Climate and average weather in Zanesville

In Zanesville, the summers are hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid August to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zanesville typically varies from 23°F to 84°F, and is rarely below 5°F or above 92°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 Zanesville for warm-weather activities are from early May to late June and mid August to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
84°
Coldest
Jan
23°
Wettest
May
4.6 in
Driest
Feb
2.9 in
Rain / yr
43.0 in
129 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
676 ft
39.9°N
Clearest
Sep
53% cloud

Zanesville is city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States.

Density
811/km²
people per km²
Founded
1797

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

Zanesville 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 mid August to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 19 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 72°F. The hottest month of the year in Zanesville is July, with an average high of 84°F and low of 65°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 30 to March 4, with daily high temperatures below 46°F. The coldest month of the year in Zanesville is January, with an average low of 23°F and high of 37°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 20°F) in September.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3723
Feb4125
Mar5133
Apr6343
May7253
Jun8062
Jul8465
Aug8364
Sep7656
Oct6446
Nov5136
Dec4129

How hot and cold Zanesville 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 13°F (around January 22), with roughly 140 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 16 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan37371523
Feb41411725
Mar51512733
Apr63633943
May72725253
Jun81806262
Jul85846565
Aug83836464
Sep76765756
Oct64644246
Nov51513036
Dec41412129

Average hourly temperature in Zanesville

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 84°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 23°F.

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

Zanesville 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
Jan37° / 23°3.410.85.79.50.0
Feb41° / 25°2.99.34.510.40.2
Mar51° / 33°4.011.52.611.72.3
Apr63° / 43°4.512.60.5135.0
May72° / 53°4.613.5014.26.1
Jun80° / 62°4.112.3014.86.0
Jul84° / 65°3.711.8014.55.4
Aug83° / 64°3.110.1013.66.0
Sep76° / 56°3.28.6012.37.0
Oct64° / 46°3.19.40.110.95.7
Nov51° / 36°3.29.219.82.6
Dec41° / 29°3.39.83.39.20.2

Chance of rain

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

Zanesville gets about 43.0 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 5.2 months, from around Feb 26 to Aug 1, peaking in May at about 45% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 7.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 4.6 in over about 14 wet days; February is the driest, with 2.9 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 3 · 45%Sep 7 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3511
Feb339
Mar3712
Apr4213
May4314
Jun4112
Jul3712
Aug3310
Sep289
Oct309
Nov319
Dec3210

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Zanesville collects about 43.0 in of rain across 129 wet days — roughly 3.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 4.6 in, while February is the driest at just 2.9 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.42.94.04.54.64.13.73.13.23.13.23.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.4116
Feb2.995
Mar4.0123
Apr4.5131
May4.6140
Jun4.1120
Jul3.7120
Aug3.1100
Sep3.290
Oct3.190
Nov3.291
Dec3.3103

Snow in Zanesville

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.

Zanesville averages about 18 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 2 to Apr 12 — about 5.3 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 5 days of snow and an estimated 9 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 32 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 21
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan69
Feb510
Mar35
Apr10
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov12
Dec36

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

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

The clearer part of the year begins around May 20 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around November 9. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 10 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around May 19. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 74% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 28 · 57%Dec 10 · 24%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2674
Feb3070
Mar3367
Apr3565
May4060
Jun4852
Jul5347
Aug5644
Sep5446
Oct4852
Nov3763
Dec2674

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 10, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.57:545:21
Feb10.47:305:56
Mar11.76:476:28
Apr13.05:577:00
May14.25:187:30
Jun14.85:047:53
Jul14.55:167:51
Aug13.65:447:20
Sep12.36:156:30
Oct10.96:455:41
Nov9.87:215:06
Dec9.27:495:00

Sunny days

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

Zanesville averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 12 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around Jun 10 to Nov 16. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 11 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is January, down near 5 sunny days — about 58% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedSep 512 daysJan 174 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar6Gloomy
Apr6Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun8Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct10Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec5Gloomy

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.4 months, from around May 16 to September 25. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 74% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 26 to May 15, 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 16 · 100%Jul 19 · 24%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan1000000
Feb1000000
Mar982000
Apr917200
May61161570
Jun251825285
Jul1016263315
Aug1422262810
Sep432219132
Oct8310520
Nov982000
Dec991000

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

The windier part of the year lasts 6.9 months, from around Oct 14 to May 10. The windiest month is February, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 11 to Oct 13, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeFeb 26 · 7 mphAug 6 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct6calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Zanesville

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 16 · 7.2

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
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.2poor
Mar2.3poor
Apr5.0fair
May6.0good
Jun6.0good
Jul5.4fair
Aug6.0good
Sep7.0good
Oct5.7good
Nov2.6poor
Dec0.3poor

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 Zanesville 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 · 6.9

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 Zanesville, 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 84°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 37°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Zanesville sees daytime highs around 84°F and nights near 65°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Zanesville 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 Zanesville peaks around June 21 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 21UV 9Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Zanesville

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
Feb00
Mar4.50
Apr6.50.5
May7.54
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54
Sep60.5
Oct2.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Zanesville 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 Zanesville is worst in July — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.4× the cleanest month (November, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1217 µg/m³Nov 157 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb11Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May15Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct8Good
Nov7Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Zanesville typically lasts about 263 days, from around March 14 to December 1 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 17 to October 24.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1450%Apr 1790%Oct 2490%Dec 150%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2331
Feb2728
Mar5431
Apr8814
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct945
Nov6730
Dec3731

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. Zanesville banks about 3,235 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
Apr100
May379
Jun630
Jul767
Aug719
Sep492
Oct149
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.

Zanesville receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.6 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 20 to Sep 25. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.6 kWh/m² — roughly 74% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 256.2 kWhDec 151.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.9Dim
Feb2.8Moderate
Mar3.9Moderate
Apr5.0Bright
May5.7Bright
Jun6.1Intense
Jul6.0Intense
Aug5.5Bright
Sep4.4Bright
Oct3.2Moderate
Nov2.1Moderate
Dec1.6Dim

Where is Zanesville?

Zanesville sits at 39.9°N, 82.0°W, 676 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Newark, 22 mi away.

Topography around Zanesville

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Zanesville has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 312 ft around an average of 797 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 505 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 883 ft.

The land around Zanesville is covered by trees (55%), grassland (20%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 2 miles, trees (64%) and grassland (25%) within 10 miles, and trees (66%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
312 ft
10 miles
505 ft
50 miles
883 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Newark 22 mi · Lancaster 35 mi · Pataskala 35 mi · Pickerington 39 mi · Mount Vernon 40 mi · Reynoldsburg 42 mi · Athens 42 mi · Gahanna 46 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 Zanesville (39.9404°, -82.0132°, elevation 676 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).