Old Hickory Dam, Tennessee climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Old Hickory Dam's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 90°F August afternoons, with 47.9 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.7°C, January lows of −3°C, August highs of 32°C, 1,217 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOld Hickory Dam
- Station IDUSC00406803
- Location36.30°N 86.66°W
- Elevation460 ft (140 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Old Hickory Dam is 69°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Old Hickory Dam.
- Jan 47° 27°
- Feb 51° 30°
- Mar 61° 37°
- Apr 71° 45°
- May 79° 55°
- Jun 86° 64°
- Jul 90° 67°
- Aug 90° 67°
- Sep 83° 60°
- Oct 72° 47°
- Nov 60° 36°
- Dec 50° 29°
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 Old Hickory Dam each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in April (4.74 in), the least in October (3.33 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 27°F | 37.1°F | 3.73 | 0.6 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| February | 51°F | 30°F | 40.7°F | 4.26 | 0.3 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 37°F | 48.6°F | 4.64 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 45°F | 58.2°F | 4.74 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 55°F | 66.9°F | 4.55 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 64°F | 75.1°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 90°F | 67°F | 78.5°F | 4.05 | 0.0 | 9 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 90°F | 67°F | 78.6°F | 3.38 | 0.0 | 7 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 83°F | 60°F | 71.6°F | 3.70 | 0.0 | 7 | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 47°F | 59.7°F | 3.33 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 36°F | 47.9°F | 3.35 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 29°F | 39.5°F | 4.44 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 47°F | 58.5°F | 47.93 | 1.2 | 105 | 59 | 86 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −3°C | 2.8°C | 95 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 11°C | −1°C | 4.8°C | 108 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 118 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 22°C | 7°C | 14.6°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 19°C | 25.8°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 19°C | 25.9°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 15°C | 22.0°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 8°C | 15.4°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 10°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406803; 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 Old Hickory Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00406803.
When is the last frost at Old Hickory Dam?
In Old Hickory Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 11 in half of years and after April 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 29 in half of years and before October 18 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 111 year in 10 after April 26; 9 in 10 after March 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 291 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 200 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 221 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Old Hickory Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 37115, 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 USC00406803; 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 at Old Hickory Dam?
In a normal year in Old Hickory Dam, 59 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 86 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 105 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 59a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 86a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 105a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00406803.
How sunny is it at Old Hickory Dam?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Old Hickory Dam, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.2 |
| February | 62% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 64% | 1.9 |
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 Old Hickory Dam record?
A normal year at Old Hickory Dam brings 3,900 heating degree days, 27% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,571 cooling degree days, 73% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,508 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 865 | 0 |
| February | 681 | 1 |
| March | 510 | 3 |
| April | 232 | 27 |
| May | 74 | 132 |
| June | 2 | 305 |
| July | 0 | 417 |
| August | 0 | 422 |
| September | 24 | 222 |
| October | 206 | 40 |
| November | 516 | 3 |
| December | 790 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,900 | 1,571 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00406803. 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.
How does Old Hickory Dam's climate compare?
Old Hickory Dam is warmer than 64 of the 116 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.5°F is warmer than 70%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Old Hickory Dam is Cfa: temperate, 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 Old Hickory Dam share this climate record?
Hendersonville 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.
- Hendersonville, TNalso near: Old Hickory Weather Office (5 mi, 58.6°F a year); White House (10 mi, 58.2°F a year)63,947 people · 3 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 Old Hickory Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Old Hickory Dam?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is August (90°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow at Old Hickory Dam?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Old Hickory Dam?
April, with 4.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Old Hickory Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Old Hickory Dam in zone 7b in ZIP code 37115, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Old Hickory Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 11; in one year in ten it comes after April 26. Waiting until April 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Old Hickory Weather Office, TN6 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Shelby Bottoms Nature, TN10 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Goodlettsville, TN10 miles from this station, 56.5°F a year
- White House, TN11 miles from this station, 58.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made