Mount Weather, Virginia climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Mount Weather's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 46.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.5°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,177 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Weather
- Station IDUSC00445851
- Location39.06°N 77.89°W
- Elevation1,659 ft (506 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Mount Weather is 62°F and the normal low 44°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 Mount Weather.
- Jan 40° 22°
- Feb 43° 24°
- Mar 50° 30°
- Apr 62° 41°
- May 70° 51°
- Jun 79° 61°
- Jul 82° 65°
- Aug 81° 64°
- Sep 75° 57°
- Oct 64° 46°
- Nov 53° 36°
- Dec 43° 27°
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 Weather each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.33 in), the least in February (2.96 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 22°F | 31.0°F | 3.25 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 24°F | 33.4°F | 2.96 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 50°F | 30°F | 40.2°F | 3.68 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 41°F | 51.4°F | 3.36 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 70°F | 51°F | 60.7°F | 4.88 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 79°F | 61°F | 69.6°F | 4.83 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 82°F | 65°F | 73.6°F | 4.01 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 81°F | 64°F | 72.3°F | 3.63 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 75°F | 57°F | 65.7°F | 5.33 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 46°F | 54.8°F | 3.57 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 36°F | 44.4°F | 3.20 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 10 h |
| December | 43°F | 27°F | 35.1°F | 3.65 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 44°F | 52.7°F | 46.35 | 118 | 5 | 105 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.6°C | 83 mm |
| February | 6°C | −4°C | 0.8°C | 75 mm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.6°C | 93 mm |
| April | 17°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 85 mm |
| May | 21°C | 11°C | 15.9°C | 124 mm |
| June | 26°C | 16°C | 20.9°C | 123 mm |
| July | 28°C | 18°C | 23.1°C | 102 mm |
| August | 27°C | 18°C | 22.4°C | 92 mm |
| September | 24°C | 14°C | 18.7°C | 135 mm |
| October | 18°C | 8°C | 12.7°C | 91 mm |
| November | 12°C | 2°C | 6.9°C | 81 mm |
| December | 6°C | −3°C | 1.7°C | 93 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Winchester (17 miles away), gets 23 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00445851; 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 Weather?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00445851.
When is the last frost at Mount Weather?
In Mount Weather, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 17 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 171 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 198 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 218 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 6 in half of springs and before November 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Weather in zone 7a in ZIP code 20135, 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 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (24 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 USC00445851; 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 Weather?
In a normal year in Mount Weather, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 105 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 118 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 105a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 28high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 118a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1915) is 100°F, on July 10, 1936; the lowest is −15°F, on January 18, 1982.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1979, with 64.13 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 85.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00445851; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00445851. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Mount Weather?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Mount Weather, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (79%) and January the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.0 |
| February | 68% | 2.8 |
| March | 68% | 3.8 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 71% | 5.4 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.3 |
| October | 72% | 3.1 |
| November | 72% | 2.3 |
| December | 66% | 1.7 |
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 Weather record?
A normal year at Mount Weather brings 5,302 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 848 cooling degree days, 7% 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 3,269 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,054 | 0 |
| February | 885 | 0 |
| March | 770 | 1 |
| April | 420 | 14 |
| May | 185 | 53 |
| June | 30 | 169 |
| July | 3 | 269 |
| August | 6 | 232 |
| September | 76 | 95 |
| October | 329 | 15 |
| November | 619 | 1 |
| December | 927 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,302 | 848 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00445851. 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 Weather been warmer than normal?
Over 75 complete years from 1915 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.1°F per century (+0.06°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 Mount Weather's climate compare?
Mount Weather is warmer than 9 of the 81 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 44. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.7°F is warmer than 52%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mount Weather is Dfa: continental, 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 Mount Weather share this climate record?
6 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.
- Berryville, VA4,819 people · 8 mi NW
- Middleburg, VA696 people · 10 mi SE
- Shenandoah Retreat, VA573 people · 5 mi N
- Paris, VA58 people · 5 mi SW
- Upperville, VA45 people · 5 mi S
- Rectortown, VA44 people · 10 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Mount Weather's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Mount Weather. This page uses MT WX; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Weather 3 USC00445853 | in town | 1,550 ft | 52.2°F | 23°F | 82°F | – | – | April 17 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Mount Weather's climate
What is the coldest month at Mount Weather?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow at Mount Weather?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Winchester (17 miles away), records 23 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Mount Weather?
September, with 5.33 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.96 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Weather in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Weather in zone 7a in ZIP code 20135, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come at Mount Weather?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Purcellville, VA11 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
- Winchester, VA17 miles from this station, 54.3°F a year
- Front Royal, VA19 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Weather Office Sterling, VA22 miles from this station, 55.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made