Piedmont Research Station, Virginia climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Piedmont Research Station's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 43.7 inches of precipitation and 16 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.4°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,111 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPiedmont Research Station
- Station IDUSC00446712
- Location38.23°N 78.12°W
- Elevation520 ft (159 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Piedmont Research Station is 66°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Piedmont Research Station.
- Jan 44° 25°
- Feb 48° 28°
- Mar 56° 34°
- Apr 67° 44°
- May 74° 54°
- Jun 83° 63°
- Jul 87° 67°
- Aug 85° 65°
- Sep 79° 59°
- Oct 68° 46°
- Nov 57° 37°
- Dec 48° 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 Piedmont Research Station each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.79 in), the least in February (2.61 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 25°F | 34.9°F | 2.90 | 4.6 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 28°F | 37.7°F | 2.61 | 5.6 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 56°F | 34°F | 44.9°F | 3.56 | 2.7 | 10 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 44°F | 55.5°F | 3.38 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 54°F | 64.1°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 63°F | 72.5°F | 4.79 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 67°F | 76.7°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 11 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 65°F | 75.1°F | 3.38 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 59°F | 68.7°F | 4.27 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 46°F | 57.3°F | 3.62 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 37°F | 46.9°F | 3.39 | 0.2 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 29°F | 38.6°F | 3.41 | 3.2 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 46°F | 56.1°F | 43.74 | 16.4 | 111 | 26 | 92 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −4°C | 1.6°C | 74 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 66 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 90 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 19°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 17.8°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.5°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 19°C | 23.9°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 3°C | 8.3°C | 86 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 87 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446712; 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 Piedmont Research Station?
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 USC00446712.
When is the last frost at Piedmont Research Station?
In Piedmont Research Station, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 7 in half of years and after April 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 17 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 71 year in 10 after April 26; 9 in 10 after March 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 204 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 226 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 27 in half of springs and before November 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Piedmont Research Station in zone 7a in ZIP code 22960, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00446712; 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 at Piedmont Research Station?
In a normal year in Piedmont Research Station, 26 days a year reach 90°F, 92 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 92a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1946) is 106°F, on July 1, 1959; the lowest is −11°F, on February 5, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 63.47 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 57.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00446712; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00446712. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Piedmont Research Station?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Piedmont Research Station, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (78%) and January the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.2 |
| February | 70% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 74% | 3.4 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 70% | 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 Piedmont Research Station record?
A normal year at Piedmont Research Station brings 4,425 heating degree days, 18% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,199 cooling degree days, 32% 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 3,912 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 934 | 0 |
| February | 764 | 0 |
| March | 624 | 2 |
| April | 307 | 22 |
| May | 113 | 84 |
| June | 13 | 240 |
| July | 0 | 363 |
| August | 1 | 314 |
| September | 41 | 150 |
| October | 262 | 22 |
| November | 544 | 1 |
| December | 820 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,425 | 1,199 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446712. 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.
Have recent years at Piedmont Research Station been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 57.2°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.1°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.8°F | +1.6°F | – | – |
| 2023 | 58.4°F | +2.3°F | – | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 58.9°F | +2.8°F | – | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 57.2°F | +1.1°F | – | – |
Over 99 complete years from 1908 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.3°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 USC00446712; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Piedmont Research Station's climate compare?
Piedmont Research Station is warmer than 42 of the 81 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.1°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Piedmont Research Station 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 Piedmont Research Station share this climate record?
4 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.
- Orange, VA5,210 people · 1 mi N
- Gordonsville, VA1,509 people · 8 mi SW
- Unionville, VA534 people · 8 mi E
- Rhoadesville, VA259 people · 11 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 Piedmont Research Station's climate
What is the coldest month at Piedmont Research Station?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow at Piedmont Research Station?
Yes: 16 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Piedmont Research Station?
June, with 4.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.61 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Piedmont Research Station in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Piedmont Research Station in zone 7a in ZIP code 22960, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Piedmont Research Station?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 7; 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
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Somerset, VA8 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Louisa, VA14 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Charlottesville, VA19 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Boston (4 mi SE), VA22 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made