Dunlow, WV Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Dunlow's primary NOAA station, DUNLOW 1 SW.
The climate verdict for Dunlow
Water is the standout signal in Dunlow, West Virginia: 49.1 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 55°F. It scores 78/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 72% of them.
- 55°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 78/100
- comfort score, above 72% of station-mapped location scores
- 49.1"
- annual precipitation · 17" snow
- 196 days
- frost-free growing season
Dunlow: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00462522 · Dunlow, WV 55°F mean · 49.1" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 55°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,185
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Mechanicsville
- PRCP-MID 49.1"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-TOP 78/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,569 HDD
- STN-1 USC00462522
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Mechanicsville, MD (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every WV station list.
- Dunlow (this station) 55°F
- Hot Palmyra, VA 55°F
- Near Mechanicsville, MD 55°F
- Near Deer, AR 55°F
- Near Beattyville, KY 55°F
Climate Living Index · Dunlow
Dunlow: 63/100 · grade C
Dunlow publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Dunlow, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 78/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 94 calendar days | 78/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 196 days/year | 61/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 55.1°F · 12.4° from 67.5°F | 60/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 17.4 inches/year | 52/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 49.1 in · 14.1 from 35 in | 50/100 · D |
Dunlow · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Dunlow is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 34.2°F and warmest-month mean 74.4°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 74.4°F
- Coldest month
- 34.2°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Dunlow sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Dunlow's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 61st percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 21% wettest
- Dunlow's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 37th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Dunlow compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Dunlow's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
78 Top 28% score exceeds 72% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Dunlow's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 32 complete annual observations from 1972 to 2023, DUNLOW 1 SW warmed at a fitted rate of 0.26°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Dunlow primary station fitted change +0.26 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F (6°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 3.9" | 4.8" | 22.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 47°F (8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 3.7" | 4.4" | 19.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 56°F (13°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 4.5" | 3.8" | 14.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 4.5" | 0.2" | 3.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 75°F (24°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| September | 78°F (25°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 2.7 | 0.1 |
| November | 56°F (13°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 3.3" | 0.8" | 11.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 46°F (8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 4.3" | 3.4" | 19.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 6, short of 90°F on every date, while 94 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 25°F near January 18.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 7, then returns to freezing around December 5, covering 94 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is February 24, when 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 9 at 24%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 128 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 10 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Dunlow.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.8"
12.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
12.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.8"
12.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
11.2 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
11.6 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
9.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.4"
11.6 days with precipitation
Dunlow spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Dunlow has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40.2°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: June averages 4.9" and November 3.3". The three wettest months together take 29% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Dunlow, it arrives in quantity
49.1" of precipitation falls across only about 128 wet days here, averaging 0.38 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 128 a year, 35% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.38 inches
- Most wet days
- March, about 13
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Dunlow
Dunlow averages 17.4 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 10 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 17.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 10 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 4% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 13
50% probability date
Growing Season
196 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,569
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,007
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WV closest to Dunlow on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (55°F here).
- Atlantic City, NJ 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Bluff, UT 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Mound City, KS 55°F · 0.0°F off
- Nashville, IL 55°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (49.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Little Valley, NY 49.1" · 0.0" off
- Lenox Dale, MA 49.1" · 0.0" off
- Walton, NY 49.1" · 0.0" off
- Clintwood, VA 49.2" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Dunlow
heating led · wet · mid swing
Dunlow's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,569 annual heating degree days against 1,007 for cooling. Its 40.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Dunlow's frost-free season lasts about 196 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Dunlow coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 34°F (1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Dunlow typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Dunlow snow peak
January
Dunlow averages 17.4 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Dunlow's climate
How much snow does Dunlow get? ▼
How cold does Dunlow get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Dunlow? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Dunlow's primary station: DUNLOW 1 SW (USC00462522). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Dunlow; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Dunlow comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.