Palmyra, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Palmyra's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 43.7 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.9°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,109 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPalmyra (3 mi S)
- Station IDUSC00446491
- Location37.81°N 78.26°W
- Elevation410 ft (125 m)
- Population (census place)25
On October 23, the normal high in Palmyra is 66°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Palmyra.
- Jan 46° 25°
- Feb 49° 26°
- Mar 57° 32°
- Apr 68° 41°
- May 75° 51°
- Jun 82° 61°
- Jul 86° 65°
- Aug 85° 64°
- Sep 78° 57°
- Oct 68° 44°
- Nov 58° 33°
- Dec 49° 28°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Palmyra each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in September (4.28 in), the least in February (2.83 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 25°F | 35.1°F | 3.08 | 3.7 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 26°F | 37.4°F | 2.83 | 4.7 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 32°F | 44.4°F | 3.79 | 1.8 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 41°F | 54.6°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 51°F | 63.2°F | 3.91 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 82°F | 61°F | 71.5°F | 4.11 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 65°F | 75.7°F | 4.17 | 0.0 | 10 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 85°F | 64°F | 74.3°F | 3.49 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 78°F | 57°F | 67.4°F | 4.28 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 44°F | 56.0°F | 3.70 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 33°F | 45.7°F | 3.38 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 49°F | 28°F | 38.2°F | 3.62 | 2.0 | 9 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 43.68 | 12.3 | 110 | 26 | 112 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −4°C | 1.7°C | 78 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 10°C | −4°C | 3.0°C | 72 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 96 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 20°C | 5°C | 12.6°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.5°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 92 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446491; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Palmyra?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00446491.
When is the last frost in Palmyra?
In Palmyra, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 8 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 231 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 202 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Palmyra in zone 7a in ZIP code 22963, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Palmyra's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°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 USC00446491; 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 in Palmyra?
In a normal year in Palmyra, 26 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 112 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 110 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 112a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 110a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1994) is 106°F, on July 5, 2026; the lowest is −13°F, on February 5, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 74.31 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 58.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00446491; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00446491. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Palmyra?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Palmyra, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 77% | 2.7 |
| December | 72% | 2.1 |
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 much heating and cooling does Palmyra need?
A normal year in Palmyra brings 4,571 heating degree days, 15% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,066 cooling degree days, 17% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,701 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 929 | 0 |
| February | 772 | 0 |
| March | 639 | 2 |
| April | 331 | 17 |
| May | 127 | 69 |
| June | 14 | 209 |
| July | 0 | 334 |
| August | 2 | 290 |
| September | 52 | 126 |
| October | 295 | 17 |
| November | 580 | 1 |
| December | 831 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,571 | 1,066 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446491. 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.
Has Palmyra been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.7°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.3°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.1°F | +1.8°F | 35.91 | 7.3 |
| 2022 | 55.8°F | +0.5°F | 50.30 | 10.8 |
| 2024 | 59.2°F | +3.9°F | 50.81 | 3.8 |
| 2025 | 57.7°F | +2.4°F | 40.59 | 14.9 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00446491. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Palmyra's climate compare?
Palmyra is warmer than 35 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 22. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.3°F is warmer than 61%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Palmyra 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 Palmyra share this climate record?
3 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.
- Lake Monticello, VA10,820 people · 8 mi NW
- Scottsville, VA543 people · 12 mi W
- Columbia, VA38 people · 7 mi SE
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 Palmyra's climate
What is the coldest month in Palmyra?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Palmyra?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (4.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Palmyra?
September, with 4.28 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.83 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Palmyra in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Palmyra in zone 7a in ZIP code 22963, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Palmyra's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Palmyra?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bremo Bluff, VA7 miles from this station, 56.5°F a year
- Monticello, VA17 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Louisa, VA21 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Crozier, VA24 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made