Mountain City, Tennessee climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Mountain City's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 47.2 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.9°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,199 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMountain City 2
- Station IDUSC00406292
- Location36.47°N 81.80°W
- Elevation2,419 ft (737 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,486
On October 14, the normal high in Mountain City is 69°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Mountain City.
- Jan 46° 23°
- Feb 49° 25°
- Mar 57° 31°
- Apr 67° 39°
- May 74° 49°
- Jun 80° 56°
- Jul 82° 60°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 68° 41°
- Nov 58° 31°
- Dec 49° 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 in Mountain City 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 (5.15 in), the least in October (2.81 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 23°F | 34.2°F | 3.74 | 3.4 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| February | 49°F | 25°F | 37.1°F | 3.36 | 5.0 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 31°F | 44.0°F | 4.09 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 39°F | 53.0°F | 4.33 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 49°F | 61.3°F | 5.15 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 80°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 4.48 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 82°F | 60°F | 71.2°F | 5.03 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 70.3°F | 4.16 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 64.7°F | 3.26 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 41°F | 54.5°F | 2.81 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 31°F | 44.6°F | 2.89 | 0.4 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 49°F | 26°F | 37.6°F | 3.89 | 2.0 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 41°F | 53.4°F | 47.19 | 12.0 | 114 | 3 | 126 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −5°C | 1.2°C | 95 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 9°C | −4°C | 2.8°C | 85 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 6.7°C | 104 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 19°C | 4°C | 11.7°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 23°C | 9°C | 16.3°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 18.2°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 5°C | 12.5°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 0°C | 7.0°C | 73 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 3.1°C | 99 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406292; 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 Mountain City?
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 (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 USC00406292.
When is the last frost in Mountain City?
In Mountain City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 27 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 14 in half of years and before October 3 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 271 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 141 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before October 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 194 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mountain City in zone 7a in ZIP code 37683, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00406292; 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 Mountain City?
In a normal year in Mountain City, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 126 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 126a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 13high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 97°F, on July 1, 2012; the lowest is −24°F, on December 13, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 61.36 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 75.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00406292; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00406292. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Mountain City?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Mountain City, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (75%) and February the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68% | 2.4 |
| February | 66% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 72% | 5.2 |
| May | 71% | 5.7 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 74% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.3 |
| September | 74% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.6 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| December | 68% | 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 Mountain City need?
A normal year in Mountain City brings 4,837 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 632 cooling degree days, 30% 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 3,119 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 953 | 0 |
| February | 781 | 0 |
| March | 651 | 0 |
| April | 365 | 5 |
| May | 157 | 40 |
| June | 32 | 126 |
| July | 7 | 200 |
| August | 10 | 175 |
| September | 83 | 74 |
| October | 335 | 11 |
| November | 613 | 1 |
| December | 849 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,837 | 632 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406292. 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 Mountain City been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 54.4°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.4°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.4°F | at normal | 45.75 | 7.3 |
| 2022 | 52.4°F | −1.0°F | 50.69 | 15.8 |
| 2023 | 54.0°F | +0.6°F | 50.64 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | 54.4°F | +1.0°F | 60.67 | 12.3 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00406292. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mountain City's climate compare?
Mountain City is warmer than 1 of the other 115 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.4°F is warmer than 55%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mountain City is Cfb: temperate, no dry season, warm 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 Mountain City 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.
- Cove Creek, NC1,533 people · 13 mi S
- Damascus, VA790 people · 11 mi N
- Lansing, NC129 people · 16 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 Mountain City's climate
What is the coldest month in Mountain City?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Mountain City?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Mountain City?
May, with 5.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 2.81 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mountain City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mountain City in zone 7a in ZIP code 37683, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Mountain City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 27; 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
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Abingdon, VA16 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Flat Springs (1 mi E), NC17 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- Boone, NC20 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Beech Mountain, NC20 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made