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Charleston, West Virginia climate
Cfa Humid subtropical
Charleston has a seasonal mild-temperate climate (Humid subtropical, Köppen Cfa). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 30°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −3°C at night. Precipitation is fairly even year-round, totalling about 1174 mm. Winters bring significant snowfall (80 cm of snow per year on average).
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsCharleston climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 7 | 9 | 14 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 20 | 14 | 9 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
| Avg low (°C) | −3 | −2 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 2 | −1 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 83 | 85 | 105 | 90 | 125 | 120 | 137 | 95 | 88 | 74 | 81 | 90 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 26 | 20 | 15 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 4 | 13 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 7 | 9 | 14 | 21 | 25 | 28 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 2 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 22 |
| Avg low (°C) | −3 | −2 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 16 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 83 | 85 | 105 | 90 | 125 | 120 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 26 | 20 | 15 | 1 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 30 | 30 | 26 | 20 | 14 | 9 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 24 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
| Avg low (°C) | 19 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 2 | −1 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 137 | 95 | 88 | 74 | 81 | 90 |
| Snowfall (cm) | — | — | — | 2 | 4 | 13 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | 0.3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0.3 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 23 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 0.2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 | — | — | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | 0.3 | 1 | 4 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 23 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 0.2 | — |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 13 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 8 | 7 | 3 | 0.3 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | 2 | 13 | 20 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 76 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 66 | 61 | 60 | 57 | 54 | 57 | 65 | 74 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 21 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 21 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 85 | 84 | 81 | 78 | 78 | 76 | 71 | 67 | 66 | 71 | 77 | 84 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 76 | 75 | 71 | 68 | 66 | 61 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 21 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 13 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 85 | 84 | 81 | 78 | 78 | 76 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 60 | 57 | 54 | 57 | 65 | 74 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 13 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 21 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 71 | 67 | 66 | 71 | 77 | 84 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Charleston - Yeager AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00013866), about 5 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.