Harrisonburg climate — normals and trends
Harrisonburg (United States) has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 11.7 °C and it receives 871 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 (23.1 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-0.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in May.
Harrisonburg averages 101 frost days, 29 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 112 rainy days per year.
Harrisonburg has warmed by +1.7 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.20 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 111 to 91 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 39.0 °C (on 14 July 1954) and the coldest -31.9 °C (on 19 January 1994).
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
HarrisonburgVirginia
- coords
- 38.45°, -78.87°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
11.7°C
Average daily high
17.2°C
Average daily low
6.6°C
Annual rainfall
871mm
Sunshine / day
9.2h
Mean relative humidity
69%
Average peak wind
13.0km/h
Seasonal range
23.3°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
101 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
29 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
112 d/yr
Annual snowfall
57.6 cm
Average feels-like high
16.0 °C
Average feels-like low
4.6 °C
Average peak gust
36.2 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
16 d/yr
Solar radiation
15.3 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.7 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.42 · 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
39.0 °C
14 July 1954
Coldest day
-31.9 °C
19 January 1994
Wettest day
137 mm
21 June 1972
Windiest day
44.3 km/h
3 April 1975
Strongest gust
111.6 km/h
18 September 2003
Hottest feels-like
41.5 °C
22 July 2011
Coldest feels-like
-36.6 °C
19 January 1994
Snowiest day
43.0 cm
13 March 1993
Sunniest day
14.5 h
1 July 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 | 1.9 °C | -2.8 °C | 65 mm | -3 mm |
| Feb | 7.1 °C | +0.5 °C | 89 mm | +25 mm |
| Mar | 16.0 °C | +4.5 °C | 27 mm | -52 mm |
| Apr | 20.2 °C | +2.5 °C | 55 mm | -22 mm |
| May | 21.9 °C | -0.3 °C | 147 mm | +58 mm |
| Jun | 29.4 °C | +2.9 °C | 64 mm | -5 mm |
| Jul | 31.6 °C | +3.0 °C | 85 mm | +10 mm |
| Aug | 27.7 °C | -0.1 °C | 14 mm | -54 mm |
| Sep | 25.4 °C | +1.2 °C | 66 mm | -11 mm |
| Oct | 18.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 44 mm | -25 mm |
| Nov | 12.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 32 mm | -37 mm |
| Dec | 6.5 °C | 0.0 °C | 39 mm | -30 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 Harrisonburg?
Harrisonburg has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 11.7 °C and it receives 871 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Harrisonburg?
The hottest day measured in Harrisonburg between 1940 and 2025 was 14 July 1954, reaching 39.0 °C.
What is the coldest day in Harrisonburg?
The coldest day measured in Harrisonburg between 1940 and 2025 was 19 January 1994, at -31.9 °C.
Does it snow in Harrisonburg?
Yes. Harrisonburg gets on average 57.6 cm of snow per year and has around 101 frost days.
Has the climate of Harrisonburg warmed?
Yes: Harrisonburg warmed by +1.7 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Harrisonburg?
The wettest day measured in Harrisonburg between 1940 and 2025 was 21 June 1972, with 137 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Harrisonburg?
The windiest day measured in Harrisonburg between 1940 and 2025 was 3 April 1975, with winds reaching 44.3 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Harrisonburg?
The warmest month in Harrisonburg is July (23.1 °C on average); the coldest is January (-0.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Harrisonburg?
Harrisonburg receives on average 871 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 112 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Harrisonburg?
Harrisonburg gets on average 9.2 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,358 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Harrisonburg?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Harrisonburg between 1940 and 2025 was 13 March 1993, with 43.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Harrisonburg?
Yes: Harrisonburg has on average 16 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Harrisonburg?
In Harrisonburg, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 41.5 °C on 22 July 2011, and the lowest was -36.6 °C on 19 January 1994.
Compare Harrisonburg with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Harrisonburg