Knoxville is located at the headwaters of the Tennessee River in a broad valley between the Cumberland Mountains to the northwest and the Great Smoky Mountains to the southeast. Both mountain ranges modify the type of weather that plains areas at the same latitude experience by slowing and weakening cold winter air from the north and tempering hot summer winds from the west and south. Precipitation is usually in the form of rain, and falls primarily during the winter and in late spring, though sudden thunderstorms are also quite common in summertime and provide relief on extremely warm days in the valley. Snowfall averages approximately 12 inches annually, most often in amounts of less than four inches at one time; it rarely stays on the ground for more than a week.
Area: 92.7 square miles (2000)
Elevation: Approximately 936 feet above sea level
Average Temperatures: January, 37.6° F; July, 77.7° F; annual average, 60.0° F
Average Annual Precipitation: 48.2 inches