Climateby Month

Knoxville, TN climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 899 ft elevation

Knoxville has hot and oppressively humid summers and chilly winters. Highs peak at 88°F in July and fall to 48°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 13 a month. Normal snowfall is about 4.6 in a year. By our comfort score the best months are April and October.

Warmest month
88°F
July normal high
Coldest month
26°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
128
55.8 in of precipitation
Snow a year
4.6 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Knoxville?

Normal highs range from 48°F in January to 88°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 26°F (-3°C) 48° 26° February: normal high 53°F (12°C), low 29°F (-2°C) March: normal high 61°F (16°C), low 36°F (2°C) April: normal high 71°F (22°C), low 44°F (7°C) May: normal high 79°F (26°C), low 54°F (12°C) June: normal high 86°F (30°C), low 62°F (17°C) July: normal high 88°F (31°C), low 66°F (19°C) 88° 66° August: normal high 88°F (31°C), low 65°F (18°C) September: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 59°F (15°C) October: normal high 72°F (22°C), low 46°F (8°C) November: normal high 61°F (16°C), low 35°F (2°C) December: normal high 51°F (11°C), low 30°F (-1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Knoxville?

March has the most wet days (about 13); the year brings about 56 in of precipitation.

January: 12 wet days February: 11 wet days March: 13 wet days 13 April: 11 wet days May: 12 wet days June: 11 wet days July: 12 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 8 wet days 8 November: 9 wet days December: 11 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 4.6 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 1.7 in of snow 1.7 February: 1.4 in of snow March: 0.9 in of snow April: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 May: 0.0 in of snow June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.0 in of snow November: 0.1 in of snow December: 0.5 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Knoxville?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 25 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 4 muggy days June: 16 muggy days July: 25 muggy days 25 August: 23 muggy days September: 9 muggy days October: 1 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Mc Ghee Tyson Airport, 11 mi SSW of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.8 hours in December to 14.6 hours in June.

January: 10.0 hours of daylight February: 10.9 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.1 hours of daylight May: 14.1 hours of daylight June: 14.6 hours of daylight 14.6 July: 14.3 hours of daylight August: 13.5 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.3 hours of daylight November: 10.3 hours of daylight December: 9.8 hours of daylight 9.8 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Knoxville, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 48°F26°F 5.2 in12 1.7 in 0 10.0 h
February 53°F29°F 5.1 in11 1.4 in 0 10.9 h
March 61°F36°F 5.3 in13 0.9 in 0 12.0 h
April 71°F44°F 5.3 in11 0.0 in 0 13.1 h
May 79°F54°F 4.5 in12 0.0 in 4 14.1 h
June 86°F62°F 4.0 in11 0.0 in 16 14.6 h
July 88°F66°F 5.8 in12 0.0 in 25 14.3 h
August 88°F65°F 3.4 in10 0.0 in 23 13.5 h
September 83°F59°F 4.1 in9 0.0 in 9 12.4 h
October 72°F46°F 3.0 in8 0.0 in 1 11.3 h
November 61°F35°F 4.1 in9 0.1 in 0 10.3 h
December 51°F30°F 5.9 in11 0.5 in 0 9.8 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Knoxville

By our comfort score, the best months are April and October.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 38298
Feb 45485
Mar 601292
Apr 711780
May 651181
Jun 52377
Jul 440912
Aug 450611
Sep 53665
Oct 701850
Nov 561071
Dec 41386

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Knoxville

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 11, and the first fall frost around Oct 28, leaving 198 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Knoxville
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 11after Apr 29
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 28before Oct 13
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 31after Apr 16
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 6before Oct 24
Frost-free season198 daysunder 176 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Knoxville Exp Stn (USC00404946), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Tennessee.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 105°F (July 1, 2012); the lowest was -12°F (February 5, 1996).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Knoxville

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain and frost dates: Knoxville Exp Stn (USC00404946), 4.8 mi SSW of the city center, 830 ft (69 ft lower than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Snowfall, snow depth and humidity and wind by hour: Knoxville Mcghee Tyson Airport (USW00013891), 11 mi SSW of the city center, 962 ft (63 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Mc Ghee Tyson Airport (723260-13891), 11 mi SSW of the city center, 970 ft (71 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.
  • Not available for this location: cloud cover (no station close enough or similar enough in elevation).

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error