Average Weather in Petersburg West Virginia, United States

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2. United States
3. West Virginia
4. Grant County
5. Petersburg

In Petersburg, the summers are warm and humid, the winters are chilly, and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 24°F to 87°F and is rarely below 10°F or above 94°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.8 months, from May 25 to September 19, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest day of the year is July 21, with an average high of 87°F and low of 63°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 28 to March 1, with an average daily high temperature below 52°F. The coldest day of the year is January 30, with an average low of 24°F and high of 43°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Petersburg, 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 in Petersburg begins around June 21 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around November 11. On September 3, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 35% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 11 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around June 21. On January 12, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 44% 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 in Petersburg varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from April 10 to August 24, with a greater than 32% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 43% on May 22.

The drier season lasts 7.5 months, from August 24 to April 10. The smallest chance of a wet day is 21% on January 14.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on May 22.

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. Petersburg experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Petersburg. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around May 18, with an average total accumulation of 3.7 inches.

The least rain falls around January 11, with an average total accumulation of 1.5 inches.

Snowfall

We report snowfall in liquid-equivalent terms. The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount, assuming the ground is frozen. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from November 14 to March 31, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least 0.1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around February 11, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.6 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from March 31 to November 14. The least snow falls around July 17, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Petersburg varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 26 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 55 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:50 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 57 minutes later at 7:47 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:54 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 52 minutes later at 8:46 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Petersburg during 2017, starting in the spring on March 12, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 5.

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.

Petersburg experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from May 24 to September 21, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 14% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is July 28, with muggy conditions 53% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is February 11, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 in Petersburg experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from November 12 to April 25, with average wind speeds of more than 2.7 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is February 2, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.6 months, from April 25 to November 12. The calmest day of the year is August 13, with an average hourly wind speed of 1.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Petersburg is from the west throughout the year.

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 3.9 months, from April 30 to August 28, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.9 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 23, with an average of 7.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 6 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.0 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 25, with an average of 2.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Petersburg are 38.993 deg latitude, -79.124 deg longitude, and 1,086 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Petersburg contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 928 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,080 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,792 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (4,469 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Petersburg is covered by trees (52%) and cropland (39%), within 10 miles by trees (77%) and cropland (22%), and within 50 miles by trees (81%) and cropland (18%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Petersburg, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 4 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Petersburg.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Petersburg according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Petersburg is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Petersburg and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Grant County Airport (97%, 1.7 kilometers, west); Greater Cumberland Regional Airport (1.3%, 74 kilometers, northeast); Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport (1.1%, 83 kilometers, south); and Winchester Regional Airport (1.0%, 86 kilometers, east).

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.