Luray, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Luray's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 44.1 inches of precipitation and 19 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.2°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,121 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLuray (5 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00445096
- Location38.67°N 78.37°W
- Elevation1,400 ft (427 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population4,813
On October 22, the normal high in Luray is 65°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Luray.
- Jan 43° 23°
- Feb 47° 26°
- Mar 55° 32°
- Apr 67° 41°
- May 74° 50°
- Jun 81° 58°
- Jul 85° 62°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 78° 54°
- Oct 67° 43°
- Nov 57° 34°
- Dec 47° 28°
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 Luray each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.42 in), the least in February (2.45 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 23°F | 33.1°F | 2.85 | 6.1 | 10 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 47°F | 26°F | 36.5°F | 2.45 | 2.7 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 32°F | 43.2°F | 3.58 | 6.2 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 41°F | 53.8°F | 3.51 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 50°F | 62.0°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 58°F | 69.7°F | 4.76 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 85°F | 62°F | 73.7°F | 4.12 | 0.0 | 11 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 72.1°F | 3.77 | 0.0 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 78°F | 54°F | 66.1°F | 5.42 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 43°F | 55.4°F | 3.17 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 34°F | 45.3°F | 3.21 | 0.4 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 28°F | 37.4°F | 3.10 | 3.0 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 43°F | 54.0°F | 44.15 | 18.6 | 123 | 25 | 112 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 72 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 9°C | −4°C | 2.5°C | 62 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 13°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 91 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.9°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 6°C | 13.0°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 82 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 8°C | −2°C | 3.0°C | 79 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00445096; 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 Luray?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00445096.
When is the last frost in Luray?
In Luray, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 22 in half of years and before October 6 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 231 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 221 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 179 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 204 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 8 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Luray in zone 7a in ZIP code 22835, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00445096; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Luray?
In a normal year in Luray, 25 days a year reach 90°F, 112 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 25a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 112a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1941) is 105°F, on July 8, 1988; the lowest is −14°F, on February 5, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 58.17 in; the snowiest season is 1960–61, with 65.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00445096; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00445096. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Luray?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Luray, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and January the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.2 |
| February | 70% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 74% | 3.4 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 70% | 1.9 |
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 Luray need?
A normal year in Luray brings 4,825 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 856 cooling degree days, 6% 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 3,406 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 987 | 0 |
| February | 798 | 0 |
| March | 677 | 1 |
| April | 351 | 13 |
| May | 149 | 58 |
| June | 26 | 165 |
| July | 2 | 272 |
| August | 6 | 228 |
| September | 69 | 102 |
| October | 315 | 17 |
| November | 590 | 1 |
| December | 856 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,825 | 856 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00445096. 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 Luray been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.0°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.0°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 54.0°F | at normal | 42.77 | 27.9 |
| 2023 | 56.0°F | +2.0°F | 35.72 | 0.4 |
| 2024 | 56.7°F | +2.7°F | 40.55 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 55.0°F | +1.0°F | 42.55 | 15.9 |
Over 48 complete years from 1943 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.2°F per century (+0.18°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00445096; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Luray's climate compare?
Luray is warmer than 19 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 26. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.0°F is warmer than 57%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Luray 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.
Questions about Luray's climate
What is the coldest month in Luray?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Luray?
Yes: 19 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (6.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Luray?
September, with 5.42 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Luray in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Luray in zone 7a in ZIP code 22835, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Luray?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sperryville, VA8 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
- Big Meadows, VA11 miles from this station, 47.5°F a year
- Edinburg, VA15 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- Woodstock, VA17 miles from this station, 53.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made