Gathright Dam, Virginia climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Gathright Dam's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 40.1 inches of precipitation and 18 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.3°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,019 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGathright Dam
- Station IDUSC00443310
- Location37.95°N 79.95°W
- Elevation1,770 ft (540 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Gathright Dam is 63°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gathright Dam.
- Jan 41° 23°
- Feb 45° 24°
- Mar 53° 31°
- Apr 65° 40°
- May 72° 49°
- Jun 79° 58°
- Jul 82° 62°
- Aug 81° 61°
- Sep 75° 54°
- Oct 65° 42°
- Nov 54° 32°
- Dec 44° 26°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Gathright Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.28 in), the least in October (2.52 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 23°F | 31.9°F | 2.94 | 4.9 | 9 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 45°F | 24°F | 34.4°F | 2.69 | 5.8 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 53°F | 31°F | 41.8°F | 3.49 | 3.5 | 11 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 40°F | 52.4°F | 3.57 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 49°F | 60.8°F | 4.28 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 79°F | 58°F | 68.2°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 82°F | 62°F | 71.9°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 81°F | 61°F | 70.7°F | 3.40 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 75°F | 54°F | 64.7°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 42°F | 53.7°F | 2.52 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 54°F | 32°F | 43.1°F | 2.57 | 0.3 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 26°F | 35.2°F | 3.20 | 3.4 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 42°F | 52.4°F | 40.10 | 18.3 | 127 | 7 | 122 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 75 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 7°C | −4°C | 1.3°C | 68 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 12°C | −1°C | 5.4°C | 89 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 91 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 22°C | 10°C | 16.0°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 16°C | 21.5°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 65 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 7°C | −3°C | 1.8°C | 81 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00443310; 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.
Which months are mildest at Gathright Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, 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 USC00443310.
When is the last frost at Gathright Dam?
In Gathright Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 22 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 7 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 221 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 181 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 205 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 8 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gathright Dam in zone 6b in ZIP code 24445, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (28 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 Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00443310; 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 at Gathright Dam?
In a normal year in Gathright Dam, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 122 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 127 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 122a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 127a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1980) is 101°F, on August 21, 1983; the lowest is −19°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2003, with 55.89 in; the snowiest season is 1986–87, with 67.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00443310; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00443310. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Gathright Dam?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Gathright Dam, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and February the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.3 |
| February | 70% | 3.1 |
| March | 71% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 78% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 77% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 76% | 2.7 |
| December | 70% | 2.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Gathright Dam record?
A normal year at Gathright Dam brings 5,220 heating degree days, 3% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 659 cooling degree days, 27% 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 3,061 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,028 | 0 |
| February | 855 | 0 |
| March | 718 | 0 |
| April | 385 | 7 |
| May | 170 | 40 |
| June | 32 | 128 |
| July | 4 | 218 |
| August | 8 | 186 |
| September | 83 | 74 |
| October | 359 | 7 |
| November | 657 | 0 |
| December | 922 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,220 | 659 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00443310. 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.
Have recent years at Gathright Dam been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 52.7°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.1°F | +0.7°F | 33.69 | 12.0 |
| 2022 | 51.7°F | −0.7°F | 41.48 | 14.8 |
| 2023 | 53.4°F | +1.0°F | 31.63 | 0.2 |
| 2024 | 54.3°F | +1.9°F | 41.18 | 4.8 |
| 2025 | 52.7°F | +0.3°F | 44.84 | 27.7 |
Over 41 complete years from 1983 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.1°F per century (+0.23°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00443310; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gathright Dam's climate compare?
Gathright Dam is warmer than 5 of the 81 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.4°F is warmer than 51%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gathright Dam is Dfa: continental, 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.
Questions about Gathright Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Gathright Dam?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow at Gathright Dam?
Yes: 18 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Gathright Dam?
May, with 4.28 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 2.52 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gathright Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gathright Dam in zone 6b in ZIP code 24445, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come at Gathright Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 22; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hot Springs, VA7 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Covington, VA9 miles from this station, 52.7°F a year
- Buckeye, WV19 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Marlinton, WV21 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made