Sewanee, TN 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 Sewanee's primary NOAA station, SEWANEE.
The climate verdict for Sewanee
Water is the standout signal in Sewanee, Tennessee: 64.0 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 57°F. Its climate comfort score of 56/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 36% of station-mapped location scores.
- 57°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 56/100
- comfort score, above 36% of station-mapped location scores
- 64.0"
- yearly precipitation total
- 216 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Sewanee: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00408184 · Sewanee, TN 57°F mean · 64.0" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 57°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,665
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Helen
- PRCP-WET 64.0"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-MID 56/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,865 HDD
- STN-1 USC00408184
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Helen, GA (+ 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 TN station list.
- Sewanee (this station) 57°F
- Cold Asheville, NC 57°F
- Hot Lookout Mtn-poi…, TN 57°F
- Near Helen, GA 57°F
- Near Asheville Rgnl, NC 57°F
Climate Living Index · Sewanee
Sewanee: 63/100 · grade C
Sewanee publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Sewanee, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 56/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 57 calendar days | 90/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 216 days/year | 75/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 57.4°F · 10.1° from 67.5°F | 68/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 64.0 in · 29.0 from 35 in | 3/100 · F |
Sewanee · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Sewanee is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 37.2°F and warmest-month mean 75.2°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 75.2°F
- Coldest month
- 37.2°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 Sewanee sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Sewanee's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 68th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 3% wettest
- Sewanee's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 73%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Sewanee is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Sewanee compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Sewanee's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
56 36th percentile score exceeds 36% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F (7°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 5.5" | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (10°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 5.2" | 15.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 58°F (15°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 5.4" | 8.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 67°F (20°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 6.4" | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 74°F (24°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 4.9" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 5.8" | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| July | 84°F (29°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 5.6" | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 4.7" | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| September | 78°F (26°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 5.1" | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| October | 68°F (20°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 4.2" | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| November | 58°F (14°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 4.9" | 6.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 6.4" | 15.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 57 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 29°F near January 20.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 15, then returns to freezing around December 21, covering 57 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 June 30, when 42% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 26 at 26%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 129 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 12 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sewanee.
Where Sewanee Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 64 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Sewanee earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
10.9 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
12.1 days with precipitation
12.3 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
Sewanee spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 25% of the annual total and December through February 27%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Sewanee has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: April averages 6.4" and October 4.2". The three wettest months together take 29% 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.
When it rains in Sewanee, it arrives in quantity
64.0" of precipitation falls across only about 129 wet days here, averaging 0.50 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 129 a year, 35% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.50 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 13
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 4
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 2
50% probability date
Growing Season
216 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,865
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,118
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside TN closest to Sewanee 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 (57°F here).
- Anthony, KS 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Doniphan, MO 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Elkton, KY 57°F · 0.0°F off
- Freedom, OK 57°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (64.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Winfield, AL 64.1" · 0.0" off
- Port Salerno, FL 64.2" · 0.1" off
- Hammond, LA 64.2" · 0.1" off
- Bogalusa, LA 63.9" · 0.2" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Sewanee's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Sewanee's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,865 annual heating degree days against 1,118 for cooling. Its 38.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Sewanee's frost-free season lasts about 216 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Sewanee's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.0°F. The annual average is 57°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Sewanee carries 64.0 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Sewanee's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Sewanee, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Sewanee's climate
How much rain does Sewanee get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sewanee? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sewanee's primary station: SEWANEE (USC00408184). 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 4767140), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Sewanee: 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 Sewanee 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.