Mount Leconte, Tennessee climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Mount Leconte's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 66°F July afternoons, with 84.5 inches of precipitation and 77 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 19°C, 2,146 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Leconte
- Station IDUSC00406328
- Location35.66°N 83.44°W
- Elevation6,493 ft (1,979 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Mount Leconte is 52°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Leconte.
- Jan 34° 18°
- Feb 35° 20°
- Mar 41° 24°
- Apr 50° 32°
- May 57° 40°
- Jun 63° 47°
- Jul 66° 50°
- Aug 65° 49°
- Sep 61° 44°
- Oct 54° 36°
- Nov 44° 27°
- Dec 37° 21°
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 Mount Leconte each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 66°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in June (8.71 in), the least in October (5.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 18°F | 25.5°F | 7.17 | 16.1 | 14 | <1 | 26 | 10 h |
| February | 35°F | 20°F | 27.4°F | 5.80 | 13.8 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 41°F | 24°F | 32.5°F | 6.69 | 16.9 | 13 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 32°F | 41.0°F | 7.53 | 6.4 | 14 | <1 | 15 | 13 h |
| May | 57°F | 40°F | 48.3°F | 7.30 | 1.3 | 16 | <1 | 6 | 14 h |
| June | 63°F | 47°F | 54.8°F | 8.71 | 0.0 | 17 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 66°F | 50°F | 58.0°F | 8.71 | 0.0 | 18 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 65°F | 49°F | 57.1°F | 7.53 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 61°F | 44°F | 52.6°F | 6.68 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 54°F | 36°F | 44.6°F | 5.15 | 2.5 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 44°F | 27°F | 35.2°F | 6.40 | 5.4 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 37°F | 21°F | 29.2°F | 6.82 | 14.4 | 13 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 34°F | 42.2°F | 84.49 | 76.8 | 165 | <1 | 151 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 182 mm | 41 cm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.6°C | 147 mm | 35 cm |
| March | 5°C | −4°C | 0.3°C | 170 mm | 43 cm |
| April | 10°C | 0°C | 5.0°C | 191 mm | 16 cm |
| May | 14°C | 5°C | 9.1°C | 185 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 17°C | 8°C | 12.7°C | 221 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 19°C | 10°C | 14.4°C | 221 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18°C | 10°C | 13.9°C | 191 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16°C | 7°C | 11.4°C | 170 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 2°C | 7.0°C | 131 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 6°C | −3°C | 1.8°C | 163 mm | 14 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.6°C | 173 mm | 37 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406328; 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 Mount Leconte?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in July and August. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (16).
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 USC00406328.
When is the last frost at Mount Leconte?
In Mount Leconte, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 22 in half of years and after June 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 15 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
- May 221 year in 10 after June 11; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 132 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 152 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Leconte 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, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (21 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 USC00406328; 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 Mount Leconte?
In a normal year in Mount Leconte, a 90°F day is rare, 151 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 165 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 151a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 165a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00406328.
How sunny is it at Mount Leconte?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Mount Leconte, 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Mount Leconte record?
A normal year at Mount Leconte brings 8,301 heating degree days, 55% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 841 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,224 | 0 |
| February | 1,054 | 0 |
| March | 1,006 | 0 |
| April | 722 | 0 |
| May | 518 | 0 |
| June | 306 | 0 |
| July | 219 | 1 |
| August | 244 | 0 |
| September | 374 | 0 |
| October | 631 | 0 |
| November | 894 | 0 |
| December | 1,110 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,301 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406328. 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 Mount Leconte been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 43.7°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.2°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.1°F | +0.9°F | 89.19 | 44.8 |
| 2023 | 43.7°F | +1.5°F | 79.82 | 53.2 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00406328. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mount Leconte's climate compare?
Mount Leconte is warmer than 0 of the 116 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 110. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.2°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mount Leconte is Dfb: continental, 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.
Questions about Mount Leconte's climate
What is the coldest month at Mount Leconte?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (66°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Mount Leconte?
Yes: 77 inches in a normal year, falling on 31 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (16.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Mount Leconte?
June, with 8.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 5.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Leconte in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Leconte in zone 7a in ZIP code 37738, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Mount Leconte?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 22; in one year in ten it comes after June 11. Waiting until June 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Newfound Gap, TN3 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Gatlinburg, TN6 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Cherokee, NC14 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Bryson City, NC14 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made