Knoxville climate
Knoxville is warmest in July, with average highs of 30 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -0.10 °C. March is the wettest month (123 mm) and October the driest (75 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Knoxville averages 1,219 mm of rain, 132 days above 25 °C and 54 days below freezing.
United States · 276 m elevation · population 190,740 · 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 30 °C
- Coldest month January -0.10 °C
- Driest month October 75 mm
- Wettest month March 123 mm
- Least cloud October 47 % cloud
- Hottest on record June 40 °C
- Coldest on record January -28 °C
What to expectKnoxville through the year
Knoxville has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 8.7 °C in January to 30 °C in July, a swing of 21 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 132 days a year reach 25 °C, 46 of them reach 30 °C, 54 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 75 mm in October to 123 mm in March. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.7 °C | 110 mm | 63 % |
| February | 11.0 °C | 111 mm | 65 % |
| March | 15.4 °C | 123 mm | 62 % |
| April | 20.3 °C | 110 mm | 57 % |
| May | 24.3 °C | 93 mm | 58 % |
| June | 28.4 °C | 90 mm | 57 % |
| July | 29.9 °C | 116 mm | 57 % |
| August | 29.5 °C | 85 mm | 53 % |
| September | 26.9 °C | 94 mm | 49 % |
| October | 21.2 °C | 75 mm | 47 % |
| November | 14.8 °C | 94 mm | 53 % |
| December | 10.1 °C | 118 mm | 65 % |
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 | 8.7 °C | -0.1 °C | 3.5 °C | 21.6 °C | -28.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| February | 11.0 °C | 1.2 °C | 5.4 °C | 24.0 °C | -25.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| March | 15.4 °C | 4.5 °C | 9.3 °C | 27.1 °C | -12.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| April | 20.3 °C | 9.0 °C | 14.2 °C | 29.8 °C | -3.8 °C | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| May | 24.3 °C | 14.0 °C | 19.0 °C | 35.3 °C | 0.3 °C | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| June | 28.4 °C | 18.4 °C | 23.2 °C | 39.5 °C | 8.8 °C | 26 | 9 | 0 |
| July | 29.9 °C | 20.5 °C | 25.0 °C | 39.2 °C | 12.9 °C | 30 | 15 | 0 |
| August | 29.5 °C | 19.9 °C | 24.5 °C | 38.1 °C | 12.1 °C | 30 | 13 | 0 |
| September | 26.9 °C | 16.9 °C | 21.6 °C | 36.4 °C | 6.0 °C | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| October | 21.2 °C | 10.7 °C | 15.5 °C | 36.0 °C | -0.9 °C | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 14.8 °C | 4.9 °C | 9.2 °C | 28.2 °C | -6.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| December | 10.1 °C | 1.6 °C | 5.2 °C | 23.3 °C | -11.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 110 mm | 11 | 10.0 h/day | 63 % | 72 % | 15 km/h |
| February | 111 mm | 11 | 11 h/day | 65 % | 71 % | 15 km/h |
| March | 123 mm | 12 | 12 h/day | 62 % | 71 % | 16 km/h |
| April | 110 mm | 11 | 13 h/day | 57 % | 71 % | 15 km/h |
| May | 93 mm | 12 | 14 h/day | 58 % | 75 % | 13 km/h |
| June | 90 mm | 13 | 15 h/day | 57 % | 74 % | 12 km/h |
| July | 116 mm | 14 | 14 h/day | 57 % | 76 % | 11 km/h |
| August | 85 mm | 12 | 14 h/day | 53 % | 75 % | 9.9 km/h |
| September | 94 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 49 % | 72 % | 11 km/h |
| October | 75 mm | 8 | 11 h/day | 47 % | 72 % | 12 km/h |
| November | 94 mm | 9 | 10 h/day | 53 % | 73 % | 13 km/h |
| December | 118 mm | 10 | 9.7 h/day | 65 % | 76 % | 14 km/h |
How Knoxville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville | 30 °C | -0.10 °C | 1,219 mm | 132 |
| Chattanooga · United States | 31 °C | 1.0 °C | 1,311 mm | 145 |
| Murfreesboro · United States | 31 °C | 0.6 °C | 1,335 mm | 147 |
| Lexington · United States | 30 °C | -2.4 °C | 1,209 mm | 120 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Knoxville.
QuestionsCommon questions about Knoxville’s climate
When is the best time to visit Knoxville?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, September 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 Knoxville get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 30 °C. About 46 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 -0.10 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 54 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Knoxville?
March, averaging 123 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is October with 75 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,219 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 Knoxville 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
- 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.