Climateby Month

Charleston, WV climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 596 ft elevation

Charleston has warm and humid summers and chilly and snowy winters. Highs peak at 86°F in July and fall to 44°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 9 to 15 a month. Normal snowfall is about 32 in a year. By our comfort score the best months are April, May and October.

Warmest month
86°F
July normal high
Coldest month
26°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
151
46.2 in of precipitation
Snow a year
31.5 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Charleston?

Normal highs range from 44°F in January to 86°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 44°F (7°C), low 26°F (-3°C) 44° 26° February: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 29°F (-2°C) March: normal high 57°F (14°C), low 35°F (2°C) April: normal high 69°F (21°C), low 45°F (7°C) May: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 53°F (12°C) June: normal high 83°F (28°C), low 62°F (17°C) July: normal high 86°F (30°C), low 66°F (19°C) 86° 66° August: normal high 85°F (29°C), low 64°F (18°C) September: normal high 80°F (27°C), low 57°F (14°C) October: normal high 69°F (21°C), low 45°F (7°C) November: normal high 57°F (14°C), low 36°F (2°C) December: normal high 48°F (9°C), low 30°F (-1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

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

How rainy is Charleston?

January has the most wet days (about 15); the year brings about 46 in of precipitation.

January: 15 wet days 15 February: 14 wet days March: 15 wet days April: 13 wet days May: 14 wet days June: 13 wet days July: 13 wet days August: 11 wet days September: 9 wet days 9 October: 10 wet days November: 11 wet days December: 14 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 31.5 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 10.3 in of snow 10.3 February: 7.7 in of snow March: 5.9 in of snow April: 0.5 in of snow May: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 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: 0.6 in of snow November: 1.5 in of snow December: 5.0 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Charleston?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 21 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 2 muggy days June: 12 muggy days July: 21 muggy days 21 August: 17 muggy days September: 6 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 Yeager Airport, 3.1 mi NE of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.5 hours in December to 14.8 hours in June.

January: 9.8 hours of daylight February: 10.8 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.2 hours of daylight May: 14.3 hours of daylight June: 14.8 hours of daylight 14.8 July: 14.5 hours of daylight August: 13.6 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.2 hours of daylight November: 10.1 hours of daylight December: 9.5 hours of daylight 9.5 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Charleston, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 44°F26°F 3.3 in15 10.3 in 0 9.8 h
February 48°F29°F 3.4 in14 7.7 in 0 10.8 h
March 57°F35°F 4.1 in15 5.9 in 0 12.0 h
April 69°F45°F 3.6 in13 0.5 in 0 13.2 h
May 76°F53°F 4.9 in14 0.0 in 2 14.3 h
June 83°F62°F 4.7 in13 0.0 in 12 14.8 h
July 86°F66°F 5.4 in13 0.0 in 21 14.5 h
August 85°F64°F 3.8 in11 0.0 in 17 13.6 h
September 80°F57°F 3.5 in9 0.0 in 6 12.4 h
October 69°F45°F 2.9 in10 0.6 in 1 11.2 h
November 57°F36°F 3.2 in11 1.5 in 0 10.1 h
December 48°F30°F 3.6 in14 5.0 in 0 9.5 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 Charleston

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 352814
Feb 40389
Mar 53894
Apr 671481
May 661391
Jun 56594
Jul 49298
Aug 49267
Sep 601063
Oct 651570
Nov 52863
Dec 373810

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 Charleston

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 16, and the first fall frost around Oct 26, leaving 192 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Charleston
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 16after May 5
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 26before Oct 13
Last hard freeze (28°F)Apr 1after Apr 17
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 5before Oct 24
Frost-free season192 daysunder 168 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: Charleston Yeager Airport (USW00013866), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in West Virginia.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 104°F (August 16, 2007); the lowest was -16°F (January 19, 1994).

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

Near Charleston

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth, frost dates and humidity and wind by hour: Charleston Yeager Airport (USW00013866), 3.1 mi NE of the city center, 910 ft (314 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Cloud cover: Huntington Tri State Airport (USW00003860), 50 mi W of the city center, 824 ft (228 ft higher than the city). NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Yeager Airport (724140-13866), 3.1 mi NE of the city center, 912 ft (316 ft higher than the city). Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

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