Newfound Gap, Tennessee climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Newfound Gap's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 74°F July afternoons, with 73.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.3°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 23°C, 1,876 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNewfound Gap
- Station IDUSC00406500
- Location35.61°N 83.43°W
- Elevation5,040 ft (1,536 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Newfound Gap is 58°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Newfound Gap.
- Jan 39° 22°
- Feb 42° 25°
- Mar 49° 30°
- Apr 58° 38°
- May 66° 47°
- Jun 71° 54°
- Jul 74° 57°
- Aug 72° 57°
- Sep 68° 51°
- Oct 59° 41°
- Nov 50° 32°
- 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 Newfound Gap each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 74°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in July (7.33 in), the least in August (5.07 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 22°F | 30.6°F | 6.81 | 14 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| February | 42°F | 25°F | 33.3°F | 6.04 | 13 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 49°F | 30°F | 39.4°F | 6.56 | 13 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 38°F | 48.0°F | 6.00 | 12 | <1 | 9 | 13 h |
| May | 66°F | 47°F | 56.4°F | 6.19 | 15 | <1 | 2 | 14 h |
| June | 71°F | 54°F | 62.4°F | 6.12 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 74°F | 57°F | 65.5°F | 7.33 | 17 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 72°F | 57°F | 64.4°F | 5.07 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 68°F | 51°F | 59.6°F | 5.43 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 41°F | 50.3°F | 5.43 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 50°F | 32°F | 41.2°F | 5.87 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 43°F | 27°F | 34.7°F | 7.01 | 12 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 40°F | 48.8°F | 73.86 | 156 | <1 | 120 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.8°C | 173 mm |
| February | 5°C | −4°C | 0.7°C | 153 mm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.1°C | 167 mm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 152 mm |
| May | 19°C | 8°C | 13.6°C | 157 mm |
| June | 22°C | 12°C | 16.9°C | 155 mm |
| July | 23°C | 14°C | 18.6°C | 186 mm |
| August | 22°C | 14°C | 18.0°C | 129 mm |
| September | 20°C | 11°C | 15.3°C | 138 mm |
| October | 15°C | 5°C | 10.2°C | 138 mm |
| November | 10°C | 0°C | 5.1°C | 149 mm |
| December | 6°C | −3°C | 1.5°C | 178 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Mount Leconte (3 miles away), gets 77 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406500; 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 Newfound Gap?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USC00406500.
When is the last frost at Newfound Gap?
In Newfound Gap, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 1 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 31 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Newfound Gap 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 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (22 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 USC00406500; 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 Newfound Gap?
In a normal year in Newfound Gap, a 90°F day is rare, 120 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 156 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
- 120a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 25high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 156a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1991) is 92°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −16°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 102.06 in; the snowiest season is 2014–15, with 62.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00406500; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00406500. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Newfound Gap?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Newfound Gap, 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 Newfound Gap record?
A normal year at Newfound Gap brings 6,021 heating degree days, 12% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 143 cooling degree days, 84% 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 2,062 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,066 | 0 |
| February | 889 | 0 |
| March | 792 | 0 |
| April | 509 | 1 |
| May | 273 | 6 |
| June | 104 | 25 |
| July | 43 | 59 |
| August | 59 | 40 |
| September | 176 | 12 |
| October | 459 | 1 |
| November | 713 | 0 |
| December | 939 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,021 | 143 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406500. 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 Newfound Gap been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 49.7°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.8°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.8°F | +1.0°F | 78.28 |
| 2022 | 49.4°F | +0.6°F | 79.30 |
| 2023 | 50.4°F | +1.6°F | 73.04 |
| 2024 | 50.9°F | +2.1°F | 80.08 |
| 2025 | 49.7°F | +0.9°F | 65.60 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00406500. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Newfound Gap's climate compare?
Newfound Gap 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 48.8°F is warmer than 35%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Newfound Gap 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.
Which places near Newfound Gap share this climate record?
Whittier has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Whittier, NC0 people · 13 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.
Questions about Newfound Gap's climate
What is the coldest month at Newfound Gap?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (74°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Newfound Gap?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Mount Leconte (3 miles away), records 77 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Newfound Gap?
July, with 7.33 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 5.07 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Newfound Gap in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Newfound Gap 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 −5°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Newfound Gap?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mount Leconte, TN3 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Gatlinburg, TN8 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Cherokee, NC11 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Bryson City, NC11 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