Chester, South Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chester's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 45.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.8°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,166 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChester (1 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00381633
- Location34.68°N 81.20°W
- Elevation560 ft (171 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population5,230
On October 23, the normal high in Chester is 70°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chester.
- Jan 52° 30°
- Feb 56° 32°
- Mar 64° 38°
- Apr 73° 47°
- May 80° 56°
- Jun 87° 65°
- Jul 90° 69°
- Aug 88° 68°
- Sep 83° 62°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 63° 38°
- Dec 55° 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 Chester 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 August (4.43 in), the least in October (3.08 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 30°F | 41.0°F | 4.05 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 32°F | 44.2°F | 3.36 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| March | 64°F | 38°F | 51.3°F | 4.17 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 47°F | 59.9°F | 3.88 | 8 | <1 | 3 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 56°F | 68.3°F | 3.51 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 65°F | 76.0°F | 4.30 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 69°F | 79.5°F | 3.93 | 9 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 68°F | 78.1°F | 4.43 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 62°F | 72.2°F | 3.80 | 7 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 60.9°F | 3.08 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 38°F | 50.2°F | 3.37 | 7 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 32°F | 43.6°F | 4.04 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 49°F | 60.4°F | 45.92 | 102 | 54 | 83 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −1°C | 5.0°C | 103 mm |
| February | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 85 mm |
| March | 18°C | 4°C | 10.7°C | 106 mm |
| April | 23°C | 8°C | 15.5°C | 99 mm |
| May | 27°C | 13°C | 20.2°C | 89 mm |
| June | 31°C | 18°C | 24.4°C | 109 mm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.4°C | 100 mm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.6°C | 113 mm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 97 mm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 78 mm |
| November | 17°C | 3°C | 10.1°C | 86 mm |
| December | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 103 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Santuck (19 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 USC00381633; 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 Chester?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00381633.
When is the last frost in Chester?
In Chester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 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 31 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 213 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 237 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 20 in half of springs and before November 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chester in zone 8a in ZIP code 29706, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chester's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00381633; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Chester?
In a normal year in Chester, 54 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 83 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 102 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 54a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 83a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 102a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1923) is 106°F, on July 20, 1926; the lowest is −5°F, on December 13, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1964, with 64.63 in; the snowiest season is 1935–36, with 20.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00381633; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00381633. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chester?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chester, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.7 |
| February | 71% | 3.4 |
| March | 74% | 4.4 |
| April | 78% | 5.6 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 82% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 79% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 3.0 |
| December | 73% | 2.4 |
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 Chester need?
A normal year in Chester brings 3,303 heating degree days, 39% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,668 cooling degree days, 84% 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 4,818 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 744 | 0 |
| February | 583 | 1 |
| March | 432 | 7 |
| April | 190 | 38 |
| May | 48 | 150 |
| June | 3 | 335 |
| July | 0 | 450 |
| August | 0 | 405 |
| September | 16 | 232 |
| October | 174 | 46 |
| November | 449 | 5 |
| December | 664 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,303 | 1,668 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00381633. 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 Chester been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 60.5°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 60.4°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.1°F | +0.7°F | 40.60 |
| 2022 | 60.9°F | +0.5°F | 42.38 |
| 2023 | 61.3°F | +0.9°F | 46.24 |
| 2024 | 61.5°F | +1.1°F | 58.94 |
| 2025 | 60.5°F | +0.1°F | 41.04 |
Over 66 complete years from 1939 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00381633; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Chester's climate compare?
Chester is warmer than 5 of the other 72 places with their own NOAA record in South Carolina, and wetter than 11. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.4°F is warmer than 76%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chester 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 Chester share this climate record?
4 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.
- Eureka Mill, SC1,732 people · 2 mi N
- Gayle Mill, SC1,119 people · 3 mi NW
- Fort Lawn, SC980 people · 17 mi E
- Richburg, SC271 people · 10 mi E
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 Chester's climate
What is the coldest month in Chester?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Chester?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Chester's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Santuck (19 miles away), records 3 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Chester?
August, with 4.43 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chester in zone 8a in ZIP code 29706, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Chester's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Chester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- York, SC16 miles from this station, 59.7°F a year
- Santuck, SC19 miles from this station, 61.7°F a year
- Winthrop University, SC20 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Rock Hill, SC22 miles from this station, 61.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made