A mild, humid coastal climate is characteristic of Virginia. Temperatures, most equable in the Tidewater, become increasingly cooler with the rising altitudes as one moves westward. The normal daily mean temperature at Richmond is about 58°F (14°C), ranging from 36°F (2°C) in January to 78°F (26°C) in July. The record high, 110°F (43°C), was registered at Balcony Falls (near Glasgow) on 15 July 1954; the record low, –30°F (–34°C), was set at Mountain Lake on 22 January 1985. The frost-free growing season ranges from about 140 days in the mountains of the extreme west to over 250 in the Norfolk area.
Annual precipitation at Richmond (1971–2000) averaged 43.9 in (111.5 cm); at Norfolk, annual precipitation averaged 45.7 in (116 cm) during the same period. The average annual snowfall amounts to nearly 15 in (38 cm) at Richmond but only 8 in (20 cm) at Norfolk.