Staunton, Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Staunton's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 40.6 inches of precipitation and 22 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.3°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,032 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationStaunton Water Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00448062
- Location38.17°N 79.08°W
- Elevation169 ft (52 m)
- Population26,361
On October 14, the normal high in Staunton is 67°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Staunton.
- Jan 42° 25°
- Feb 46° 27°
- Mar 54° 33°
- Apr 65° 43°
- May 73° 52°
- Jun 80° 60°
- Jul 84° 64°
- Aug 83° 62°
- Sep 77° 56°
- Oct 66° 44°
- Nov 55° 36°
- Dec 46° 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 Staunton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in September (4.21 in), the least in February (2.38 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 25°F | 33.6°F | 2.88 | 5.4 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 46°F | 27°F | 36.2°F | 2.38 | 6.8 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 33°F | 43.3°F | 3.43 | 4.1 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 43°F | 53.6°F | 3.26 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 52°F | 62.1°F | 4.06 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 80°F | 60°F | 70.1°F | 4.11 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 84°F | 64°F | 73.9°F | 4.15 | 0.0 | 12 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 3.97 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 56°F | 66.2°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 2.61 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 36°F | 45.3°F | 2.62 | 0.4 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 28°F | 37.1°F | 2.96 | 4.8 | 9 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 44°F | 54.1°F | 40.64 | 21.6 | 119 | 11 | 106 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 73 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 8°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 60 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 12°C | 0°C | 6.3°C | 87 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 23°C | 11°C | 16.7°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 16°C | 21.2°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.3°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.0°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 67 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 8°C | −2°C | 2.8°C | 75 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00448062; 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 Staunton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00448062.
When is the last frost in Staunton?
In Staunton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 27 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 May 6; 9 in 10 after April 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 271 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 191 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 214 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Staunton in zone 7a in ZIP code 24401. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Staunton's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (26 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00448062; 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 Staunton?
In a normal year in Staunton, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 106 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 119 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 106a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 15high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 119a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 106°F, on July 21, 1926; the lowest is −16°F, on January 27, 1987.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 58.85 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 65.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00448062; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00448062. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Staunton?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Staunton, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (75%) and January the cloudiest (64%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 2.0 |
| February | 66% | 2.9 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 69% | 4.9 |
| May | 68% | 5.3 |
| June | 73% | 6.0 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 75% | 5.3 |
| September | 73% | 4.4 |
| October | 71% | 3.3 |
| November | 72% | 2.4 |
| December | 64% | 1.8 |
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 Staunton need?
A normal year in Staunton brings 4,834 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 892 cooling degree days, 2% 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 3,434 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 975 | 0 |
| February | 806 | 0 |
| March | 674 | 1 |
| April | 357 | 15 |
| May | 149 | 61 |
| June | 25 | 178 |
| July | 2 | 279 |
| August | 5 | 236 |
| September | 70 | 105 |
| October | 317 | 17 |
| November | 590 | 1 |
| December | 865 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,834 | 892 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00448062. 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 Staunton been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 58.3°F, 4.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.1°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.6°F | +1.5°F | 38.38 | 19.1 |
| 2022 | 55.6°F | +1.5°F | 37.25 | 24.9 |
| 2023 | 57.8°F | +3.7°F | 31.86 | 3.7 |
| 2024 | 58.3°F | +4.2°F | 41.34 | 5.2 |
Over 88 complete years from 1869 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.09°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00448062; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Staunton's climate compare?
Staunton is warmer than 22 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Virginia, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.1°F is warmer than 57%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Staunton 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 Staunton share this climate record?
8 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.
- Verona, VA4,274 people · 4 mi NE
- Weyers Cave, VA2,243 people · 12 mi NE
- Jolivue, VA1,135 people · 4 mi S
- Craigsville, VA915 people · 18 mi W
- Mount Sidney, VA657 people · 9 mi NE
- Middlebrook, VA159 people · 11 mi SW
- Augusta Springs, VA80 people · 14 mi W
- Churchville, VA64 people · 6 mi NW
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 Staunton's climate
What is the coldest month in Staunton?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Staunton?
Yes: 22 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (6.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Staunton?
September, with 4.21 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.38 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Staunton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Staunton in zone 7a in ZIP code 24401. By the same method at Staunton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Staunton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Staunton in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Waynesboro, VA13 miles from this station, 54.1°F a year
- Dale Enterprise, VA21 miles from this station, 53.6°F a year
- Montebello Fish Cultural Station, VA22 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Free Union, VA27 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made