Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Lovell Field Tennessee, United States

At Lovell Field, the summers are hot and muggy; the winters are short, very cold, and wet; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 32°F to 90°F and is rarely below 19°F or above 96°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Lovell Field for warm-weather activities are from mid May to mid June and from mid August to early October.

The hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from May 24 to September 18, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year at Lovell Field is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 71°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 27 to February 25, with an average daily high temperature below 58°F. The coldest month of the year at Lovell Field is January, with an average low of 33°F and high of 50°F.

At Lovell Field, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Lovell Field begins around June 13 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around November 20.

The clearest month of the year at Lovell Field is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 20 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around June 13.

The cloudiest month of the year at Lovell Field is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 54% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Lovell Field varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from March 19 to August 22, with a greater than 32% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Lovell Field is July, with an average of 12.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.9 months, from August 22 to March 19. The month with the fewest wet days at Lovell Field is October, with an average of 6.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Lovell Field is July, with an average of 12.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on July 8.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Lovell Field experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Lovell Field. The month with the most rain at Lovell Field is December, with an average rainfall of 4.6 inches.

The month with the least rain at Lovell Field is August, with an average rainfall of 2.8 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Lovell Field experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.5 months, from December 25 to February 12, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Lovell Field is January, with an average snowfall of 1.6 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 10 months, from February 12 to December 25. The least snow falls around August 2, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Lovell Field varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 48 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 31 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:26 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 37 minutes later at 8:03 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:28 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 30 minutes later at 8:58 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Lovell Field during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Lovell Field experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from May 19 to September 27, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 21% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Lovell Field is July, with 25.0 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days at Lovell Field is February, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Lovell Field experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from October 26 to May 11, with average wind speeds of more than 4.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Lovell Field is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.5 months, from May 11 to October 26. The calmest month of the year at Lovell Field is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Lovell Field varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.1 months, from January 19 to February 23 and for 2.4 weeks, from July 27 to August 13, with a peak percentage of 35% on January 29. The wind is most often from the south for 4.2 months, from February 23 to June 29 and for 5.2 months, from August 13 to January 19, with a peak percentage of 42% on May 3. The wind is most often from the west for 4.0 weeks, from June 29 to July 27, with a peak percentage of 34% on July 13.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Lovell Field throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Lovell Field for general outdoor tourist activities are from mid May to mid June and from mid August to early October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Lovell Field for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Lovell Field typically lasts for 7.4 months (228 days), from around March 25 to around November 8, rarely starting before March 4 or after April 14, and rarely ending before October 21 or after November 26.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Lovell Field should appear around February 22, only rarely appearing before February 5 or after March 10.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from April 13 to September 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Lovell Field is June, with an average of 6.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 11 to February 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Lovell Field is December, with an average of 2.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Lovell Field are 35.035 deg latitude, -85.204 deg longitude, and 666 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Lovell Field contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 361 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 689 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,660 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,724 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Lovell Field is covered by artificial surfaces (90%), within 10 miles by trees (41%) and artificial surfaces (40%), and within 50 miles by trees (69%) and cropland (24%).