Free Union, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Free Union's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 46.8 inches of precipitation and 11 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.7°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,188 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFree Union
- Station IDUSC00443213
- Location38.09°N 78.59°W
- Elevation590 ft (180 m)
- Population (census place)185
On October 23, the normal high in Free Union is 67°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Free Union.
- Jan 45° 24°
- Feb 49° 25°
- Mar 58° 30°
- Apr 69° 40°
- May 74° 51°
- Jun 81° 60°
- Jul 86° 64°
- Aug 84° 63°
- Sep 78° 56°
- Oct 69° 44°
- Nov 59° 33°
- Dec 49° 27°
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 Free Union each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.14 in), the least in February (2.84 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 24°F | 34.5°F | 3.50 | 4.1 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 25°F | 36.8°F | 2.84 | 3.1 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 30°F | 43.8°F | 3.89 | 1.4 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 40°F | 54.6°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 51°F | 62.6°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 4.83 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 64°F | 74.9°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 11 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 63°F | 73.2°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 78°F | 56°F | 66.7°F | 5.14 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 44°F | 56.1°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 33°F | 45.8°F | 3.76 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 49°F | 27°F | 37.6°F | 3.56 | 2.2 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 43°F | 54.8°F | 46.77 | 10.9 | 113 | 16 | 117 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −5°C | 1.4°C | 89 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 10°C | −4°C | 2.7°C | 72 mm | 8 cm |
| March | 14°C | −1°C | 6.6°C | 99 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 21°C | 5°C | 12.6°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 3.1°C | 90 mm | 6 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00443213; 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 Free Union?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, 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 USC00443213.
When is the last frost in Free Union?
In Free Union, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 24 in half of years and before October 10 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 191 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 241 year in 10 before October 10; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 186 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 207 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 7 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Free Union in zone 7b in ZIP code 22936, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00443213; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Free Union?
In a normal year in Free Union, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 117 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 113 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 117a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 113a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00443213.
How sunny is Free Union?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Free Union, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and January the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.2 |
| February | 70% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 74% | 3.4 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 70% | 1.9 |
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 Free Union need?
A normal year in Free Union brings 4,642 heating degree days, 14% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 948 cooling degree days, 5% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,538 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 945 | 0 |
| February | 788 | 0 |
| March | 656 | 1 |
| April | 326 | 13 |
| May | 131 | 56 |
| June | 14 | 182 |
| July | 1 | 307 |
| August | 3 | 259 |
| September | 61 | 112 |
| October | 295 | 19 |
| November | 575 | 0 |
| December | 848 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,642 | 948 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00443213. 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 Free Union been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.4°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.8°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.1°F | +1.3°F | 37.10 | 11.5 |
| 2022 | 55.0°F | +0.2°F | 49.87 | – |
| 2023 | 56.7°F | +1.9°F | 38.40 | 0.6 |
| 2025 | 55.4°F | +0.6°F | 42.26 | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00443213. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Free Union's climate compare?
Free Union is warmer than 31 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 49. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.8°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Free Union 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 Free Union share this climate record?
3 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.
- Crozet, VA9,211 people · 6 mi W
- Ivy, VA744 people · 2 mi S
- North Garden, VA405 people · 9 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 Free Union's climate
What is the coldest month in Free Union?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Free Union?
Yes: 11 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (4.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Free Union?
September, with 5.14 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.84 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Free Union in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Free Union in zone 7b in ZIP code 22936, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Free Union?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Charlottesville, VA8 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Monticello, VA9 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Waynesboro, VA16 miles from this station, 54.1°F a year
- Somerset, VA21 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made