The climate of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, a state on the east coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, is mild compared to more northern areas of the United States such as New England and the Midwest. Most of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge mountains, the southern part of the Shenandoah Valley, and the

Roanoke Valley The Roanoke Valley ( ) in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. The valley includes much of Roanoke County, as well as the ...

, has a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''). In the mountainous areas west of the Blue Ridge, the climate is warm-summer

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(Köppen ''Dfb'') or oceanic climate (Köppen ''Cfb''). Severe weather, in the form of tornadoes, tropical cyclones, and winter storms, impacts the state on a regular basis. Central Virginia received significant snowfall of 20 inches in December 2009.

Climate zones

The USDA Hardiness Zones for Virginia range from Zone 5A (-20°F to -15°F) in the mountains, to Zone 8A (10°F to 15°F) along the coast. A lot of variations occur because of the state's significant relief. Elevations in Virginia vary from sea level to

Mount Rogers Mount Rogers is the highest natural point in Virginia, United States, with a summit elevation of above mean sea level. The summit straddles the border of Grayson and Smyth Counties, Virginia, about WSW of Troutdale, Virginia. Most of the mo ...

at 5,729 ft (1,746 m) above sea level, with major gradations occurring at the edges of the Atlantic Ocean, the end of the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, and the Blue Ridge and Allegheny chains of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. The moderating influence of the ocean from the east, powered by the Gulf Stream, also creates the potential for

hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Cold air masses arrive over the mountains, especially in winter, which can lead to significant snowfalls when coastal storms known as noreasters move up the Atlantic coast. The interaction of these elements with the state's topography create micro-climates in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains that are slightly but noticeably distinct from each other.

Statistics for selected cities

The highest recorded temperature is at Balcony Falls on July 15, 1954, and the lowest recorded temperature is at Mountain Lake on January 22, 1985.

Severe weather

Severe weather Severe weather is any dangerous meteorological phenomenon with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Types of severe weather phenomena vary, depending on the latitude, altitude, topography, and atmos ...

is a concern in Virginia. Hurricanes make the coastal area of Virginia vulnerable. It is rare for a major hurricane to threaten the Virginia coast as hurricanes this far north tend to weaken due to cooler coast waters and increasingly westerly winds aloft. Heavy rain from tropical cyclones remains a concern, however.

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlan ...

in 2003 brought much destruction from wind and rain, killing 10 directly and doing nearly two billion dollars in damage. Hurricane Gaston in 2004 inundated

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

after moving ashore South Carolina. Virginia is often struck with the remnants of systems which hit along the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

coastline, which also bring torrential rain to the state.

Hurricane Camille Hurricane Camille was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The most intense storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille originated as a tropical depression ...

was an extreme example, bringing of rainfall to portions of Nelson County in a matter of hours. Thunderstorms are an occasional concern with the state averaging anywhere from 35 to 45 days of thunderstorm activity annually. Rainfall in Virginia is frequent, but does not normally get severe enough for floods. Virginia averages seven

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es annually, though most are F2 and lower on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is deter ...

. However, Virginia had eighty-five in 2004. Western Virginia has a lower rate of

es.

Climate change

Seasons

Winter in Virginia is characterized by large swings in temperature throughout and between days. This does not happen every day of the month, however. It may be 50°F and windy one morning, and 70°F and calm the next afternoon. In winter, it gets quite cold. Temperatures usually range from the 50s to the high 20s in December; while in January, it can range from the 40s, all the way down to the teens. Snowfall can be moderate, or considerably high during the winter. Almost every year, Virginia receives snow during December, and every year in January-February. In the summer, temperatures are hot and humid. Precipitation is slightly greater. Temperatures are not extreme, ranging between the high 70s and mid 90s; but humidity can make it feel hotter. As for sunlight, Virginia is about average in state rankings. Areas on the Chesapeake Coast and Eastern Shore are brightest, while the west and north of the state is more cloudy. On the Winter Solstice, Virginia gets between 9 and 10 hours of sunlight. On the summer solstice, it gets between 14.5 and 15 hours.

Notes

References

External links

Virginia Hurricane History - NWS
{{Virginia Natural history of Virginia