Oak Ridge, TN Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Oak Ridge's primary NOAA station, OAK RIDGE ASOS.
The climate verdict for Oak Ridge
Water is the standout signal in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: 55.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 60°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 60°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 55.5"
- precipitation, annual total
- 218 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Oak Ridge: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00053868 · Oak Ridge, TN 60°F mean · 55.5" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 60°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,077
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hickory Flat
- PRCP-WET 55.5"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,483 HDD
- STN-1 USW00053868
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hickory Flat, MS (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every TN station list.
- Oak Ridge (this station) 60°F
- Cold Emporia, VA 60°F
- Hot Hickory Flat, MS 60°F
- Near Chapel Hill, NC 60°F
- Near Belle Mina, AL 60°F
Climate Living Index · Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge: 71/100 · grade B
Oak Ridge publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Oak Ridge, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 48 calendar days | 92/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 59.8°F · 7.7° from 67.5°F | 76/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 218 days/year | 76/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 55.5 in · 20.5 from 35 in | 26/100 · F |
Oak Ridge · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Oak Ridge is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 39.1°F and warmest-month mean 79.0°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 79.0°F
- Coldest month
- 39.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Oak Ridge sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Oak Ridge's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 26% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Oak Ridge sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 10% wettest
- Oak Ridge's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 35th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Oak Ridge compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Oak Ridge's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F (9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 5.1" | 19.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 53°F (12°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 5.6" | 14.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 62°F (17°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 5.1" | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 72°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 5.2" | 0.9 | 0.1 |
| May | 80°F (27°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 4.1" | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| June | 86°F (30°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.5" | 0.0 | 8.7 |
| July | 89°F (32°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 5.5" | 0.0 | 14.6 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 3.5" | 0.0 | 13.3 |
| September | 83°F (28°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 3.8" | 0.0 | 5.7 |
| October | 72°F (22°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.1" | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| November | 60°F (16°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 4.6" | 8.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 51°F (10°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 5.4" | 15.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 17, short of 90°F on every date, while 48 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 30°F near January 16.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 10, then returns to freezing around December 25, covering 48 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 4, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 15 at 27%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 130 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 18 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Oak Ridge.
Where Oak Ridge Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 56 inches.
Oak Ridge earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
11.5 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
11.8 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
12.2 days with precipitation
Oak Ridge spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 24% of the annual total and December through February 29%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Oak Ridge has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 39.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: February averages 5.6" and October 3.1". The three wettest months together take 30% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Oak Ridge, it arrives in quantity
55.5" of precipitation falls across only about 130 wet days here, averaging 0.43 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 130 a year, 36% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.43 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 13
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 4
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 31
50% probability date
Growing Season
218 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,483
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,629
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside TN closest to Oak Ridge on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (60°F here).
- Beatty, NV 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Bisbee, AZ 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Cheyenne, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Conchas Dam, NM 60°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (55.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Cleveland, TX 55.5" · 0.0" off
- Palm Bay, FL 55.5" · 0.0" off
- Franklin, NC 55.5" · 0.0" off
- Gainesville, GA 55.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Oak Ridge's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Oak Ridge's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,483 annual heating degree days against 1,629 for cooling. Its 39.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Oak Ridge's frost-free season lasts about 218 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Oak Ridge's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 39.9°F. The annual average is 60°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Oak Ridge carries 55.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Oak Ridge's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Oak Ridge, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Oak Ridge's climate
How much rain does Oak Ridge get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Oak Ridge get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Oak Ridge? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Oak Ridge's primary station: OAK RIDGE ASOS (USW00053868). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 4755120). Match rule for Oak Ridge: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Oak Ridge comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.