Tellico Plains, Tennessee climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tellico Plains's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 55.3 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.1°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,403 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTellico Plains
- Station IDUSC00408886
- Location35.37°N 84.30°W
- Elevation910 ft (277 m)
- Population781
On October 23, the normal high in Tellico Plains is 71°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tellico Plains.
- Jan 51° 28°
- Feb 55° 31°
- Mar 64° 37°
- Apr 73° 44°
- May 81° 54°
- Jun 87° 63°
- Jul 90° 66°
- Aug 89° 65°
- Sep 84° 57°
- Oct 74° 45°
- Nov 62° 35°
- Dec 54° 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 Tellico Plains each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.34 in), the least in October (3.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 28°F | 39.2°F | 4.63 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| February | 55°F | 31°F | 43.2°F | 4.86 | 1.3 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 64°F | 37°F | 50.6°F | 4.91 | 0.3 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 44°F | 58.7°F | 4.80 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 13 h |
| May | 81°F | 54°F | 67.5°F | 4.92 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 63°F | 75.0°F | 4.48 | 0.0 | 10 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 66°F | 78.1°F | 5.34 | 0.0 | 12 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 89°F | 65°F | 76.9°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 10 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 57°F | 70.7°F | 4.08 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 45°F | 59.3°F | 3.15 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 35°F | 48.4°F | 4.76 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 54°F | 31°F | 42.4°F | 5.18 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 46°F | 59.2°F | 55.25 | 2.8 | 108 | 55 | 87 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −2°C | 4.0°C | 118 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 13°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 123 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 18°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 125 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 23°C | 7°C | 14.8°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 12°C | 19.7°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 17°C | 23.9°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 19°C | 25.6°C | 136 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 18°C | 24.9°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 14°C | 21.5°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 7°C | 15.2°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 2°C | 9.1°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 12°C | −1°C | 5.8°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00408886; 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 Tellico Plains?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00408886.
When is the last frost in Tellico Plains?
In Tellico Plains, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 13 in half of years and after April 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 24 in half of years and before October 10 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 131 year in 10 after April 29; 9 in 10 after March 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 241 year in 10 before October 10; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 193 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 218 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tellico Plains in zone 7b in ZIP code 37385, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Tennessee · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00408886; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Tellico Plains?
In a normal year in Tellico Plains, 55 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 87 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 108 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 55a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 87a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 108a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00408886.
How sunny is Tellico Plains?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tellico Plains, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and February the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 67% | 2.4 |
| February | 63% | 2.9 |
| March | 68% | 4.0 |
| April | 75% | 5.3 |
| May | 76% | 5.9 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| December | 65% | 2.1 |
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 Tellico Plains need?
A normal year in Tellico Plains brings 3,591 heating degree days, 33% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,492 cooling degree days, 64% 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 4,545 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 800 | 0 |
| February | 610 | 1 |
| March | 451 | 5 |
| April | 224 | 35 |
| May | 62 | 138 |
| June | 3 | 301 |
| July | 1 | 407 |
| August | 0 | 369 |
| September | 24 | 196 |
| October | 215 | 38 |
| November | 500 | 3 |
| December | 703 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,591 | 1,492 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00408886. 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 Tellico Plains been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 60.2°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.2°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.8°F | +0.6°F | 62.89 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | 60.2°F | +1.0°F | 50.73 | 0.5 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00408886. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Tellico Plains's climate compare?
Tellico Plains is warmer than 82 of the other 115 places with their own NOAA record in Tennessee, and wetter than 49. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.2°F is warmer than 72%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tellico Plains 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 Tellico Plains 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.
- Madisonville, TN5,395 people · 11 mi N
- Coker Creek, TN154 people · 7 mi S
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 Tellico Plains's climate
What is the coldest month in Tellico Plains?
January, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Tellico Plains?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (1.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Tellico Plains?
July, with 5.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tellico Plains in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tellico Plains in zone 7b in ZIP code 37385, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Tellico Plains?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 13; in one year in ten it comes after April 29. Waiting until April 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tennessee climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Athens, TN17 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Tapoco, NC21 miles from this station, 56.8°F a year
- Decatur, TN28 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Murphy, NC28 miles from this station, 56.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made