Spencer, WV Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Spencer's primary NOAA station, SPENCER.
The climate verdict for Spencer
Water is the standout signal in Spencer, West Virginia: 47.4 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 52°F. Its climate comfort score of 59/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 52°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 59/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 47.4"
- annual precipitation · 24" snow
- 170 days
- frost-free growing season
Spencer: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00468384 · Spencer, WV 52°F mean · 47.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,431
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Groton
- PRCP-MID 47.4"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-MID 59/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,338 HDD
- STN-1 USC00468384
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Groton, CT (+ 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.
- Spencer (this station) 52°F
- Hot Shirley Brookha…, NY 52°F
- Near Groton, CT 52°F
- Near Olive Hill, KY 52°F
- Near Star Tannery, VA 52°F
Climate Living Index · Spencer
Spencer: 51/100 · grade D
Spencer publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Spencer, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 59/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 134 calendar days | 56/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 47.4 in · 12.4 from 35 in | 56/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.3°F · 15.2° from 67.5°F | 50/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 24.2 inches/year | 44/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 170 days/year | 42/100 · D |
Spencer · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Spencer is a continental Köppen climate: Dfa
Coldest-month mean 30.8°F and warmest-month mean 72.5°F place this station in continental, no dry season, hot summer climates (Dfa). Class Dfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfa
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 72.5°F
- Coldest month
- 30.8°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 Spencer sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Spencer's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 50th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 26% wettest
- Spencer's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 43rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Spencer compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Spencer's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
59 37th percentile score exceeds 37% 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
Spencer's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 79 complete annual observations from 1894 to 2021, SPENCER warmed at a fitted rate of 0.05°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Spencer primary station fitted change +0.05 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F (4°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 3.4" | 9.0" | 25.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 43°F (6°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 3.2" | 6.3" | 23.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 53°F (12°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 4.3" | 4.1" | 20.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 65°F (19°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.7" | 0.2" | 8.8 | 0.1 |
| May | 73°F (23°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 2.0 | 0.4 |
| June | 80°F (27°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| July | 83°F (29°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.2 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 4.3 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 6.9 | 0.2 |
| November | 54°F (12°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.1" | 0.5" | 17.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 44°F (7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 3.6" | 4.1" | 23.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 5, short of 90°F on every date, while 134 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near January 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 25, then returns to freezing around November 13, covering 134 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 May 8, when 49% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 15 at 31%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 153 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 19 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Spencer.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 9.0"
14.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.3"
13.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.1"
14.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
14.2 days with precipitation
15.1 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
13.2 days with precipitation
10.8 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
11.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.1"
14.0 days with precipitation
Spencer 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 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Spencer has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.7°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 5.3" and November 3.1". The three wettest months together take 32% 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 Spencer's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 153 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 47.4" between them, or roughly 0.31 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 Spencer
Spencer averages 24.2 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 18 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: 24.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 18 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 5% 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 17
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 30
50% probability date
Growing Season
170 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,338
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
749
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WV closest to Spencer 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).
- Albany, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Avondale, PA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Benkelman, NE 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Bremerton, WA 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (47.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Morristown, TN 47.4" · 0.0" off
- Haines, AK 47.4" · 0.0" off
- Sallisaw, OK 47.4" · 0.0" off
- Snow Hill, MD 47.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Spencer
heating led · wet · mid swing
Spencer's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,338 annual heating degree days against 749 for cooling. Its 41.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Spencer's frost-free season lasts about 170 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Spencer 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. Spencer typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Spencer snow peak
January
Spencer averages 24.2 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Spencer's climate
How much snow does Spencer get? ▼
How cold does Spencer get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Spencer? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Spencer's primary station: SPENCER (USC00468384). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 5475820). Match rule for Spencer: 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 Spencer 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.