Climate and average weather in Cleveland

In Cleveland, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early April to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Cleveland typically varies from 34°F to 88°F, and is rarely below 20°F or above 94°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Cleveland for warm-weather activities are from early April to late May and mid September to early November.

Hottest
Jul
88°
Coldest
Jan
34°
Wettest
Dec
5.0 in
Driest
Aug
3.2 in
Rain / yr
48.9 in
122 wet days
Daylight
9.6–14.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
869 ft
35.2°N
Clearest
Oct
47% cloud

Cleveland is county seat of Bradley County, Tennessee, United States.

Density
630/km²
people per km²
Founded
1837

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Cleveland weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early April to late May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Cleveland, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.4 months, from May 17 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 78°F. The hottest month of the year in Cleveland is July, with an average high of 88°F and low of 71°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 28 to February 25, with daily high temperatures below 57°F. The coldest month of the year in Cleveland is January, with an average low of 34°F and high of 49°F.

Days typically run about 18°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4934
Feb5436
Mar6242
Apr7151
May7860
Jun8568
Jul8871
Aug8770
Sep8264
Oct7252
Nov6042
Dec5237

How hot and cold Cleveland really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Cleveland feels like about 93°F (around July 22). About 66 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 27°F (around January 18), with roughly 67 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan49492834
Feb54543136
Mar62623942
Apr71714951
May79786060
Jun87856868
Jul93887171
Aug91877070
Sep83826464
Oct72725152
Nov60603842
Dec52523237

Average hourly temperature in Cleveland

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 88°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 34°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Cleveland weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan49° / 34°4.610.11.29.92.1
Feb54° / 36°4.310.10.910.73.1
Mar62° / 42°5.011.40.211.75.1
Apr71° / 51°4.610012.96.5
May78° / 60°3.810.8013.86.6
Jun85° / 68°3.312.1014.35.0
Jul88° / 71°4.112.7014.14.2
Aug87° / 70°3.210.9013.34.6
Sep82° / 64°3.78.2012.26.3
Oct72° / 52°3.27.1011.17.3
Nov60° / 42°4.08.7010.25.2
Dec52° / 37°5.010.10.39.72.7

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Cleveland gets about 48.9 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.8 months, from around Apr 23 to Aug 17, peaking in July at about 42% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 9.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 5.0 in over about 10 wet days; August is the driest, with 3.2 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 21 · 42%Oct 9 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3310
Feb3510
Mar3611
Apr3410
May3511
Jun3912
Jul4113
Aug3511
Sep278
Oct247
Nov299
Dec3310

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Cleveland collects about 48.9 in of rain across 122 wet days — roughly 4.1 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 5.0 in, while August is the driest at just 3.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.64.35.04.63.83.34.13.23.73.24.05.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan4.6101
Feb4.3101
Mar5.0110
Apr4.6100
May3.8110
Jun3.3120
Jul4.1130
Aug3.2110
Sep3.780
Oct3.270
Nov4.090
Dec5.0100

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Cleveland, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 5 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around November 30. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 1 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around June 4. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 61% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 5 · 62%Feb 16 · 37%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4258
Feb3961
Mar4357
Apr4753
May4951
Jun5149
Jul5050
Aug5347
Sep5941
Oct6040
Nov5446
Dec4258

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 14 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around December 15, only 9 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.97:535:45
Feb10.77:346:15
Mar11.76:576:41
Apr12.96:137:06
May13.85:417:31
Jun14.35:297:50
Jul14.15:417:50
Aug13.36:047:24
Sep12.26:276:40
Oct11.16:525:57
Nov10.27:215:28
Dec9.77:465:25

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Cleveland averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 15 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.5 months, from around Aug 18 to Dec 3. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 14 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 9 sunny days — about 37% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightOct 315 daysJun 18 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May9Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul9Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep12Mixed
Oct14Mixed
Nov12Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Cleveland, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around May 8 to October 4. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 96% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 5 to May 7, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 27 · 100%Jul 28 · 2%oppressivehumidmuggycomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9730000
Feb9631000
Mar9081000
Apr701811000
May3021282010
Jun5111942230
Jul13933522
Aug161437411
Sep15182731100
Oct592014610
Nov8983100
Dec9541000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Cleveland is typically calm, near 5 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Oct 27 to May 12. The windiest month is March, averaging about 6 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 13 to Oct 26, with July the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 1 · 6 mphJul 27 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May5calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct5calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Best time to visit Cleveland

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Cleveland throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid April, Cleveland is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Cleveland for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to late May and again from mid September to early November, with a peak score in the first week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 6 · 7.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan2.2poor
Feb3.1poor
Mar5.1fair
Apr6.5good
May6.5good
Jun5.0fair
Jul4.2fair
Aug4.6fair
Sep6.3good
Oct7.2good
Nov5.1fair
Dec2.8poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cleveland for hot-weather activities is from early May to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 11 · 7.3

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Cleveland, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 88°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 49°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Cleveland sees daytime highs around 88°F and nights near 71°F. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Cleveland by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cleveland peaks around July 12 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJul 12UV 10Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Cleveland

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan1.50
Feb40
Mar61
Apr6.53
May7.54
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.56
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53
Oct4.50
Nov3.50
Dec00

Air quality in Cleveland by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Cleveland is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.9× the cleanest month (January, 6 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1618 µg/m³Jan 16 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb8Good
Mar10Good
Apr11Good
May13Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Cleveland is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 20 to November 9 (235 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 2090%Nov 990%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan5731
Feb6828
Mar8719
Apr980
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov8721
Dec6931

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Cleveland banks about 4,700 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,0005,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar77
Apr322
May590
Jun796
Jul916
Aug889
Sep689
Oct370
Nov51
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Cleveland receives about 4.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.1 and 6.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 18 to Sep 25. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.1 kWh/m² — roughly 65% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 196.1 kWhDec 202.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.4Moderate
Feb3.1Moderate
Mar4.2Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May6.0Bright
Jun6.1Intense
Jul5.9Bright
Aug5.5Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct3.7Moderate
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Cleveland?

Cleveland sits at 35.2°N, 84.9°W, 869 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is East Brainerd, 19 mi away.

Topography around Cleveland

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Cleveland.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Cleveland has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 453 ft around an average of 902 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 827 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,925 ft.

The land around Cleveland is covered by trees (57%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, trees (63%) and grassland (31%) within 10 miles, and trees (79%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
453 ft
10 miles
827 ft
50 miles
4,925 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: East Brainerd 19 mi · East Chattanooga 22 mi · East Ridge 24 mi · Chattanooga 25 mi · Dalton 27 mi · Calhoun 45 mi · Rome 65 mi · Farragut 65 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cleveland (35.1595°, -84.8766°, elevation 869 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).