Gainesville, Georgia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gainesville's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 52.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.2°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,330 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGainesville Gilmer Airport
- Station IDUSW00053838
- Location34.27°N 83.83°W
- Elevation1,275 ft (389 m)
- Population47,712
On October 23, the normal high in Gainesville is 70°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gainesville.
- Jan 51° 34°
- Feb 55° 36°
- Mar 63° 43°
- Apr 72° 50°
- May 79° 58°
- Jun 85° 66°
- Jul 88° 70°
- Aug 87° 69°
- Sep 81° 63°
- Oct 72° 52°
- Nov 62° 42°
- Dec 53° 36°
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 Gainesville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in January (4.95 in), the least in October (3.85 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 34°F | 42.4°F | 4.95 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 55°F | 36°F | 45.7°F | 4.65 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 11 h |
| March | 63°F | 43°F | 52.9°F | 4.78 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 50°F | 60.9°F | 3.98 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 58°F | 68.7°F | 4.01 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 66°F | 75.7°F | 4.23 | 12 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 70°F | 78.8°F | 4.42 | 12 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 87°F | 69°F | 77.9°F | 4.73 | 11 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 81°F | 63°F | 72.4°F | 3.89 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 52°F | 61.9°F | 3.85 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 42°F | 51.8°F | 4.18 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 53°F | 36°F | 44.9°F | 4.71 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 52°F | 61.2°F | 52.38 | 128 | 35 | 42 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 1°C | 5.8°C | 126 mm |
| February | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 118 mm |
| March | 17°C | 6°C | 11.6°C | 121 mm |
| April | 22°C | 10°C | 16.1°C | 101 mm |
| May | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 102 mm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 107 mm |
| July | 31°C | 21°C | 26.0°C | 112 mm |
| August | 30°C | 21°C | 25.5°C | 120 mm |
| September | 27°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 99 mm |
| October | 22°C | 11°C | 16.6°C | 98 mm |
| November | 16°C | 6°C | 11.0°C | 106 mm |
| December | 12°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 120 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Gainesville's own co-op station Gainesville station does: 2 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053838; 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 Gainesville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September 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 USW00053838.
When is the last frost in Gainesville?
In Gainesville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 20 in half of years and after April 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 14 in half of years and before October 31 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
- March 201 year in 10 after April 6; 9 in 10 after March 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 141 year in 10 before October 31; 9 in 10 before December 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 239 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 268 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 7 in half of springs and before November 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gainesville in zone 8a across its 3 ZIP code areas (8a in 30501, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Gainesville's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (22 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Georgia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00053838; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Gainesville ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Gainesville's 3 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Gainesville?
In a normal year in Gainesville, 35 days a year reach 90°F, 42 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 42a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 104°F, on July 1, 2012; the lowest is 5°F, on January 7, 2014.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2009, with 76.59 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00053838; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00053838. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Gainesville?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gainesville, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.7 |
| February | 69% | 3.3 |
| March | 72% | 4.3 |
| April | 77% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.1 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 79% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 79% | 4.0 |
| November | 78% | 3.0 |
| December | 70% | 2.3 |
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 Gainesville need?
A normal year in Gainesville brings 3,002 heating degree days, 44% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,632 cooling degree days, 80% 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 4,904 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 699 | 0 |
| February | 542 | 0 |
| March | 383 | 7 |
| April | 162 | 39 |
| May | 39 | 152 |
| June | 2 | 323 |
| July | 0 | 428 |
| August | 0 | 400 |
| September | 11 | 232 |
| October | 143 | 47 |
| November | 398 | 3 |
| December | 624 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,002 | 1,632 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053838. 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 Gainesville been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 63.8°F, 2.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 61.2°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 62.5°F | +1.3°F | 45.58 |
| 2023 | 63.3°F | +2.1°F | 55.02 |
| 2024 | 63.8°F | +2.6°F | 54.78 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00053838. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gainesville's climate compare?
Gainesville is warmer than 20 of the other 100 places with their own NOAA record in Georgia, and wetter than 56. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.2°F is warmer than 78%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gainesville 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 Gainesville 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.
- Braselton, GA17,390 people · 11 mi S
- Flowery Branch, GA12,292 people · 9 mi SW
- Oakwood, GA6,759 people · 5 mi SW
- Pendergrass, GA1,856 people · 11 mi SE
- Talmo, GA290 people · 9 mi SE
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 Gainesville's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Gainesville. This page uses Gainesville Gilmer Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville station USC00093621 | 3 mi NW | 1,170 ft | 59.9°F | 31°F | 88°F | 55.6 | 2 | March 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Gainesville's climate
What is the coldest month in Gainesville?
January, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Gainesville?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Gainesville's NOAA station; Gainesville's own co-op station Gainesville station records 2 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Gainesville?
January, with 4.95 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.85 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gainesville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gainesville in zone 8a across its 3 ZIP code areas (8a in 30501, the largest). By the same method at Gainesville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Gainesville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 20; in one year in ten it comes after April 6. Waiting until April 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Gainesville in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Georgia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cumming, GA17 miles from this station, 60.1°F a year
- Commerce, GA19 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Alto, GA21 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Cleveland, GA22 miles from this station, 57.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made