Chesapeake, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chesapeake's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 48.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.2°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 34°C, 1,235 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFentress Naas
- Station IDUSW00013762
- Location36.70°N 76.14°W
- Elevation16 ft (5 m)
- Population254,997
On October 14, the normal high in Chesapeake is 77°F and the normal low 55°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chesapeake.
- Jan 54° 34°
- Feb 57° 35°
- Mar 63° 41°
- Apr 74° 50°
- May 82° 59°
- Jun 89° 67°
- Jul 93° 73°
- Aug 90° 70°
- Sep 85° 65°
- Oct 76° 54°
- Nov 65° 44°
- Dec 58° 37°
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 Chesapeake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in August (5.83 in), the least in February (2.71 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 34°F | 43.9°F | 3.35 | – | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 57°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 2.71 | – | <1 | 12 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 41°F | 52.1°F | 3.76 | – | 1 | 6 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 50°F | 61.7°F | 3.47 | – | 3 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 82°F | 59°F | 70.2°F | 4.21 | – | 7 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 89°F | 67°F | 78.1°F | 4.56 | – | 14 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 93°F | 73°F | 82.6°F | 5.51 | – | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 90°F | 70°F | 80.0°F | 5.83 | – | 15 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 85°F | 65°F | 74.8°F | 4.49 | – | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 54°F | 64.8°F | 4.07 | – | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 44°F | 54.6°F | 3.37 | – | <1 | 6 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 58°F | 37°F | 47.3°F | 3.29 | – | <1 | 12 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 52°F | 63.0°F | 48.62 | – | 66 | 52 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 1°C | 6.6°C | 85 mm |
| February | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 69 mm |
| March | 17°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 96 mm |
| April | 23°C | 10°C | 16.5°C | 88 mm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 107 mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 25.6°C | 116 mm |
| July | 34°C | 23°C | 28.1°C | 140 mm |
| August | 32°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 148 mm |
| September | 29°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 114 mm |
| October | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 103 mm |
| November | 19°C | 7°C | 12.6°C | 86 mm |
| December | 14°C | 3°C | 8.5°C | 84 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Virginia Beach (10 miles away), gets 3 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013762; 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 Chesapeake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September, October and November.
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 USW00013762.
When is the last frost in Chesapeake?
In Chesapeake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 23 in half of years and after April 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 18 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 231 year in 10 after April 7; 9 in 10 after March 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 181 year in 10 before November 4; 9 in 10 before December 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 240 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 270 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 10 in half of springs and before December 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chesapeake in zone 8a across its 6 ZIP code areas (8a in 23322, the largest).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00013762; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Chesapeake ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Chesapeake's 6 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8a. 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 Chesapeake?
In a normal year in Chesapeake, 66 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more) and 52 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 66a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 52a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013762.
How sunny is Chesapeake?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chesapeake, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (72%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 243rd (with 32 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.5 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 73% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 76% | 3.5 |
| November | 77% | 2.8 |
| December | 73% | 2.2 |
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 Chesapeake need?
A normal year in Chesapeake brings 2,810 heating degree days, 48% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,130 cooling degree days, 2.3 times 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 5,534 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 653 | 1 |
| February | 532 | 5 |
| March | 415 | 16 |
| April | 175 | 76 |
| May | 41 | 204 |
| June | 2 | 396 |
| July | 0 | 546 |
| August | 0 | 465 |
| September | 4 | 300 |
| October | 105 | 100 |
| November | 329 | 17 |
| December | 554 | 5 |
| Year (annual) | 2,810 | 2,130 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013762. 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 Chesapeake been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 60.5°F, 2.5°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 63.0°F. 0 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.0°F | −2.0°F | 47.29 |
| 2022 | 62.0°F | −1.0°F | 36.95 |
| 2025 | 60.5°F | −2.5°F | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013762. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Chesapeake's climate compare?
Chesapeake is warmer than 80 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 59. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.0°F is warmer than 83%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake share this climate record?
Moyock 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.
- Moyock, NC5,669 people · 14 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.
Questions about Chesapeake's climate
What is the coldest month in Chesapeake?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 73°F at night).
Does it snow in Chesapeake?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Chesapeake's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Virginia Beach (10 miles away), records 3 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Chesapeake?
August, with 5.83 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.71 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chesapeake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chesapeake in zone 8a across its 6 ZIP code areas (8a in 23322, the largest).
How late can frost come in Chesapeake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 23; in one year in ten it comes after April 7. Waiting until April 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Chesapeake in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Virginia Beach, VA10 miles from this station, 59.8°F a year
- Norfolk, VA15 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Wallaceton-Lake Drummond, VA18 miles from this station, 57.7°F a year
- Suffolk, VA26 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made