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Sterling, Virginia climate
Cfa Humid subtropical
Sterling has a seasonal mild-temperate climate (Humid subtropical, Köppen Cfa). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 31°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −4°C at night. Precipitation is fairly even year-round, totalling about 1098 mm. Light snow accumulates each winter (53 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 countsSterling climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 6 | 8 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 26 | 20 | 14 | 8 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Avg low (°C) | −4 | −3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 2 | −2 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 75 | 66 | 89 | 88 | 120 | 109 | 105 | 90 | 100 | 93 | 80 | 84 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 18 | 18 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 7 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 6 | 8 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 28 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 23 |
| Avg low (°C) | −4 | −3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 17 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 75 | 66 | 89 | 88 | 120 | 109 |
| Snowfall (cm) | 18 | 18 | 10 | 0 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 31 | 30 | 26 | 20 | 14 | 8 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 25 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Avg low (°C) | 19 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 2 | −2 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 105 | 90 | 100 | 93 | 80 | 84 |
| Snowfall (cm) | — | — | — | — | 1 | 7 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | 0.4 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 0.2 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 24 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 0.2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 13 | 22 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | — | 0.4 | 1 | 6 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 24 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 0.2 | — |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 13 | 9 | 3 | 0.2 | — | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | 2 | 13 | 22 |
| Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days) | — | — | — | — | 0.1 | 0.9 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 59 | 57 | 55 | 54 | 52 | 58 | 61 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 83 | 82 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 73 | 67 | 67 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 83 |
| Wind speed (km/h) | 8.4 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 6.6 | 5.9 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 59 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 83 | 82 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 73 |
| Wind speed (km/h) | 8.4 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 6.6 | 5.9 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 57 | 55 | 54 | 52 | 58 | 61 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 67 | 67 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 83 |
| Wind speed (km/h) | 5.4 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.2 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Washington Dulles Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00093738), about 8 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.