Rock Cave, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rock Cave's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 56.4 inches of precipitation and 55 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.0°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 27°C, 1,433 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRock Cave (2 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00467649
- Location38.86°N 80.31°W
- Elevation1,749 ft (533 m)
- Population (census place)364
On October 23, the normal high in Rock Cave is 61°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rock Cave.
- Jan 39° 22°
- Feb 42° 25°
- Mar 51° 31°
- Apr 63° 41°
- May 70° 50°
- Jun 77° 59°
- Jul 80° 62°
- Aug 78° 61°
- Sep 74° 54°
- Oct 63° 43°
- Nov 53° 34°
- Dec 44° 28°
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 Rock Cave each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in July (6.06 in), the least in September (3.68 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 22°F | 30.5°F | 4.52 | 16.9 | 18 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 25°F | 33.3°F | 4.05 | 11.3 | 15 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 31°F | 41.1°F | 4.85 | 10.3 | 15 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 41°F | 52.1°F | 4.77 | 2.0 | 13 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 70°F | 50°F | 60.3°F | 5.76 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 77°F | 59°F | 67.6°F | 5.14 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 80°F | 62°F | 71.0°F | 6.06 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 78°F | 61°F | 69.6°F | 5.05 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 74°F | 54°F | 63.7°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 43°F | 53.0°F | 4.11 | 0.5 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 53°F | 34°F | 43.4°F | 3.75 | 2.6 | 12 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 44°F | 28°F | 35.6°F | 4.67 | 11.8 | 16 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 43°F | 51.8°F | 56.41 | 55.4 | 164 | 2 | 118 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −6°C | −0.8°C | 115 mm | 43 cm |
| February | 6°C | −4°C | 0.7°C | 103 mm | 29 cm |
| March | 11°C | 0°C | 5.1°C | 123 mm | 26 cm |
| April | 17°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 121 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 21°C | 10°C | 15.7°C | 146 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25°C | 15°C | 19.8°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 17°C | 21.7°C | 154 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 16°C | 20.9°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 6°C | 11.7°C | 104 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 11°C | 1°C | 6.3°C | 95 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 6°C | −2°C | 2.0°C | 119 mm | 30 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00467649; 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 Rock Cave?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00467649.
When is the last frost in Rock Cave?
In Rock Cave, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 7 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 261 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 201 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 14 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rock Cave in zone 6b in ZIP code 26343, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Rock Cave's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (23 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 USC00467649; 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 Rock Cave?
In a normal year in Rock Cave, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 118 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 164 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 118a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 164a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 23a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00467649.
How sunny is Rock Cave?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rock Cave, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (76%) and January the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.8 |
| February | 58% | 2.5 |
| March | 63% | 3.6 |
| April | 67% | 4.8 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 74% | 6.0 |
| July | 74% | 5.8 |
| August | 76% | 5.3 |
| September | 75% | 4.4 |
| October | 69% | 3.2 |
| November | 68% | 2.3 |
| December | 57% | 1.6 |
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 Rock Cave need?
A normal year in Rock Cave brings 5,400 heating degree days, 1% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 605 cooling degree days, 33% 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 3,009 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,069 | 0 |
| February | 886 | 0 |
| March | 742 | 1 |
| April | 401 | 14 |
| May | 190 | 44 |
| June | 42 | 118 |
| July | 8 | 195 |
| August | 15 | 156 |
| September | 103 | 65 |
| October | 382 | 10 |
| November | 650 | 1 |
| December | 912 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,400 | 605 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00467649. 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.
How does Rock Cave's climate compare?
Rock Cave is warmer than 18 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.8°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rock Cave is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Rock Cave share this climate record?
Adrian has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Adrian, WV120 people · 4 mi NE
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 Rock Cave's climate
What is the coldest month in Rock Cave?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Rock Cave?
Yes: 55 inches in a normal year, falling on 32 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (16.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rock Cave?
July, with 6.06 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 3.68 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rock Cave in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rock Cave in zone 6b in ZIP code 26343, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Rock Cave's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Rock Cave?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; 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
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Buckhannon, WV10 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Stonewall Jackson Dam, WV14 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Pickens, WV14 miles from this station, 49.7°F a year
- Weston, WV16 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made