Cheatham Lock and Dam, Tennessee climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Cheatham Lock and Dam's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 51.1 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,297 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCheatham Lock and Dam
- Station IDUSC00401663
- Location36.32°N 87.22°W
- Elevation392 ft (120 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Cheatham Lock and Dam is 70°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cheatham Lock and Dam.
- Jan 48° 28°
- Feb 53° 30°
- Mar 61° 37°
- Apr 70° 44°
- May 78° 55°
- Jun 86° 64°
- Jul 89° 68°
- Aug 89° 66°
- Sep 83° 60°
- Oct 73° 47°
- Nov 60° 37°
- Dec 51° 31°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Cheatham Lock and Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.58 in), the least in August (3.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 28°F | 37.8°F | 3.79 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| February | 53°F | 30°F | 41.5°F | 4.55 | 0.7 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 37°F | 49.3°F | 4.54 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 44°F | 57.1°F | 4.66 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 55°F | 66.5°F | 5.58 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 64°F | 74.6°F | 4.42 | 0.0 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 68°F | 78.5°F | 3.96 | 0.0 | 8 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 89°F | 66°F | 77.7°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 6 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 83°F | 60°F | 71.3°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 6 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 47°F | 60.0°F | 3.78 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 37°F | 48.6°F | 3.86 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 31°F | 41.1°F | 4.90 | 0.3 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 47°F | 58.7°F | 51.06 | 1.3 | 98 | 58 | 94 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 96 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 12°C | −1°C | 5.3°C | 116 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.6°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 142 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.7°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 25.8°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 19°C | 25.4°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 8°C | 15.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | 0°C | 5.1°C | 124 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00401663; 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.
Which months are mildest at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00401663.
When is the last frost at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
In Cheatham Lock and Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 9 in half of years and after April 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 20 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 91 year in 10 after April 27; 9 in 10 after March 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 206 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 228 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 29 in half of springs and before November 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cheatham Lock and Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 37036, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00401663; 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 at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
In a normal year in Cheatham Lock and Dam, 58 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 94 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 98 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 58a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 94a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 98a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1954) is 108°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −25°F, on January 24, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1979, with 66.64 in; the snowiest season is 1963–64, with 21.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00401663; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00401663. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Cheatham Lock and Dam, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 2.2 |
| February | 63% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 64% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Cheatham Lock and Dam record?
A normal year at Cheatham Lock and Dam brings 3,804 heating degree days, 29% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,527 cooling degree days, 68% 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 4,504 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 845 | 0 |
| February | 658 | 1 |
| March | 490 | 5 |
| April | 264 | 27 |
| May | 78 | 124 |
| June | 5 | 295 |
| July | 0 | 419 |
| August | 1 | 393 |
| September | 25 | 214 |
| October | 201 | 46 |
| November | 497 | 3 |
| December | 741 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,804 | 1,527 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00401663. 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.
How does Cheatham Lock and Dam's climate compare?
Cheatham Lock and Dam is warmer than 67 of the 116 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 14. 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, Cheatham Lock and Dam 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 Cheatham Lock and Dam share this climate record?
2 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.
- Pleasant View, TN5,629 people · 11 mi NE
- Slayden, TN182 people · 14 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 Cheatham Lock and Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
January, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (0.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
May, with 5.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cheatham Lock and Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cheatham Lock and Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 37036, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Cheatham Lock and Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 9; in one year in ten it comes after April 27. Waiting until April 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Charlotte, TN11 miles from this station, 57.5°F a year
- Montgomery Bell State Park, TN16 miles from this station, 56.8°F a year
- Kingston Springs, TN16 miles from this station, 59.0°F a year
- Clarksville Wastewater Treatment Plant, TN17 miles from this station, 59.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made