Petersburg, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Petersburg's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 47.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.9°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,194 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPetersburg
- Station IDUSC00446656
- Location37.24°N 77.39°W
- Elevation19 ft (6 m)
- Population34,058
On October 23, the normal high in Petersburg is 69°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Petersburg.
- Jan 49° 28°
- Feb 52° 29°
- Mar 60° 36°
- Apr 70° 46°
- May 78° 55°
- Jun 86° 64°
- Jul 89° 69°
- Aug 87° 67°
- Sep 82° 61°
- Oct 72° 48°
- Nov 62° 37°
- Dec 53° 31°
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 Petersburg each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in August (5.31 in), the least in February (2.70 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 28°F | 38.7°F | 3.02 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 52°F | 29°F | 40.7°F | 2.70 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 36°F | 48.1°F | 4.37 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 46°F | 58.0°F | 3.62 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 78°F | 55°F | 66.6°F | 4.37 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 64°F | 74.8°F | 4.23 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 69°F | 79.2°F | 4.70 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 67°F | 77.4°F | 5.31 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 61°F | 71.1°F | 4.63 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 48°F | 59.8°F | 3.41 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 37°F | 49.4°F | 3.16 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 53°F | 31°F | 41.6°F | 3.47 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 48°F | 58.8°F | 46.99 | 115 | 43 | 85 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 77 mm |
| February | 11°C | −2°C | 4.8°C | 69 mm |
| March | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 111 mm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 92 mm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 111 mm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 107 mm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.2°C | 119 mm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.2°C | 135 mm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 118 mm |
| October | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 87 mm |
| November | 16°C | 3°C | 9.7°C | 80 mm |
| December | 11°C | −1°C | 5.3°C | 88 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Hopewell (8 miles away), gets 4 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446656; 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 Petersburg?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, 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 USC00446656.
When is the last frost in Petersburg?
In Petersburg, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 3 in half of years and before October 21 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 31 year in 10 after April 17; 9 in 10 after March 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 31 year in 10 before October 21; 9 in 10 before November 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 216 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 239 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 20 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Petersburg in zone 7b across its 2 ZIP code areas (7b in 23805, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Petersburg's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (19 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 USC00446656; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Petersburg ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Petersburg's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 7b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Petersburg?
In a normal year in Petersburg, 43 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 85 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 115 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 43a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 85a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 115a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00446656.
How sunny is Petersburg?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Petersburg, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and March the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 72% | 2.4 |
| February | 72% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.1 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| 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 Petersburg need?
A normal year in Petersburg brings 3,759 heating degree days, 30% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,525 cooling degree days, 68% 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 4,497 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 815 | 0 |
| February | 682 | 0 |
| March | 529 | 6 |
| April | 243 | 33 |
| May | 70 | 120 |
| June | 4 | 299 |
| July | 0 | 439 |
| August | 0 | 383 |
| September | 20 | 204 |
| October | 200 | 39 |
| November | 471 | 3 |
| December | 726 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,759 | 1,525 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446656. 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 Petersburg been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 59.1°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.8°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.7°F | +0.9°F | 55.32 |
| 2022 | 59.1°F | +0.3°F | 47.34 |
| 2024 | 60.7°F | +1.9°F | 55.93 |
| 2025 | 59.1°F | +0.3°F | 59.43 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00446656. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Petersburg's climate compare?
Petersburg is warmer than 66 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 51. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.8°F is warmer than 71%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Petersburg 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 Petersburg share this climate record?
5 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.
- Chester, VA23,519 people · 8 mi N
- Colonial Heights, VA18,674 people · 2 mi N
- Fort Lee, VA8,318 people · 3 mi E
- Ettrick, VA5,760 people · 2 mi W
- Matoaca, VA2,448 people · 4 mi W
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 Petersburg's climate
What is the coldest month in Petersburg?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Petersburg?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Petersburg's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Hopewell (8 miles away), records 4 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Petersburg?
August, with 5.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.70 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Petersburg in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Petersburg in zone 7b across its 2 ZIP code areas (7b in 23805, the largest). By the same method at Petersburg's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Petersburg?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 17. Waiting until April 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Petersburg in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hopewell, VA7 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Disputanta, VA14 miles from this station, 58.0°F a year
- Stony Creek, VA18 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Richmond, VA19 miles from this station, 59.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made