Rock Cave, WV Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rock Cave's primary NOAA station, ROCK CAVE 2 NE.
The climate verdict for Rock Cave
Water is the standout signal in Rock Cave, West Virginia: 56.4 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 52°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 52°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 56.4"
- annual precipitation · 55" snow
- 178 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Rock Cave: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00467649 · Rock Cave, WV 52°F mean · 56.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,293
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Orderville
- PRCP-WET 56.4"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,400 HDD
- STN-1 USC00467649
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Orderville, UT (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every WV station list.
- Rock Cave (this station) 52°F
- Cold Pedernal, NM 52°F
- Hot Grenville, NM 52°F
- Near Orderville, UT 52°F
- Near Woods Hole Golf…, MA 52°F
Climate Living Index · Rock Cave
Rock Cave: 45/100 · grade D
Rock Cave publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Rock Cave, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 117 calendar days | 66/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 51.8°F · 15.7° from 67.5°F | 48/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 178 days/year | 48/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 56.4 in · 21.4 from 35 in | 23/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 55.4 inches/year | 18/100 · F |
Rock Cave · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rock Cave is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 30.5°F and warmest-month mean 71.0°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 71.0°F
- Coldest month
- 30.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Rock Cave sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rock Cave's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 48th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 9% wettest
- Rock Cave's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 38th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rock Cave compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rock Cave's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F (4°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 4.5" | 16.9" | 24.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 42°F (6°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 4.0" | 11.3" | 22.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 51°F (11°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 4.8" | 10.3" | 18.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 4.8" | 2.0" | 8.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 70°F (21°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 5.8" | 0.0" | 1.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| July | 80°F (27°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 6.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| August | 78°F (26°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 4.1" | 0.5" | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 53°F (11°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.8" | 2.6" | 15.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 44°F (6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 4.7" | 11.8" | 22.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 80°F around July 6, short of 90°F on every date, while 117 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near January 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 20, then returns to freezing around November 25, covering 117 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 18, when 56% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 11 at 32%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 165 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 13 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 23°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rock Cave.
Where Rock Cave Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 56 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 23°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Rock Cave earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 16.9"
17.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.3"
14.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.3"
14.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
13.3 days with precipitation
15.4 days with precipitation
14.4 days with precipitation
13.7 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
11.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.8"
15.6 days with precipitation
Rock Cave spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Rock Cave has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 6.1" and September 3.7". The three wettest months together take 30% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Rock Cave's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 164 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 56.4" between them, or roughly 0.34 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Rock Cave
Rock Cave averages 55.4 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 32 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 55.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 32 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 10% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 21
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 26
50% probability date
Growing Season
178 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,400
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
605
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WV closest to Rock Cave on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (52°F here).
- Beaver City, NE 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Bethany, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Boonton, NJ 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Colby, KS 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (56.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Portland, AR 56.4" · 0.0" off
- Clanton, AL 56.4" · 0.0" off
- Cumming, GA 56.4" · 0.0" off
- Auburn, AL 56.5" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rock Cave
heating led · wet · mid swing
Rock Cave's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,400 annual heating degree days against 605 for cooling. Its 40.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Rock Cave's frost-free season lasts about 178 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Rock Cave coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 31°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Rock Cave typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rock Cave snow peak
January
Rock Cave averages 55.4 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rock Cave's climate
How much snow does Rock Cave get? ▼
How cold does Rock Cave get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rock Cave? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rock Cave's primary station: ROCK CAVE 2 NE (USC00467649). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 5469244), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Rock Cave: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Rock Cave comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.