Hopewell, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Hopewell's normal year runs from 31°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 50.1 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.0°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,272 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHopewell
- Station IDUSC00444101
- Location37.30°N 77.28°W
- Elevation40 ft (12 m)
- Population22,970
On October 23, the normal high in Hopewell is 70°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Hopewell.
- Jan 50° 31°
- Feb 54° 33°
- Mar 62° 40°
- Apr 73° 49°
- May 79° 58°
- Jun 86° 66°
- Jul 90° 71°
- Aug 88° 69°
- Sep 82° 63°
- Oct 73° 51°
- Nov 62° 41°
- Dec 53° 35°
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 Hopewell each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in August (5.59 in), the least in February (3.01 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 3.53 | 2.1 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 54°F | 33°F | 43.6°F | 3.01 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 40°F | 50.7°F | 4.02 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 49°F | 60.7°F | 3.84 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 79°F | 58°F | 68.5°F | 4.25 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 66°F | 76.2°F | 4.56 | 0.0 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 90°F | 71°F | 80.1°F | 5.18 | 0.0 | 11 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 88°F | 69°F | 78.4°F | 5.59 | 0.0 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 63°F | 72.5°F | 5.15 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 51°F | 61.9°F | 3.67 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 41°F | 51.7°F | 3.43 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 53°F | 35°F | 44.0°F | 3.84 | 0.4 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 51°F | 60.8°F | 50.07 | 3.5 | 117 | 55 | 58 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | 0°C | 4.9°C | 90 mm | 5 cm |
| February | 12°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 76 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 23°C | 9°C | 15.9°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 21°C | 25.8°C | 142 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 11°C | 16.6°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 12°C | 1°C | 6.7°C | 98 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00444101; 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 Hopewell?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, 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 USC00444101.
When is the last frost in Hopewell?
In Hopewell, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 6 in half of years and before October 26 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 311 year in 10 after April 14; 9 in 10 after March 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 61 year in 10 before October 26; 9 in 10 before November 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 222 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 247 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 18 in half of springs and before November 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hopewell in zone 7b in ZIP code 23860. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Hopewell's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (25 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 USC00444101; 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 Hopewell?
In a normal year in Hopewell, 55 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 58 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 117 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 55a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 58a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 117a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1916) is 106°F, on August 31, 1932; the lowest is −11°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1979, with 60.09 in; the snowiest season is 1947–48, with 30.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00444101; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00444101. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Hopewell?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Hopewell, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and March the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.1 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 77% | 2.7 |
| December | 72% | 2.1 |
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 Hopewell need?
A normal year in Hopewell brings 3,260 heating degree days, 39% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,741 cooling degree days, 92% 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 4,945 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 750 | 0 |
| February | 600 | 1 |
| March | 452 | 9 |
| April | 184 | 53 |
| May | 49 | 156 |
| June | 3 | 337 |
| July | 0 | 468 |
| August | 0 | 415 |
| September | 13 | 239 |
| October | 152 | 56 |
| November | 406 | 6 |
| December | 652 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 3,260 | 1,741 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00444101. 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 Hopewell been warmer than normal lately?
Over 58 complete years from 1921 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Hopewell's climate compare?
Hopewell is warmer than 78 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 66. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.8°F is warmer than 77%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Hopewell 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 Hopewell 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.
- Enon, VA4,035 people · 3 mi NW
- Prince George, VA2,066 people · 5 mi S
- Charles City, VA36 people · 12 mi E
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 Hopewell's climate
What is the coldest month in Hopewell?
January, with a normal high of 50°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Hopewell?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Hopewell?
August, with 5.59 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Hopewell in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Hopewell in zone 7b in ZIP code 23860. By the same method at Hopewell's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Hopewell?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 14. Waiting until April 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Petersburg, VA7 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Disputanta, VA14 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Richmond, VA14 miles from this station, 59.0°F a year
- Sandston, VA17 miles from this station, 57.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made