Pulaski, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pulaski's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 40.0 inches of precipitation and 16 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.6°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,016 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPulaski (2 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00446955
- Location37.06°N 80.78°W
- Elevation2,080 ft (634 m)
- Population8,805
On October 22, the normal high in Pulaski is 64°F and the normal low 39°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 Pulaski.
- Jan 43° 24°
- Feb 46° 26°
- Mar 54° 31°
- Apr 65° 40°
- May 73° 49°
- Jun 79° 57°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 82° 60°
- Sep 76° 53°
- Oct 66° 41°
- Nov 55° 32°
- Dec 46° 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 Pulaski each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in May (3.99 in), the least in November (2.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 24°F | 33.2°F | 3.18 | 4.7 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 46°F | 26°F | 35.8°F | 2.67 | 4.6 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 31°F | 42.6°F | 3.56 | 2.3 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 40°F | 52.3°F | 3.59 | 0.6 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 49°F | 60.7°F | 3.99 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 79°F | 57°F | 68.3°F | 3.96 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.0°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 82°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 3.51 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 76°F | 53°F | 64.5°F | 3.22 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 41°F | 53.8°F | 2.85 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 32°F | 43.7°F | 2.47 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 26°F | 36.1°F | 3.17 | 3.5 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 42°F | 52.8°F | 40.00 | 15.8 | 123 | 6 | 119 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −5°C | 0.7°C | 81 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 2.1°C | 68 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 90 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 91 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 9°C | 15.9°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.2°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 8°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 81 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446955; 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 Pulaski?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00446955.
When is the last frost in Pulaski?
In Pulaski, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 5 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 251 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 200 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pulaski in zone 7a in ZIP code 24301, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pulaski's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (26 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 USC00446955; 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 Pulaski?
In a normal year in Pulaski, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 119 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 119a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 13high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1920) is 99°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −16°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 56.54 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 56.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00446955; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00446955. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pulaski?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pulaski, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (76%) and January the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.2 |
| February | 65% | 2.9 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 71% | 5.1 |
| May | 70% | 5.5 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 75% | 5.9 |
| August | 76% | 5.3 |
| September | 74% | 4.4 |
| October | 72% | 3.4 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 65% | 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 Pulaski need?
A normal year in Pulaski brings 5,079 heating degree days, 5% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 663 cooling degree days, 27% 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 3,070 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 986 | 0 |
| February | 816 | 0 |
| March | 696 | 0 |
| April | 388 | 6 |
| May | 171 | 40 |
| June | 31 | 132 |
| July | 5 | 222 |
| August | 10 | 183 |
| September | 88 | 73 |
| October | 355 | 8 |
| November | 639 | 0 |
| December | 894 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,079 | 663 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00446955. 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 Pulaski been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 55.1°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.8°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.8°F | +1.0°F | 39.76 | 14.2 |
| 2022 | 52.6°F | −0.2°F | 51.01 | 11.3 |
| 2023 | 54.1°F | +1.3°F | 36.61 | 0.1 |
| 2024 | 55.1°F | +2.3°F | 37.55 | 3.4 |
Over 52 complete years from 1962 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.2°F per century (+0.34°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00446955; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pulaski's climate compare?
Pulaski is warmer than 10 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 3. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.8°F is warmer than 53%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pulaski 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 Pulaski 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.
- Dublin, VA2,657 people · 6 mi NE
- Draper, VA458 people · 5 mi SE
- Snowville, VA124 people · 12 mi E
- Hiwassee, VA83 people · 8 mi SE
- Allisonia, VA51 people · 9 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 Pulaski's climate
What is the coldest month in Pulaski?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Pulaski?
Yes: 16 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (4.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pulaski?
May, with 3.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 2.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pulaski in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pulaski in zone 7a in ZIP code 24301, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Pulaski's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Pulaski?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Radford, VA15 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Pearisburg, VA16 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Wytheville, VA18 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Bland, VA19 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made