Gatlinburg, Tennessee climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gatlinburg's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 58.2 inches of precipitation and 8 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.9°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,478 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGatlinburg (2 mi SW)
- Station IDUSC00403420
- Location35.69°N 83.54°W
- Elevation1,454 ft (443 m)
- Population3,703
On October 24, the normal high in Gatlinburg is 66°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gatlinburg.
- Jan 47° 27°
- Feb 51° 29°
- Mar 59° 35°
- Apr 69° 42°
- May 75° 51°
- Jun 80° 59°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 82° 62°
- Sep 78° 56°
- Oct 69° 44°
- Nov 58° 34°
- Dec 50° 29°
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 Gatlinburg each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in July (6.31 in), the least in October (3.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 27°F | 36.6°F | 4.75 | 2.4 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| February | 51°F | 29°F | 39.9°F | 4.27 | 2.4 | 15 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 35°F | 46.9°F | 5.58 | 1.3 | 15 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 42°F | 55.4°F | 4.93 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 6 | 13 h |
| May | 75°F | 51°F | 62.8°F | 5.50 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 80°F | 59°F | 69.5°F | 5.99 | 0.0 | 15 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 72.8°F | 6.31 | 0.0 | 15 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 82°F | 62°F | 71.8°F | 4.40 | 0.0 | 14 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 78°F | 56°F | 66.8°F | 4.34 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 44°F | 56.4°F | 3.19 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 34°F | 45.9°F | 4.02 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 29°F | 39.5°F | 4.92 | 1.4 | 15 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 58.20 | 7.7 | 164 | 11 | 104 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −3°C | 2.6°C | 121 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 10°C | −2°C | 4.4°C | 108 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 15°C | 1°C | 8.3°C | 142 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 13.0°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.1°C | 140 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 20.8°C | 152 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 160 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 1°C | 7.7°C | 102 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 10°C | −1°C | 4.2°C | 125 mm | 4 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00403420; 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 Gatlinburg?
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 (10).
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 USC00403420.
When is the last frost in Gatlinburg?
In Gatlinburg, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 12 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 171 year in 10 after May 2; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 12; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 189 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 214 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gatlinburg in zone 7a in ZIP code 37738, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Gatlinburg's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (29 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 Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00403420; 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 Gatlinburg?
In a normal year in Gatlinburg, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 104 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 164 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 104a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 7high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 164a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1921) is 106°F, on June 29, 1936; the lowest is −18°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 73.71 in; the snowiest season is 1986–87, with 36.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00403420; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00403420. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Gatlinburg?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gatlinburg, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 68% | 2.2 |
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 Gatlinburg need?
A normal year in Gatlinburg brings 4,284 heating degree days, 20% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 789 cooling degree days, 13% fewer 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 3,513 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 880 | 0 |
| February | 704 | 0 |
| March | 562 | 1 |
| April | 301 | 13 |
| May | 120 | 54 |
| June | 17 | 150 |
| July | 1 | 243 |
| August | 3 | 212 |
| September | 47 | 101 |
| October | 282 | 14 |
| November | 574 | 1 |
| December | 792 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,284 | 789 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00403420. 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 Gatlinburg been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.0°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.3°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.9°F | +0.6°F | 59.64 | 6.8 |
| 2022 | 55.5°F | +0.2°F | 59.30 | 12.4 |
| 2023 | 56.4°F | +1.1°F | 55.20 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 56.9°F | +1.6°F | 60.58 | 4.1 |
| 2025 | 56.0°F | +0.7°F | – | 9.0 |
Over 63 complete years from 1922 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.0°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00403420; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gatlinburg's climate compare?
Gatlinburg is warmer than 7 of the other 115 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 81. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.3°F is warmer than 61%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gatlinburg 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 Gatlinburg share this climate record?
Pigeon Forge has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Pigeon Forge, TN6,446 people · 8 mi N
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 Gatlinburg's climate
What is the coldest month in Gatlinburg?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Gatlinburg?
Yes: 8 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Gatlinburg?
July, with 6.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gatlinburg in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gatlinburg in zone 7a in ZIP code 37738, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Gatlinburg's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Gatlinburg?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 2. Waiting until May 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mount Leconte, TN6 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Newfound Gap, TN8 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Townsend, TN15 miles from this station, 55.1°F a year
- Sevierville, TN17 miles from this station, 59.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made