Winchester in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Winchester sees average daytime highs around 43°F and overnight lows near 27°F, with 8.7 in of precipitation over about 25 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 43°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 27% 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
43°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
27°F
Precipitation
8.7 in
25 wet days
Avg wind
7 mph
Travel score
0.5
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 43°F.

A typical winter day in Winchester reaches about 43°F and drops to 27°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, 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
Jan40° / 25°2.98.33.59.60.0
Feb44° / 27°2.68.33.610.50.6
Mar52° / 34°3.710.42.811.72.8
Apr64° / 44°3.6110.2135.5
May72° / 53°4.112.4014.16.3
Jun81° / 62°3.611.8014.75.9
Jul85° / 67°3.511.3014.55.0
Aug84° / 65°2.910.1013.55.6
Sep77° / 58°4.29.2012.36.9
Oct65° / 46°3.28.10.1116.2
Nov54° / 36°2.97.60.69.93.4
Dec44° / 29°3.28.82.69.30.8

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 27% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Winchester gets around 8.7 in of rain and snow over 25 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%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 24 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 2.4 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.

0.5
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 43°F and nights near 27°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 25 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 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 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 highHighModerateLowJun 23UV 9Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
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 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1317 µg/m³Nov 138 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb11Good
Mar12Moderate
Apr13Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Winchester?

Winchester sits at 39.2°N, 78.2°W, 709 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Front Royal, 19 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 358 ft around an average of 748 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,814 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,183 ft.

The land around Winchester is covered by trees (45%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 2 miles, trees (51%) and grassland (37%) within 10 miles, and trees (70%) and grassland (21%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
358 ft
10 miles
1,814 ft
50 miles
4,183 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Winter weather nearby: Front Royal 19 mi · Martinsburg 22 mi · Leesburg 32 mi · Ashburn 37 mi · Hagerstown 39 mi · South Riding 40 mi · Ballenger Creek 41 mi · Sterling 41 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 (39.1857°, -78.1633°, elevation 709 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.