Climate and average weather in Johnson City

In Johnson City, the summers are warm, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early August to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Johnson City typically varies from 28°F to 80°F, and is rarely below 10°F or above 86°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 Johnson City for warm-weather activities are from early May to late June and early August to late October.

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
28°
Wettest
Mar
4.8 in
Driest
Oct
3.0 in
Rain / yr
48.1 in
155 wet days
Daylight
9.5–14.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,634 ft
36.3°N
Clearest
Oct
50% cloud

Johnson City is city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in Tennessee, United States.

Density
589/km²
people per km²
Founded
1856

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

Johnson City 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 August to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Johnson City, 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 18 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 71°F. The hottest month of the year in Johnson City is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 64°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 30 to February 27, with daily high temperatures below 50°F. The coldest month of the year in Johnson City is January, with an average low of 28°F and high of 44°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4428
Feb4730
Mar5536
Apr6445
May7153
Jun7761
Jul8064
Aug7963
Sep7457
Oct6546
Nov5536
Dec4731

How hot and cold Johnson City 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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 20°F (around January 20), with roughly 126 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)
Jan44442128
Feb47472430
Mar55553136
Apr64644245
May71715353
Jun77776161
Jul80806464
Aug79796363
Sep75745757
Oct65654446
Nov55553236
Dec47472531

Average hourly temperature in Johnson City

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 80°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 28°F.

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

Johnson City 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°4.3134.99.80.6
Feb47° / 30°3.812.34.810.61.4
Mar55° / 36°4.813.63.411.73.3
Apr64° / 45°4.4131.212.95.4
May71° / 53°4.214.4013.95.9
Jun77° / 61°4.216.4014.45.8
Jul80° / 64°4.217014.25.5
Aug79° / 63°3.814013.46.0
Sep74° / 57°3.610.4012.26.8
Oct65° / 46°3.09.40.311.16.1
Nov55° / 36°3.49.81.210.13.5
Dec47° / 31°4.211.73.89.61.3

Chance of rain

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

Johnson City gets about 48.1 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 4.3 months, from around Apr 17 to Aug 24, peaking in July at about 56% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 3.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 4.8 in over about 14 wet days; October is the driest, with 3.0 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 23 · 56%Oct 3 · 30%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4213
Feb4412
Mar4314
Apr4413
May4714
Jun5416
Jul5417
Aug4614
Sep3410
Oct319
Nov3310
Dec3812

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Johnson City collects about 48.1 in of rain across 155 wet days — roughly 4.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 4.8 in, while October is the driest at just 3.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 28% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.33.84.84.44.24.24.23.83.63.03.44.2
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan4.3135
Feb3.8125
Mar4.8143
Apr4.4131
May4.2140
Jun4.2160
Jul4.2170
Aug3.8140
Sep3.6100
Oct3.090
Nov3.4101
Dec4.2124

Snow in Johnson City

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.

Johnson City averages about 20 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 23 to Apr 24 — about 6 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 8 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 32 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 3
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan58
Feb58
Mar36
Apr11
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov12
Dec47

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Johnson City, 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 July 7 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around November 30. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 1 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around April 7. 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 4 · 57%Dec 15 · 37%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4060
Feb3961
Mar4258
Apr4654
May4654
Jun4654
Jul4852
Aug5248
Sep5644
Oct5644
Nov5149
Dec3961

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 15, brings about 14 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 9 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 5 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.87:455:32
Feb10.67:256:03
Mar11.76:486:30
Apr12.96:026:57
May13.95:287:23
Jun14.45:167:43
Jul14.25:287:43
Aug13.45:527:15
Sep12.26:176:31
Oct11.16:435:46
Nov10.17:145:16
Dec9.67:395:12

Sunny days

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

Johnson City averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around Aug 20 to Dec 7. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 12 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 7 sunny days — about 45% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedOct 1912 daysJun 46 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb7Gloomy
Mar9Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul7Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct12Mixed
Nov11Mixed
Dec9Mixed

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 Johnson City, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.1 months, from around May 22 to September 24. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 83% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 25 to May 21, 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 6 · 100%Jul 22 · 14%muggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar99100
Apr91910
May5428171
Jun18224515
Jul5124142
Aug7164333
Sep33302710
Oct791551
Nov97300
Dec99100

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 Johnson City is typically calm, near 5 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Oct 29 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 28, with July the calmest month at about 3 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 3 · 6 mphJul 27 · 3 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May5calm
Jun4calm
Jul3calm
Aug3calm
Sep4calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec6calm

Best time to visit Johnson City

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid August, Johnson City 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 Johnson City for general outdoor tourist activities run from early May to mid July and again from late July to late October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 15 · 7.0

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
Jan0.7poor
Feb1.4poor
Mar3.3poor
Apr5.3fair
May5.9good
Jun5.8good
Jul5.6good
Aug6.0good
Sep6.8good
Oct6.0good
Nov3.5fair
Dec1.4poor

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 Johnson City for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 7 · 6.0

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 Johnson City, 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 80°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, Johnson City sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 64°F. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 17 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Johnson City 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 Johnson City peaks around July 13 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJul 13UV 10Dec 20UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7High
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Johnson City

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 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
Feb3.50
Mar5.50
Apr73
May7.54.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.52.5
Oct4.50
Nov30
Dec00

Air quality in Johnson City 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 Johnson City is worst in July — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.6× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1618 µg/m³Dec 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr11Good
May13Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Johnson City typically lasts about 285 days, from around February 24 to December 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 12 to October 23.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2450%Apr 1290%Oct 2390%Dec 550%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan3431
Feb4228
Mar6831
Apr9212
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct947
Nov6630
Dec4531

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. Johnson City banks about 3,052 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr140
May367
Jun568
Jul683
Aug653
Sep472
Oct168
Nov0
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.

Johnson City 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 16 to Sep 24. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.2 kWh/m² — roughly 64% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 236.1 kWhDec 202.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.4Moderate
Feb3.1Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May5.9Bright
Jun6.1Intense
Jul5.8Bright
Aug5.4Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct3.7Moderate
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.1Moderate

Where is Johnson City?

Johnson City sits at 36.3°N, 82.4°W, 1,634 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Kingsport, 20 mi away.

Topography around Johnson City

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Johnson City has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 607 ft around an average of 1,719 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,418 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,682 ft.

The land around Johnson City is covered by trees (46%), grassland (27%) and artificial surfaces (27%) within 2 miles, trees (59%) and grassland (35%) within 10 miles, and trees (78%) and grassland (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
607 ft
10 miles
2,418 ft
50 miles
5,682 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Kingsport 20 mi · Bristol 22 mi · Bristol 22 mi · Greeneville 29 mi · Boone 39 mi · Asheville 50 mi · Morristown 53 mi · Lenoir 53 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 Johnson City (36.3134°, -82.3535°, elevation 1,634 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).