John H Kerr Dam, Virginia climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
John H Kerr Dam's normal year runs from 29°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 43.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.7°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,105 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationJohn H Kerr Dam
- Station IDUSC00444414
- Location36.60°N 78.30°W
- Elevation250 ft (76 m)
On October 23, the normal high in John H Kerr Dam is 71°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for John H Kerr Dam.
- Jan 51° 29°
- Feb 54° 31°
- Mar 61° 37°
- Apr 72° 47°
- May 80° 57°
- Jun 88° 66°
- Jul 92° 70°
- Aug 90° 69°
- Sep 84° 62°
- Oct 74° 49°
- Nov 63° 39°
- Dec 54° 32°
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 John H Kerr Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.91 in), the least in February (2.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 29°F | 39.6°F | 3.16 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 54°F | 31°F | 42.4°F | 2.48 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 37°F | 49.2°F | 3.86 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 47°F | 59.4°F | 3.21 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 80°F | 57°F | 68.4°F | 3.50 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 88°F | 66°F | 76.7°F | 4.57 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 92°F | 70°F | 81.1°F | 4.91 | 10 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 90°F | 69°F | 79.3°F | 3.82 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 84°F | 62°F | 72.9°F | 4.08 | 8 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 49°F | 61.1°F | 3.47 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 39°F | 50.7°F | 3.02 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 54°F | 32°F | 42.9°F | 3.43 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 49°F | 60.3°F | 43.51 | 112 | 59 | 80 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 80 mm |
| February | 12°C | −1°C | 5.8°C | 63 mm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.6°C | 98 mm |
| April | 22°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 82 mm |
| May | 26°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 89 mm |
| June | 31°C | 19°C | 24.8°C | 116 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 27.3°C | 125 mm |
| August | 32°C | 20°C | 26.3°C | 97 mm |
| September | 29°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 104 mm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 16.2°C | 88 mm |
| November | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 77 mm |
| December | 12°C | 0°C | 6.1°C | 87 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Clarksville (14 miles away), gets 4 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00444414; 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 John H Kerr Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, 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 USC00444414.
When is the last frost at John H Kerr Dam?
In John H Kerr Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 5 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 20 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 51 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 210 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 234 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 24 in half of springs and before November 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts John H Kerr Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 23917, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00444414; 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 John H Kerr Dam?
In a normal year in John H Kerr Dam, 59 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 80 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 112 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 59a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 80a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 112a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 108°F, on August 10, 2007; the lowest is −5°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 62.10 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 16.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00444414; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00444414. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at John H Kerr Dam?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at John H Kerr Dam, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.5 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 78% | 2.8 |
| December | 73% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does John H Kerr Dam record?
A normal year at John H Kerr Dam brings 3,504 heating degree days, 35% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,825 cooling degree days, 2.0 times 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 4,896 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 788 | 0 |
| February | 632 | 0 |
| March | 495 | 5 |
| April | 214 | 46 |
| May | 58 | 162 |
| June | 5 | 355 |
| July | 0 | 498 |
| August | 0 | 443 |
| September | 17 | 254 |
| October | 175 | 56 |
| November | 434 | 5 |
| December | 686 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,504 | 1,825 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00444414. 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 John H Kerr Dam been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 61.5°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 60.3°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.3°F | +1.0°F | 39.30 |
| 2022 | 60.6°F | +0.3°F | 37.38 |
| 2023 | 62.1°F | +1.8°F | 40.94 |
| 2024 | 62.6°F | +2.3°F | 40.04 |
| 2025 | 61.5°F | +1.2°F | 39.83 |
Over 63 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.2°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00444414; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does John H Kerr Dam's climate compare?
John H Kerr Dam is warmer than 78 of the 81 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.3°F is warmer than 76%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, John H Kerr Dam 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 John H Kerr Dam share this climate record?
10 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.
- South Hill, VA4,920 people · 13 mi NE
- Bracey, VA1,243 people · 11 mi E
- Norlina, NC930 people · 12 mi SE
- Warrenton, NC834 people · 16 mi SE
- La Crosse, VA613 people · 13 mi NE
- Boydton, VA301 people · 7 mi NW
- Baskerville, VA202 people · 6 mi N
- Macon, NC106 people · 16 mi SE
- Middleburg, NC103 people · 14 mi S
- Union Level, VA95 people · 8 mi NE
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 John H Kerr Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at John H Kerr Dam?
January, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow at John H Kerr Dam?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Clarksville (14 miles away), records 4 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at John H Kerr Dam?
July, with 4.91 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is John H Kerr Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts John H Kerr Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 23917, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at John H Kerr Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 5; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clarksville, VA14 miles from this station, 59.6°F a year
- Chase City, VA16 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Henderson, NC19 miles from this station, 58.2°F a year
- Oxford, NC27 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made