Chattanooga climate
Chattanooga is warmest in July, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 1.0 °C. March is the wettest month (134 mm) and October the driest (86 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Chattanooga averages 1,311 mm of rain, 145 days above 25 °C and 43 days below freezing.
United States · 206 m elevation · population 181,099 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 31 °C
- Coldest month January 1.0 °C
- Driest month October 86 mm
- Wettest month March 134 mm
- Least cloud October 46 % cloud
- Hottest on record June 40 °C
- Coldest on record January -17 °C
What to expectChattanooga through the year
Chattanooga has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 9.9 °C in January to 31 °C in July, a swing of 21 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 145 days a year reach 25 °C, 60 of them reach 30 °C, 43 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in June.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 86 mm in October to 134 mm in March. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.9 °C | 121 mm | 62 % |
| February | 12.2 °C | 114 mm | 64 % |
| March | 16.6 °C | 134 mm | 60 % |
| April | 21.4 °C | 120 mm | 56 % |
| May | 25.5 °C | 101 mm | 57 % |
| June | 29.3 °C | 97 mm | 57 % |
| July | 30.9 °C | 111 mm | 57 % |
| August | 30.5 °C | 88 mm | 54 % |
| September | 27.6 °C | 103 mm | 49 % |
| October | 22.1 °C | 86 mm | 46 % |
| November | 15.7 °C | 106 mm | 52 % |
| December | 11.0 °C | 130 mm | 62 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.9 °C | 1.0 °C | 4.7 °C | 22.5 °C | -17.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| February | 12.2 °C | 2.5 °C | 6.6 °C | 25.1 °C | -17.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| March | 16.6 °C | 5.8 °C | 10.6 °C | 28.2 °C | -10.7 °C | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| April | 21.4 °C | 10.1 °C | 15.3 °C | 30.8 °C | -2.0 °C | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 25.5 °C | 15.0 °C | 20.0 °C | 33.5 °C | 3.5 °C | 19 | 3 | 0 |
| June | 29.3 °C | 19.5 °C | 24.1 °C | 39.5 °C | 10.3 °C | 28 | 12 | 0 |
| July | 30.9 °C | 21.5 °C | 25.9 °C | 39.3 °C | 14.4 °C | 31 | 19 | 0 |
| August | 30.5 °C | 21.1 °C | 25.4 °C | 39.5 °C | 14.0 °C | 30 | 17 | 0 |
| September | 27.6 °C | 18.2 °C | 22.5 °C | 36.2 °C | 6.1 °C | 22 | 8 | 0 |
| October | 22.1 °C | 12.1 °C | 16.6 °C | 36.5 °C | -0.1 °C | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 15.7 °C | 6.3 °C | 10.3 °C | 29.2 °C | -5.9 °C | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| December | 11.0 °C | 2.7 °C | 6.2 °C | 23.4 °C | -9.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 121 mm | 10 | 10 h/day | 62 % | 73 % | 14 km/h |
| February | 114 mm | 10 | 11 h/day | 64 % | 72 % | 15 km/h |
| March | 134 mm | 11 | 12 h/day | 60 % | 71 % | 15 km/h |
| April | 120 mm | 10 | 13 h/day | 56 % | 71 % | 15 km/h |
| May | 101 mm | 11 | 14 h/day | 57 % | 75 % | 13 km/h |
| June | 97 mm | 13 | 15 h/day | 57 % | 76 % | 11 km/h |
| July | 111 mm | 13 | 14 h/day | 57 % | 77 % | 9.9 km/h |
| August | 88 mm | 11 | 13 h/day | 54 % | 76 % | 9.6 km/h |
| September | 103 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 49 % | 73 % | 11 km/h |
| October | 86 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 46 % | 72 % | 12 km/h |
| November | 106 mm | 9 | 10 h/day | 52 % | 73 % | 13 km/h |
| December | 130 mm | 10 | 9.8 h/day | 62 % | 77 % | 14 km/h |
How Chattanooga compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga | 31 °C | 1.0 °C | 1,311 mm | 145 |
| Huntsville · United States | 31 °C | 1.6 °C | 1,354 mm | 151 |
| Murfreesboro · United States | 31 °C | 0.6 °C | 1,335 mm | 147 |
| Knoxville · United States | 30 °C | -0.10 °C | 1,219 mm | 132 |
| Atlanta · United States | 31 °C | 2.0 °C | 1,204 mm | 148 |
Where Chattanooga ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in North America in October | 32nd of 50 | 93/100 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Chattanooga.
QuestionsCommon questions about Chattanooga’s climate
When is the best time to visit Chattanooga?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, September, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and October the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Chattanooga get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 60 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 1.0 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 43 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Chattanooga?
March, averaging 134 mm over 11 days with rain. The driest month is October with 86 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,311 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Chattanooga rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 35.046°, -85.310° , 206 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.