Bristol climate — normals and trends
Bristol (United States) has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 13.0 °C and it receives 1,065 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (23.0 °C on average) and the coldest is January (2.1 °C). Rainfall peaks in March.
Bristol averages 76 frost days, 20 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 141 rainy days per year.
Bristol has warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.17 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 86 to 66 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 36.5 °C (on 28 July 1952) and the coldest -27.8 °C (on 21 January 1985).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
BristolTennessee
- coords
- 36.60°, -82.19°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
13.0°C
Average daily high
18.4°C
Average daily low
8.1°C
Annual rainfall
1,065mm
Sunshine / day
9.1h
Mean relative humidity
72%
Average peak wind
12.4km/h
Seasonal range
20.9°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
76 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
20 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
141 d/yr
Annual snowfall
44.2 cm
Average feels-like high
17.7 °C
Average feels-like low
6.5 °C
Average peak gust
32.6 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
17 d/yr
Solar radiation
15.4 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.5 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.32 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
36.5 °C
28 July 1952
Coldest day
-27.8 °C
21 January 1985
Wettest day
124 mm
26 September 2024
Windiest day
39.2 km/h
27 September 2024
Strongest gust
127.4 km/h
27 September 2024
Hottest feels-like
39.4 °C
14 July 1954
Coldest feels-like
-33.9 °C
21 January 1985
Snowiest day
41.7 cm
13 March 1993
Sunniest day
14.5 h
22 June 2024
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.3 °C | -2.7 °C | 73 mm | -33 mm |
| Feb | 11.3 °C | +2.1 °C | 129 mm | +27 mm |
| Mar | 17.4 °C | +3.6 °C | 60 mm | -50 mm |
| Apr | 21.5 °C | +2.5 °C | 107 mm | +11 mm |
| May | 22.1 °C | -0.8 °C | 163 mm | +69 mm |
| Jun | 28.5 °C | +1.9 °C | 69 mm | -10 mm |
| Jul | 31.1 °C | +3.0 °C | 49 mm | -39 mm |
| Aug | 27.8 °C | +0.1 °C | 56 mm | -17 mm |
| Sep | 26.0 °C | +1.0 °C | 53 mm | -20 mm |
| Oct | 20.0 °C | +0.4 °C | 81 mm | +12 mm |
| Nov | 14.2 °C | +0.7 °C | 68 mm | -12 mm |
| Dec | 9.4 °C | +0.7 °C | 87 mm | -9 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Bristol?
Bristol has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 13.0 °C and it receives 1,065 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Bristol?
The hottest day measured in Bristol between 1940 and 2025 was 28 July 1952, reaching 36.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Bristol?
The coldest day measured in Bristol between 1940 and 2025 was 21 January 1985, at -27.8 °C.
Does it snow in Bristol?
Yes. Bristol gets on average 44.2 cm of snow per year and has around 76 frost days.
Has the climate of Bristol warmed?
Yes: Bristol warmed by +1.5 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Bristol?
The wettest day measured in Bristol between 1940 and 2025 was 26 September 2024, with 124 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Bristol?
The windiest day measured in Bristol between 1940 and 2025 was 27 September 2024, with winds reaching 39.2 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Bristol?
The warmest month in Bristol is July (23.0 °C on average); the coldest is January (2.1 °C).
How much does it rain in Bristol?
Bristol receives on average 1,065 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 141 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Bristol?
Bristol gets on average 9.1 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,322 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Bristol?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Bristol between 1940 and 2025 was 13 March 1993, with 41.7 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Bristol?
Yes: Bristol has on average 17 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Bristol?
In Bristol, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 39.4 °C on 14 July 1954, and the lowest was -33.9 °C on 21 January 1985.
Compare Bristol with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Bristol