Elkins, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elkins's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 47.2 inches of precipitation and 69 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,199 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElkins- Randolph County Airport
- Station IDUSW00013729
- Location38.89°N 79.85°W
- Elevation1,979 ft (603 m)
- Population6,698
On October 23, the normal high in Elkins is 64°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elkins.
- Jan 42° 20°
- Feb 45° 22°
- Mar 54° 29°
- Apr 66° 37°
- May 73° 47°
- Jun 80° 56°
- Jul 83° 60°
- Aug 82° 58°
- Sep 77° 52°
- Oct 66° 39°
- Nov 55° 30°
- Dec 45° 24°
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 Elkins each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.99 in), the least in November (2.87 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 20°F | 30.8°F | 3.36 | 20.3 | 17 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 22°F | 33.5°F | 3.26 | 15.4 | 16 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 29°F | 41.0°F | 3.98 | 11.4 | 17 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 37°F | 51.5°F | 4.10 | 2.3 | 15 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 47°F | 60.2°F | 5.14 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 80°F | 56°F | 67.8°F | 4.48 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 83°F | 60°F | 71.4°F | 5.99 | 0.0 | 15 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 58°F | 70.2°F | 3.87 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 52°F | 64.1°F | 3.51 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 39°F | 52.7°F | 3.08 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 30°F | 42.3°F | 2.87 | 4.1 | 12 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 24°F | 34.7°F | 3.57 | 14.5 | 16 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 39°F | 51.7°F | 47.21 | 68.9 | 173 | 4 | 136 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −7°C | −0.7°C | 85 mm | 52 cm |
| February | 7°C | −6°C | 0.8°C | 83 mm | 39 cm |
| March | 12°C | −2°C | 5.0°C | 101 mm | 29 cm |
| April | 19°C | 3°C | 10.8°C | 104 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 23°C | 8°C | 15.7°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 15°C | 21.9°C | 152 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 4°C | 11.5°C | 78 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 13°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 73 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.5°C | 91 mm | 37 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013729; 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 Elkins?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00013729.
When is the last frost in Elkins?
In Elkins, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 5 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 in half of years and before October 1 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
- May 51 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 159 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 180 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elkins in zone 6a in ZIP code 26241, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Elkins's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00013729; 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 Elkins?
In a normal year in Elkins, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 136 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 173 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 136a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 24high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 173a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 23a normal year
The highest temperature in Elkins's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1899) is 99°F, on July 16, 1988; the lowest is −28°F, on December 30, 1917.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 72.88 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 136.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013729; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record EKNthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Elkins, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 61°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 62°F; the driest air comes in January (21°F). February is the windiest month (6.0 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (56%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 71% | 54% | 5.5 mph | 35% | 53% |
| February | 26°F | 67% | 51% | 6.0 mph | 36% | 52% |
| March | 33°F | 63% | 42% | 6.0 mph | 45% | 39% |
| April | 42°F | 65% | 42% | 5.1 mph | 46% | 31% |
| May | 54°F | 74% | 53% | 3.7 mph | 46% | 27% |
| June | 60°F | 76% | 54% | 3.2 mph | 52% | 18% |
| July | 62°F | 79% | 56% | 2.7 mph | 52% | 18% |
| August | 59°F | 78% | 52% | 2.5 mph | 56% | 17% |
| September | 50°F | 78% | 52% | 3.2 mph | 53% | 26% |
| October | 36°F | 71% | 46% | 4.1 mph | 50% | 36% |
| November | 29°F | 72% | 54% | 5.1 mph | 40% | 48% |
| December | 24°F | 73% | 58% | 5.2 mph | 35% | 55% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00013729. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Elkins?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elkins, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (75%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 2.0 |
| February | 66% | 2.9 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.9 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 4.4 |
| October | 71% | 3.3 |
| November | 72% | 2.4 |
| December | 64% | 1.8 |
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 Elkins need?
A normal year in Elkins brings 5,442 heating degree days, 1% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 617 cooling degree days, 32% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,967 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,062 | 0 |
| February | 881 | 0 |
| March | 744 | 0 |
| April | 411 | 5 |
| May | 187 | 38 |
| June | 36 | 122 |
| July | 6 | 205 |
| August | 10 | 173 |
| September | 96 | 68 |
| October | 388 | 7 |
| November | 680 | 0 |
| December | 941 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,442 | 617 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013729. 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 Elkins been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.0°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.6°F | +0.9°F | 38.40 | 38.2 |
| 2022 | 51.5°F | −0.2°F | 55.83 | 45.3 |
| 2023 | 52.9°F | +1.2°F | 44.02 | 22.1 |
| 2024 | 54.2°F | +2.5°F | 44.54 | 46.6 |
| 2025 | 52.0°F | +0.3°F | 44.70 | 74.6 |
Over 70 complete years from 1948 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.4°F per century (+0.13°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013729; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elkins's climate compare?
Elkins is warmer than 17 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 27. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.7°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elkins is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Elkins share this climate record?
5 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.
- Valley Bend, WV713 people · 9 mi SW
- Beverly, WV574 people · 3 mi S
- East Dailey, WV320 people · 8 mi S
- Coalton, WV179 people · 6 mi W
- Dailey, WV0 people · 7 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.
What do Elkins's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Elkins. This page uses Elkins- Randolph County Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkins (21 mi ENE) USW00003733 | 22 mi NE | 3,390 ft | 46.6°F | 18°F | 74°F | 56.7 | – | May 7 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Elkins's climate
What is the coldest month in Elkins?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Elkins?
Yes: 69 inches in a normal year, falling on 38 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (20.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Elkins?
July, with 5.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 2.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elkins in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elkins in zone 6a in ZIP code 26241, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elkins's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Elkins?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 5; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Elkins in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Glady (1 mi N), WV9 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Belington, WV11 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Parsons, WV17 miles from this station, 52.5°F a year
- Buckhannon, WV21 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made