Dayton, Tennessee climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dayton's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 58.7 inches of precipitation and 2 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.7°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,492 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDayton (2 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00402360
- Location35.47°N 85.00°W
- Elevation822 ft (251 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population7,796
On October 22, the normal high in Dayton is 69°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dayton.
- Jan 47° 28°
- Feb 52° 31°
- Mar 61° 38°
- Apr 71° 46°
- May 78° 55°
- Jun 85° 63°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 87° 66°
- Sep 82° 60°
- Oct 71° 48°
- Nov 59° 37°
- Dec 50° 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 in Dayton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.04 in), the least in October (3.62 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 28°F | 37.8°F | 5.21 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 31°F | 41.7°F | 5.09 | 0.6 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 38°F | 49.2°F | 5.33 | 0.4 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 46°F | 58.3°F | 5.38 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 55°F | 66.5°F | 4.79 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 63°F | 74.0°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 12 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.3°F | 5.29 | 0.0 | 13 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 66°F | 76.7°F | 3.88 | 0.0 | 11 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 60°F | 70.8°F | 4.82 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 48°F | 59.3°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 37°F | 48.2°F | 4.79 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 6.04 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 48°F | 58.4°F | 58.74 | 1.6 | 128 | 33 | 72 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 132 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 11°C | 0°C | 5.4°C | 129 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.6°C | 135 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 23.3°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.2°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.8°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.6°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 9°C | 15.2°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 3°C | 9.0°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 10°C | 0°C | 4.9°C | 153 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00402360; 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 Dayton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00402360.
When is the last frost in Dayton?
In Dayton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 4 in half of years and after April 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 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 41 year in 10 after April 22; 9 in 10 after March 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 19; 9 in 10 before November 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 208 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 230 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 26 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dayton in zone 7b in ZIP code 37321, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dayton's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00402360; 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 Dayton?
In a normal year in Dayton, 33 days a year reach 90°F, 72 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 33a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 72a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 107°F, on July 16, 1980; the lowest is −15°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 82.17 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 24.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00402360; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00402360. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dayton?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dayton, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and February the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 2.4 |
| February | 63% | 2.9 |
| March | 68% | 4.0 |
| April | 75% | 5.3 |
| May | 76% | 5.9 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| December | 65% | 2.1 |
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 Dayton need?
A normal year in Dayton brings 3,762 heating degree days, 30% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,385 cooling degree days, 53% 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 4,363 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 842 | 0 |
| February | 652 | 0 |
| March | 490 | 2 |
| April | 225 | 24 |
| May | 65 | 111 |
| June | 3 | 275 |
| July | 0 | 381 |
| August | 0 | 361 |
| September | 21 | 197 |
| October | 207 | 32 |
| November | 505 | 1 |
| December | 751 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,762 | 1,385 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00402360. 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 Dayton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 58.8°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.5°F | +0.1°F | 58.76 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | 58.1°F | −0.3°F | 59.81 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 59.3°F | +0.9°F | 48.83 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 60.0°F | +1.6°F | 52.92 | 2.0 |
| 2025 | 58.8°F | +0.4°F | 51.01 | 9.0 |
Over 52 complete years from 1957 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.8°F per century (+0.27°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00402360; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dayton's climate compare?
Dayton is warmer than 56 of the other 115 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 85. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.4°F is warmer than 70%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dayton 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 Dayton 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.
- Sale Creek, TN2,775 people · 8 mi SW
- Graysville, TN1,508 people · 5 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 Dayton's climate
What is the coldest month in Dayton?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Dayton?
Yes: 2 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (0.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dayton?
December, with 6.04 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.62 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dayton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dayton in zone 7b in ZIP code 37321, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dayton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 9°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Dayton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 4; in one year in ten it comes after April 22. Waiting until April 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pikeville, TN14 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Spring City, TN16 miles from this station, 57.3°F a year
- Soddy-Daisy, TN19 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Cleveland, TN21 miles from this station, 59.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made