Climate and average weather in Culpeper

In Culpeper, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early April to mid June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Culpeper typically varies from 28°F to 87°F, and is rarely below 15°F or above 95°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 Culpeper for warm-weather activities are from early April to mid June and late August to early November.

Hottest
Jul
87°
Coldest
Jan
28°
Wettest
Sep
4.4 in
Driest
Feb
2.7 in
Rain / yr
40.4 in
113 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
413 ft
38.5°N
Clearest
Oct
51% cloud

Culpeper is town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States.

Density
926/km²
people per km²
Founded
1759

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

Culpeper 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 mid June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.0 months, from May 24 to September 21, with daily high temperatures above 77°F. The hottest month of the year in Culpeper is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 30 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 52°F. The coldest month of the year in Culpeper is January, with an average low of 28°F and high of 44°F.

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

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4428
Feb4729
Mar5637
Apr6747
May7556
Jun8365
Jul8769
Aug8567
Sep7960
Oct6848
Nov5638
Dec4732

How hot and cold Culpeper 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, Culpeper feels like about 90°F (around July 17). About 7 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 20°F (around January 22), with roughly 118 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)
Jan44442228
Feb47472329
Mar56563137
Apr67674447
May75755656
Jun84836565
Jul89876969
Aug87856767
Sep79796060
Oct68684648
Nov57563438
Dec47472632

Average hourly temperature in Culpeper

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 87°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 28°F.

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

Culpeper 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
Jan44° / 28°3.08.22.89.60.8
Feb47° / 29°2.78.12.710.51.7
Mar56° / 37°3.8101.711.73.8
Apr67° / 47°3.49.90.1136.1
May75° / 56°3.711.3014.16.5
Jun83° / 65°3.511.4014.65.5
Jul87° / 69°3.511.3014.44.5
Aug85° / 67°3.19.8013.55.1
Sep79° / 60°4.49.2012.36.8
Oct68° / 48°3.27.60116.7
Nov56° / 38°3.07.40.39.94.2
Dec47° / 32°3.38.51.89.41.7

Chance of rain

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

Culpeper gets about 40.4 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 6.0 months, from around Feb 26 to Aug 27, peaking in June at about 39% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 5.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 4.4 in over about 9 wet days; February is the driest, with 2.7 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 16 · 39%Nov 5 · 24%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan278
Feb298
Mar3210
Apr3410
May3611
Jun3811
Jul3611
Aug3310
Sep299
Oct268
Nov257
Dec279

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Culpeper collects about 40.4 in of rain across 113 wet days — roughly 3.4 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 4.4 in, while February is the driest at just 2.7 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 29% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.02.73.83.43.73.53.53.14.43.23.03.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.083
Feb2.783
Mar3.8102
Apr3.4100
May3.7110
Jun3.5110
Jul3.5110
Aug3.1100
Sep4.490
Oct3.280
Nov3.070
Dec3.392

Snow in Culpeper

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Culpeper averages about 9 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 24 to Mar 30 — about 4.2 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 7 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 28 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonJan 31
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan37
Feb39
Mar26
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec25

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Culpeper, 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 August 1 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around February 7. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 57% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 8 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around July 2. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% 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 13 · 58%Apr 24 · 42%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb4951
Mar4753
Apr4555
May4456
Jun4654
Jul5050
Aug5149
Sep5347
Oct5743
Nov5446
Dec5050

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 14, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.67:335:09
Feb10.57:115:42
Mar11.76:316:12
Apr13.05:426:42
May14.15:067:11
Jun14.64:527:32
Jul14.45:047:31
Aug13.55:317:01
Sep12.35:596:14
Oct11.06:285:26
Nov9.97:014:53
Dec9.47:284:48

Sunny days

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

Culpeper averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around Sep 1 to Feb 9. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is May, down near 8 sunny days — about 40% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 1513 daysMay 237 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun8Gloomy
Jul8Mixed
Aug9Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct13Mixed
Nov12Mixed
Dec11Mixed

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 Culpeper, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around May 16 to October 1. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 81% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 2 to May 15, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 26 · 100%Jul 23 · 15%oppressivemuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan991100
Feb1000000
Mar991000
Apr889300
May55181981
Jun201923298
Jul612243819
Aug816253615
Sep342221194
Oct7613730
Nov954100
Dec982000

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 Culpeper is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.0 months, from around Oct 14 to May 13. The windiest month is March, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 14 to Oct 13, with August the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 4 · 7 mphAug 5 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar7calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Best time to visit Culpeper

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid April, Culpeper 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 Culpeper for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to mid June and again from late August to early November, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 30 · 7.1

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
Jan0.8poor
Feb1.7poor
Mar3.9fair
Apr6.0good
May6.5good
Jun5.5fair
Jul4.5fair
Aug5.2fair
Sep6.7good
Oct6.6good
Nov4.2fair
Dec1.7poor

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 Culpeper for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 29 · 7.1

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 Culpeper, 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 87°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 44°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Culpeper sees daytime highs around 87°F and nights near 69°F. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Culpeper 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 Culpeper peaks around June 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 9Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Culpeper

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 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)
Jan00
Feb20
Mar50
Apr6.52
May7.54.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54
Sep61
Oct3.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Culpeper 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 Culpeper is worst in July — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1316 µg/m³Nov 168 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb10Good
Mar11Good
Apr15Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun15Moderate
Jul16Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Culpeper typically lasts about 289 days, from around February 27 to December 12 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 4 to October 30.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2750%Apr 490%Oct 3090%Dec 1250%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan3431
Feb3928
Mar7031
Apr961
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct970
Nov7530
Dec4931

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. Culpeper banks about 3,925 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar4
Apr204
May470
Jun717
Jul873
Aug819
Sep583
Oct248
Nov6
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.

Culpeper receives about 4.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.0 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 15 to Sep 18. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.1 kWh/m² — roughly 67% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 296.2 kWhDec 172.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.3Moderate
Feb3.2Moderate
Mar4.2Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.0Bright
Aug5.3Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.4Moderate
Nov2.5Moderate
Dec2.0Moderate

Where is Culpeper?

Culpeper sits at 38.5°N, 78.0°W, 413 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Linton Hall, 30 mi away.

Topography around Culpeper

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Culpeper has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 279 ft around an average of 427 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,145 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,190 ft.

The land around Culpeper is covered by trees (39%) and grassland (39%) within 2 miles, trees (56%) and grassland (30%) within 10 miles, and trees (72%) and grassland (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
279 ft
10 miles
1,145 ft
50 miles
4,190 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Linton Hall 30 mi · Fredericksburg 31 mi · Front Royal 32 mi · Manassas 34 mi · Sudley 35 mi · Buckhall 35 mi · Manassas Park 35 mi · Montclair 37 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 Culpeper (38.4732°, -77.9967°, elevation 413 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).