Charleston Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Charleston, West Virginia has snow.

There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Charleston usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that Charleston normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when Charleston can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.

The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are long-term historical averages based on weather data gathered from 1991 to 2020 at Charleston's Yeager Airport.

How Often it Snows in Charleston

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages at Charleston, 2010 to 2019
Days   Inches Centi­metres
3.2 January 9.9 25.1
2.5 February 7.7 19.4
1.4 March 4.5 11.5
0.2 April 0.4 1.0
0.1 October 1.0 2.6
0.4 November 0.8 2.1
1.0 December 3.0 7.6
8.8 Year 27.3 69.4
30-year snowfall averages at Charleston, 1991 to 2020
Days   Inches Centi­metres
7.6 January 10.3 26.2
6.2 February 7.7 19.6
3.9 March 5.9 15.0
0.5 April 0.5 1.3
0.1 October 0.6 1.5
1.5 November 1.5 3.8
4.1 December 5.0 12.7
23.9 Year 31.5 80.0

These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Charleston varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years totals over 4.7 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 0.4 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 14.3 inches, while the lightest years get less than 3.8 inches.

New snow for February ranges from 9.2 inches or more in heavy snowfall years to under 3.5 inches in light years.

When Charleston Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

The first snowfall of winter for Charleston usually arrives in November. Less commonly, it can snow as early as October or hold off until December.

The season's last snowfall most often happens in March, although sometimes April also gets snow.

Charleston is normally free of snow every year from May to October.

How Many Snowstorms Charleston Gets

Most days of snowfall in Charleston leave just a skiff, amounting to less than an inch, of fresh snow on the ground. For ten days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.

Snowstorms of over five inches occur less than one day a year on average. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are rare events, showing up only once or twice a decade.

Number of days per month and year on average in Charleston with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
2.7 0.9 January 0.3 0.2
2.6 0.7 February 0.1 0.0
1.8 0.6 March 0.2 0.0
0.1 0.0 April 0.0 0.0
0.1 0.0 October 0.0 0.0
0.5 0.1 November 0.0 0.0
1.8 0.4 December 0.1 0.0
9.6 2.7 Year 0.7 0.2

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Charleston

For only a small fraction of winter days does Charleston have over an inch of snow on the ground.

Typically on two or three days a year the snow covering Charleston gets to five or more inches deep.

Average total days per month and year in Charleston with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground
1 inch
2.5 cm
3 inches
7.6 cm
  5 inches
12.7 cm
10 inches
25.4 cm
7.0 2.9 January 1.4 0.9
5.4 2.2 February 0.7 0.0
2.5 1.1 March 0.4 0.1
0.2 0.0 April 0.0 0.0
0.1 0.1 October 0.0 0.0
0.6 0.2 November 0.0 0.0
3.4 1.3 December 0.4 0.0
19.2 7.8 Year 2.9 1.0
References

Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.

West Virginia Snowfall
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