Pennington Gap, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pennington Gap's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 49.7 inches of precipitation and 9 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.7°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,262 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPennington Gap
- Station IDUSC00446626
- Location36.76°N 83.01°W
- Elevation1,360 ft (415 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population1,575
On October 22, the normal high in Pennington Gap is 68°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pennington Gap.
- Jan 45° 23°
- Feb 49° 26°
- Mar 59° 32°
- Apr 69° 40°
- May 76° 50°
- Jun 83° 59°
- Jul 85° 63°
- Aug 85° 62°
- Sep 81° 55°
- Oct 71° 42°
- Nov 58° 32°
- Dec 48° 26°
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 Pennington Gap each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in March (4.86 in), the least in November (2.88 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 23°F | 34.0°F | 4.41 | 3.5 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 26°F | 37.5°F | 4.37 | 2.8 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 32°F | 45.2°F | 4.86 | 1.1 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 40°F | 54.1°F | 4.59 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 50°F | 63.0°F | 4.32 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 59°F | 70.7°F | 4.39 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 85°F | 63°F | 74.1°F | 4.44 | 0.0 | 13 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 85°F | 62°F | 73.2°F | 3.95 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 55°F | 67.7°F | 3.71 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 42°F | 56.1°F | 2.99 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 32°F | 44.9°F | 2.88 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 26°F | 37.3°F | 4.77 | 1.8 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 42°F | 54.8°F | 49.68 | 9.3 | 126 | 15 | 120 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −5°C | 1.1°C | 112 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 10°C | −4°C | 3.1°C | 111 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.3°C | 123 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 4°C | 12.3°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.5°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.9°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 5°C | 13.4°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 121 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446626; 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 Pennington Gap?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00446626.
When is the last frost in Pennington Gap?
In Pennington Gap, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 22 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 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 221 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 179 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 201 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 10 in half of springs and before October 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pennington Gap in zone 7a in ZIP code 24277, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00446626; 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 in Pennington Gap?
In a normal year in Pennington Gap, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 120 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a 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
- 12high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 126a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1931) is 105°F, on July 29, 1952; the lowest is −25°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 66.75 in; the snowiest season is 1935–36, with 55.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00446626; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00446626. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pennington Gap?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pennington Gap, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and February the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 2.2 |
| February | 62% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 4.0 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 78% | 6.3 |
| July | 76% | 5.9 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.6 |
| November | 74% | 2.7 |
| 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 much heating and cooling does Pennington Gap need?
A normal year in Pennington Gap brings 4,620 heating degree days, 14% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 938 cooling degree days, 3% 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 3,566 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 961 | 0 |
| February | 770 | 0 |
| March | 614 | 0 |
| April | 333 | 8 |
| May | 125 | 63 |
| June | 15 | 187 |
| July | 1 | 282 |
| August | 2 | 258 |
| September | 45 | 125 |
| October | 293 | 17 |
| November | 605 | 0 |
| December | 857 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,620 | 938 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446626. 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 Pennington Gap been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.9°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.8°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.2°F | +1.4°F | 51.17 | 3.0 |
| 2022 | 55.4°F | +0.6°F | 51.11 | 8.6 |
| 2025 | 55.9°F | +1.1°F | 59.90 | 4.5 |
Over 54 complete years from 1932 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00446626; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pennington Gap's climate compare?
Pennington Gap is warmer than 31 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 64. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.8°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pennington Gap 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 Pennington Gap share this climate record?
7 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.
- Sneedville, TN1,344 people · 19 mi SW
- Evarts, KY601 people · 12 mi NW
- Kenvir, KY550 people · 10 mi NW
- Dryden, VA545 people · 4 mi E
- Cawood, KY499 people · 12 mi W
- Stickleyville, VA217 people · 6 mi SE
- St. Charles, VA84 people · 4 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 Pennington Gap's climate
What is the coldest month in Pennington Gap?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Pennington Gap?
Yes: 9 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pennington Gap?
March, with 4.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 2.88 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pennington Gap in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pennington Gap in zone 7a in ZIP code 24277, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Pennington Gap?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 22; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Big Stone Gap, VA14 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
- Baxter, KY19 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Skyline (1 mi SE), KY23 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Rogersville, TN24 miles from this station, 56.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made