Sparta, Tennessee climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sparta's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 58.7 inches of precipitation and 5 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.4°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,491 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSparta Wastewater Plant
- Station IDUSC00408522
- Location35.91°N 85.47°W
- Elevation905 ft (276 m)
- Population4,989
On October 14, the normal high in Sparta is 73°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Sparta.
- Jan 47° 28°
- Feb 52° 30°
- Mar 61° 37°
- Apr 70° 45°
- May 78° 55°
- Jun 85° 63°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 87° 65°
- Sep 82° 59°
- Oct 72° 46°
- Nov 60° 36°
- Dec 51° 31°
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 Sparta each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.02 in), the least in October (3.28 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 28°F | 37.5°F | 5.09 | 1.5 | 13 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 30°F | 40.9°F | 5.11 | 2.5 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 37°F | 48.7°F | 5.63 | 0.5 | 13 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 45°F | 57.7°F | 5.30 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | 5.03 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 63°F | 73.9°F | 5.51 | 0.0 | 12 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.3°F | 4.83 | 0.0 | 12 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 76.3°F | 4.42 | 0.0 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 59°F | 70.4°F | 4.02 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 46°F | 58.8°F | 3.28 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 36°F | 47.8°F | 4.45 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 6.02 | 0.4 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 47°F | 58.0°F | 58.69 | 5.0 | 135 | 40 | 83 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −2°C | 3.1°C | 129 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 11°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 130 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.3°C | 143 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 14.3°C | 135 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 23.3°C | 140 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.2°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 8°C | 14.9°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 113 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 10°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 153 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00408522; 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 Sparta?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00408522.
When is the last frost in Sparta?
In Sparta, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 11 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 151 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 191 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sparta in zone 7b in ZIP code 38583, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Sparta's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (25 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00408522; 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 Sparta?
In a normal year in Sparta, 40 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 83 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 135 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 40a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 83a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 135a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1961) is 108°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −20°F, on February 5, 1996.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 79.24 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 21.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00408522; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00408522. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Sparta?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sparta, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and February the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 2.3 |
| February | 62% | 2.9 |
| March | 68% | 4.0 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.7 |
| November | 74% | 2.8 |
| December | 65% | 2.0 |
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 Sparta need?
A normal year in Sparta brings 3,879 heating degree days, 28% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,370 cooling degree days, 51% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,332 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 851 | 0 |
| February | 675 | 0 |
| March | 509 | 4 |
| April | 245 | 26 |
| May | 74 | 111 |
| June | 4 | 273 |
| July | 0 | 381 |
| August | 0 | 351 |
| September | 28 | 188 |
| October | 225 | 33 |
| November | 517 | 3 |
| December | 750 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,879 | 1,370 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00408522. 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 Sparta been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 58.0°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 58.0°F. 1 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.4°F | +0.4°F | 56.31 | 5.2 |
| 2022 | 57.4°F | −0.6°F | 59.48 | 4.7 |
| 2023 | 58.0°F | at normal | 48.10 | 0.0 |
Over 38 complete years from 1962 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.8°F per century (+0.27°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00408522; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sparta's climate compare?
Sparta is warmer than 44 of the other 115 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 84. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.0°F is warmer than 69%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sparta 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 Sparta share this climate record?
2 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.
- Doyle, TN531 people · 4 mi SW
- Bon Air, TN251 people · 6 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 Sparta's climate
What is the coldest month in Sparta?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Sparta?
Yes: 5 inches in a normal year, falling on 3 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (2.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Sparta?
December, with 6.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sparta in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sparta in zone 7b in ZIP code 38583, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Sparta's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Sparta?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rock Island State Park, TN12 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Cookeville, TN14 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Smithville, TN18 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN20 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made