Climateby Month

Chesapeake, VA climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 12 ft elevation · also covers Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton

Summers in Chesapeake are hot and oppressively humid; winters are chilly. Highs peak at 89°F in July and fall to 51°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 11 a month. Normal snowfall is about 6.2 in a year. The most comfortable time to visit is April, May and October.

Warmest month
89°F
July normal high
Coldest month
34°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
118
49.2 in of precipitation
Snow a year
6.2 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Chesapeake?

Normal highs range from 51°F in January to 89°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 51°F (11°C), low 34°F (1°C) 51° 34° February: normal high 53°F (12°C), low 35°F (2°C) March: normal high 60°F (16°C), low 41°F (5°C) April: normal high 70°F (21°C), low 50°F (10°C) May: normal high 77°F (25°C), low 59°F (15°C) June: normal high 85°F (29°C), low 68°F (20°C) July: normal high 89°F (32°C), low 73°F (23°C) 89° 73° August: normal high 87°F (31°C), low 72°F (22°C) September: normal high 81°F (27°C), low 67°F (19°C) October: normal high 72°F (22°C), low 55°F (13°C) November: normal high 62°F (17°C), low 44°F (7°C) December: normal high 55°F (13°C), low 38°F (3°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Chesapeake?

May has the most wet days (about 11); the year brings about 49 in of precipitation.

January: 11 wet days February: 9 wet days March: 11 wet days April: 10 wet days May: 11 wet days 11 June: 10 wet days July: 11 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 9 wet days October: 8 wet days 8 November: 9 wet days December: 10 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 6.2 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 3.2 in of snow 3.2 February: 1.5 in of snow March: 0.4 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: 0.0 in of snow December: 1.1 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Chesapeake?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 26 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 5 muggy days June: 18 muggy days July: 26 muggy days 26 August: 25 muggy days September: 16 muggy days October: 4 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 Norfolk International Airport, 7.4 mi NE of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.7 hours in December to 14.6 hours in June.

January: 10.0 hours of daylight February: 10.8 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.2 hours of daylight May: 14.1 hours of daylight June: 14.6 hours of daylight 14.6 July: 14.4 hours of daylight August: 13.5 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.2 hours of daylight November: 10.2 hours of daylight December: 9.7 hours of daylight 9.7 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Chesapeake, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 51°F34°F 3.4 in11 3.2 in 0 10.0 h
February 53°F35°F 2.9 in9 1.5 in 0 10.8 h
March 60°F41°F 3.7 in11 0.4 in 0 12.0 h
April 70°F50°F 3.4 in10 0.0 in 0 13.2 h
May 77°F59°F 3.8 in11 0.0 in 5 14.1 h
June 85°F68°F 4.4 in10 0.0 in 18 14.6 h
July 89°F73°F 6.1 in11 0.0 in 26 14.4 h
August 87°F72°F 5.9 in10 0.0 in 25 13.5 h
September 81°F67°F 5.4 in9 0.0 in 16 12.4 h
October 72°F55°F 3.9 in8 0.0 in 4 11.2 h
November 62°F44°F 3.1 in9 0.0 in 0 10.2 h
December 55°F38°F 3.3 in10 1.1 in 0 9.7 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 Chesapeake

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

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 43467
Feb 49564
Mar 58971
Apr 671360
May 661272
Jun 54468
Jul 441715
Aug 46179
Sep 56762
Oct 661550
Nov 56950
Dec 46563

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 Chesapeake

The last spring frost typically comes around Mar 17, and the first fall frost around Nov 23, leaving 252 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Chesapeake
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Mar 17after Mar 31
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 23before Nov 8
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 4after Mar 20
First hard freeze (28°F)Dec 8before Nov 19
Frost-free season252 daysunder 231 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: Norfolk Intl Airport (USW00013737), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Virginia.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 105°F (July 25, 2010, and 1 other day); the lowest was 5°F (January 19, 1994).

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

Near Chesapeake

Similar climates elsewhere

Also covers

Norfolk, Newport News and Hampton use the same temperature and rain stations as Chesapeake, so their monthly numbers are the ones on this page.

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, frost dates, humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Norfolk Intl Airport (USW00013737), 7.4 mi NE of the city center, 30 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Snow depth: Suffolk Lake Kilby (USC00448192), 19 mi WSW of the city center, 22 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Norfolk International Airport (723080-13737), 7.4 mi NE of the city center, 11 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

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