West Union, West Virginia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
West Union's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 49.1 inches of precipitation and 23 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.6°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,247 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWest Union 2
- Station IDUSC00469458
- Location39.29°N 80.77°W
- Elevation806 ft (246 m)
- Population643
On October 14, the normal high in West Union is 69°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 36%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for West Union.
- Jan 41° 21°
- Feb 44° 22°
- Mar 54° 29°
- Apr 67° 38°
- May 75° 49°
- Jun 82° 58°
- Jul 85° 62°
- Aug 84° 61°
- Sep 79° 54°
- Oct 68° 41°
- Nov 56° 31°
- Dec 45° 26°
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 West Union each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.73 in), the least in November (3.21 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 21°F | 30.9°F | 3.69 | 9.9 | 16 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 44°F | 22°F | 33.4°F | 3.51 | 6.7 | 13 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 29°F | 41.5°F | 4.25 | 2.8 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 38°F | 52.5°F | 3.89 | 0.1 | 14 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 49°F | 61.9°F | 5.09 | 0.0 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 82°F | 58°F | 69.6°F | 4.93 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 85°F | 62°F | 73.4°F | 5.73 | 0.0 | 13 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 61°F | 72.5°F | 3.66 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 54°F | 66.3°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 41°F | 54.5°F | 3.47 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 56°F | 31°F | 43.2°F | 3.21 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 10 h |
| December | 45°F | 26°F | 35.5°F | 3.98 | 3.4 | 15 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 41°F | 52.9°F | 49.09 | 23.2 | 155 | 15 | 132 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −6°C | −0.6°C | 94 mm | 25 cm |
| February | 7°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 89 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 12°C | −2°C | 5.3°C | 108 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 19°C | 3°C | 11.4°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 9°C | 16.6°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 14°C | 20.9°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 23.0°C | 146 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.5°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 12°C | 19.1°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 5°C | 12.5°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | −1°C | 6.2°C | 82 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 101 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00469458; 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 West Union?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00469458.
When is the last frost in West Union?
In West Union, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 7 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 281 year in 10 after May 16; 9 in 10 after April 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 176 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 198 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts West Union in zone 6b in ZIP code 26456, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, West Union's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (27 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in West Virginia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00469458; 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 West Union?
In a normal year in West Union, 15 days a year reach 90°F, 132 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 155 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 132a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 21high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 155a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1971) is 103°F, on July 17, 1988; the lowest is −33°F, on January 20, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 67.54 in; the snowiest season is 2002–03, with 39.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00469458; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00469458. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is West Union?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around West Union, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 55% | 1.7 |
| February | 59% | 2.5 |
| March | 63% | 3.5 |
| April | 68% | 4.7 |
| May | 70% | 5.4 |
| June | 75% | 6.0 |
| July | 76% | 5.8 |
| August | 78% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.5 |
| October | 69% | 3.1 |
| November | 67% | 2.1 |
| December | 55% | 1.4 |
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 West Union need?
A normal year in West Union brings 5,222 heating degree days, 3% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 858 cooling degree days, 5% 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 3,326 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,059 | 0 |
| February | 885 | 0 |
| March | 731 | 1 |
| April | 383 | 8 |
| May | 157 | 59 |
| June | 26 | 165 |
| July | 3 | 265 |
| August | 5 | 237 |
| September | 67 | 108 |
| October | 340 | 14 |
| November | 653 | 0 |
| December | 915 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,222 | 858 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00469458. 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 West Union been warmer than normal lately?
Over 38 complete years from 1972 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.7°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does West Union's climate compare?
West Union is warmer than 34 of the other 62 places with their own NOAA record in West Virginia, and wetter than 38. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.9°F is warmer than 53%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, West Union is Dfa: continental, 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 West Union share this climate record?
Salem has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Salem, WV1,474 people · 11 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 West Union's climate
What is the coldest month in West Union?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in West Union?
Yes: 23 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (9.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in West Union?
July, with 5.73 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.21 in.
What plant hardiness zone is West Union in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts West Union in zone 6b in ZIP code 26456, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at West Union's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in West Union?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- West Virginia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Middlebourne, WV13 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Harrisville, WV16 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Weston, WV23 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Mannington, WV24 miles from this station, 51.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made