Winchester in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Winchester sees average daytime highs around 45°F and overnight lows near 30°F, with 11.7 in of precipitation over about 32 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 45°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Winchester's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Winchester's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
45°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
30°F
Precipitation
11.7 in
32 wet days
Avg wind
7 mph
Travel score
0.9
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Winchester in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 45°F.

A typical winter day in Winchester reaches about 45°F and drops to 30°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Winchester

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Winchester weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan42° / 28°3.710.43.29.70.3
Feb46° / 30°3.810.53.110.51.2
Mar55° / 37°4.4121.811.73.4
Apr66° / 47°4.812.40.3135.6
May74° / 56°4.713.30146.2
Jun82° / 65°4.313.1014.65.5
Jul85° / 68°4.112.4014.44.9
Aug85° / 67°3.110.7013.55.3
Sep79° / 60°3.58.3012.37.0
Oct67° / 48°3.38.70.1116.4
Nov55° / 38°3.59.10.59.93.6
Dec46° / 32°4.210.82.29.41.1

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Winchester gets around 11.7 in of rain and snow over 32 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 7 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.3 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Winchester?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.9
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Winchester.

What to pack for Winchester in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Winchester sees daytime highs around 45°F and nights near 30°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 32 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Winchester in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Winchester peaks around June 20 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 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 highHighModerateJun 20UV 9Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Winchester in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Winchester 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 1418 µg/m³Dec 107 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr11Good
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Winchester?

Winchester sits at 38.0°N, 84.2°W, 994 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Lexington-Fayette, 16 mi away.

Topography around Winchester

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Winchester has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 177 ft around an average of 971 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 561 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,257 ft.

The land around Winchester is covered by grassland (45%) and trees (31%) within 2 miles, grassland (50%) and trees (30%) within 10 miles, and trees (57%) and grassland (35%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
177 ft
10 miles
561 ft
50 miles
1,257 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces
Winter weather nearby: Lexington-Fayette 16 mi · Lexington 16 mi · Richmond 18 mi · Nicholasville 23 mi · Georgetown 25 mi · Danville 40 mi · Frankfort 40 mi · Shelbyville 59 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 Winchester (37.9901°, -84.1796°, elevation 994 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.