Parsons, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Parsons's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 55.0 inches of precipitation and 55 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.4°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,397 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationParsons (3 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00466867
- Location39.07°N 79.63°W
- Elevation1,775 ft (541 m)
- Population1,287
On October 23, the normal high in Parsons is 63°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 38%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Parsons.
- Jan 39° 22°
- Feb 43° 24°
- Mar 52° 31°
- Apr 64° 40°
- May 73° 50°
- Jun 80° 58°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 82° 62°
- Sep 76° 55°
- Oct 65° 43°
- Nov 53° 33°
- 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 in Parsons each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.95 in), the least in November (3.60 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 22°F | 30.7°F | 3.81 | 16.8 | 19 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 24°F | 33.5°F | 3.88 | 15.0 | 16 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 31°F | 41.2°F | 4.45 | 9.2 | 16 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 40°F | 51.9°F | 4.64 | 1.6 | 15 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 50°F | 61.4°F | 5.79 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 80°F | 58°F | 68.9°F | 5.95 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 72.9°F | 5.79 | 0.0 | 15 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 62°F | 71.9°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 76°F | 55°F | 65.5°F | 4.04 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 43°F | 54.1°F | 3.94 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 33°F | 43.0°F | 3.60 | 3.3 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 10 h |
| December | 43°F | 27°F | 35.0°F | 4.37 | 9.3 | 17 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 42°F | 52.5°F | 55.01 | 55.3 | 176 | 5 | 133 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −5°C | −0.7°C | 97 mm | 43 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 99 mm | 38 cm |
| March | 11°C | −1°C | 5.1°C | 113 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 11.1°C | 118 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 147 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 15°C | 20.5°C | 151 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 147 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.2°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 13°C | 18.6°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 0°C | 6.1°C | 91 mm | 8 cm |
| December | 6°C | −3°C | 1.7°C | 111 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00466867; 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 Parsons?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. 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 USC00466867.
When is the last frost in Parsons?
In Parsons, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 24 in half of years and before October 11 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 241 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 241 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 182 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 206 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 10 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Parsons in zone 6a in ZIP code 26269, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Parsons's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (19 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00466867; 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 Parsons?
In a normal year in Parsons, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 133 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 176 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
- 133a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 27high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 176a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1899) is 102°F, on June 5, 1925; the lowest is −28°F, on January 13, 1912.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 96.99 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 146.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00466867; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00466867. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Parsons?
Over a year 68% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Parsons, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (76%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 55% | 1.7 |
| February | 59% | 2.5 |
| March | 62% | 3.5 |
| April | 66% | 4.7 |
| May | 67% | 5.3 |
| June | 73% | 5.9 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 76% | 5.2 |
| September | 74% | 4.3 |
| October | 67% | 3.0 |
| November | 66% | 2.1 |
| December | 55% | 1.5 |
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 Parsons need?
A normal year in Parsons brings 5,308 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 782 cooling degree days, 14% 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 3,223 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,062 | 0 |
| February | 883 | 0 |
| March | 740 | 0 |
| April | 401 | 8 |
| May | 169 | 57 |
| June | 32 | 149 |
| July | 3 | 248 |
| August | 5 | 219 |
| September | 74 | 89 |
| October | 351 | 12 |
| November | 660 | 0 |
| December | 929 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,308 | 782 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00466867. 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 Parsons been warmer than normal lately?
Over 68 complete years from 1900 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.3°F per century (+0.13°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 Parsons's climate compare?
Parsons is warmer than 26 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 52. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.5°F is warmer than 52%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Parsons 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 Parsons 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.
- Hambleton, WV222 people · 1 mi NW
- Hendricks, WV208 people · 0 mi NE
- St. George, WV145 people · 7 mi NW
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 Parsons's climate
What is the coldest month in Parsons?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Parsons?
Yes: 55 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (16.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Parsons?
June, with 5.95 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.60 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Parsons in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Parsons in zone 6a in ZIP code 26269, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Parsons's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Parsons?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; 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
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Canaan Valley #2, WV11 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Davis, WV11 miles from this station, 45.7°F a year
- Belington, WV16 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Elkins, WV17 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made