March | 512 | 5 |
| April | 234 | 38 |
| May | 76 | 124 |
| June | 5 | 299 |
| July | 0 | 434 |
| August | 1 | 370 |
| September | 28 | 189 |
| October | 214 | 36 |
| November | 479 | 2 |
| December | 731 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,767 | 1,497 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093736. 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 Charlottesville been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.2°F, 1.5°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 58.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.9°F | +1.2°F | 33.82 |
| 2022 | 58.8°F | +0.1°F | 43.53 |
| 2023 | 60.6°F | +1.9°F | 26.95 |
| 2024 | 59.8°F | +1.0°F | 39.54 |
| 2025 | 57.2°F | −1.5°F | 32.61 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093736. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Charlottesville's climate compare?
Charlottesville is warmer than 65 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.7°F is warmer than 71%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville share this climate record?
5 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.
- Hollymead, VA8,566 people · 1 mi SE
- Piney Mountain, VA2,478 people · 3 mi NE
- Twin Lakes, VA1,794 people · 8 mi N
- Earlysville, VA1,217 people · 1 mi NW
- Rio, VA1,213 people · 4 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 Charlottesville's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Charlottesville. This page uses Charlottesville Albemarle Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlottesville (2 mi SSE) USW00003759 | 3 mi S | 1,177 ft | 56.3°F | 28°F | 84°F | 48.2 | – | April 2 |
| Charlottesville (2 mi W) USC00441593 | 2 mi W | 866 ft | 57.3°F | 28°F | 87°F | 48.5 | 17 | April 2 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Charlottesville's climate
What is the coldest month in Charlottesville?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Charlottesville?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Charlottesville's NOAA station; Charlottesville's own co-op station Charlottesville (2 mi W) records 17 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Charlottesville?
June, with 4.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Charlottesville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Charlottesville in zone 7b in ZIP code 22908, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Charlottesville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; 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
- Free Union, VA8 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Monticello, VA9 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Somerset, VA12 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Piedmont Research Station, VA19 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made