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Short answer: Tennessee’s mountains and plains differ a lot. NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals put Nashville’s January high at 49°F and its July high at 91°F, while Mt. LeConte (6,493 ft) normally reaches only 34°F in January and 66°F in July, and gets 16.1 inches of January snow against Nashville’s 2.0.
- 91°FNashville normal high, July
- 66°FMt. LeConte normal high, July
- 16.1 inMt. LeConte normal snow, January
- 8.71 inMt. LeConte normal rain, July
How we checked: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (monthly) for eight stations, listed below with their elevations. All read on November 3, 2026. Hours, prices, rules and closures change, so check the named agency or business before you rely on them. Anything we could not read is marked Not confirmed where it appears. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast, and a mountain station can differ from the town below it. General guidance on this page is labelled as general guidance. This is not safety, medical or legal advice; where a safety or legal rule appears, the quoted words are the official source’s own.
Normal High / Low (°F) by Month
| Month | Memphis (254 ft) | Nashville (600 ft) | Chattanooga (671 ft) | Knoxville (962 ft) | Tri-Cities (1,500 ft) | Gatlinburg 2 SW (1,454 ft) | Newfound Gap (5,040 ft) | Mt. LeConte (6,493 ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51 / 33 | 49 / 30 | 51 / 32 | 48 / 30 | 46 / 26 | 47 / 27 | 39 / 22 | 34 / 18 |
| February | 56 / 37 | 54 / 33 | 56 / 36 | 53 / 33 | 51 / 29 | 51 / 29 | 42 / 25 | 35 / 20 |
| March | 64 / 44 | 63 / 40 | 64 / 42 | 61 / 40 | 59 / 35 | 59 / 35 | 49 / 30 | 41 / 24 |
| April | 73 / 53 | 73 / 49 | 74 / 50 | 71 / 48 | 69 / 43 | 69 / 42 | 58 / 38 | 50 / 32 |
| May | 82 / 62 | 80 / 58 | 81 / 59 | 79 / 57 | 77 / 52 | 75 / 51 | 66 / 47 | 56 / 40 |
| June | 89 / 70 | 88 / 66 | 88 / 67 | 86 / 65 | 84 / 61 | 80 / 59 | 71 / 54 | 62 / 47 |
| July | 92 / 74 | 91 / 70 | 90 / 71 | 88 / 69 | 86 / 65 | 83 / 63 | 74 / 57 | 66 / 50 |
| August | 92 / 73 | 90 / 69 | 90 / 70 | 88 / 68 | 86 / 63 | 82 / 62 | 72 / 56 | 65 / 49 |
| September | 86 / 66 | 84 / 62 | 84 / 64 | 82 / 61 | 81 / 56 | 78 / 56 | 68 / 51 | 61 / 44 |
| October | 75 / 54 | 74 / 50 | 74 / 51 | 72 / 49 | 70 / 44 | 68 / 44 | 59 / 41 | 54 / 36 |
| November | 63 / 43 | 61 / 39 | 62 / 40 | 60 / 38 | 59 / 34 | 58 / 34 | 50 / 32 | 44 / 27 |
| December | 53 / 36 | 52 / 33 | 53 / 35 | 51 / 33 | 50 / 29 | 50 / 29 | 43 / 27 | 37 / 21 |
Normal Rain (Inches) by Month
| Month | Memphis (254 ft) | Nashville (600 ft) | Chattanooga (671 ft) | Knoxville (962 ft) | Tri-Cities (1,500 ft) | Gatlinburg 2 SW (1,454 ft) | Newfound Gap (5,040 ft) | Mt. LeConte (6,493 ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.14 | 4.02 | 5.02 | 4.76 | 3.65 | 4.75 | 6.81 | 7.17 |
| February | 4.55 | 4.47 | 5.03 | 4.81 | 3.81 | 4.27 | 6.04 | 5.80 |
| March | 5.74 | 4.52 | 5.34 | 4.89 | 3.96 | 5.58 | 6.56 | 6.69 |
| April | 5.87 | 4.72 | 4.87 | 4.71 | 3.79 | 4.93 | 6.00 | 7.53 |
| May | 5.27 | 5.02 | 3.94 | 4.13 | 3.82 | 5.50 | 6.19 | 7.30 |
| June | 3.99 | 4.36 | 4.18 | 4.24 | 3.92 | 5.99 | 6.12 | 8.71 |
| July | 4.82 | 4.16 | 5.08 | 5.25 | 5.00 | 6.31 | 7.33 | 8.71 |
| August | 3.37 | 3.79 | 3.67 | 3.63 | 3.76 | 4.40 | 5.07 | 7.53 |
| September | 3.03 | 3.80 | 4.23 | 3.49 | 2.84 | 4.34 | 5.43 | 6.68 |
| October | 3.98 | 3.36 | 3.59 | 2.81 | 2.52 | 3.19 | 5.43 | 5.15 |
| November | 4.69 | 3.86 | 4.80 | 4.21 | 3.14 | 4.02 | 5.87 | 6.40 |
| December | 5.49 | 4.43 | 5.25 | 5.00 | 3.76 | 4.92 | 7.01 | 6.82 |
Normal Snow (Inches) by Month
| Month | Memphis (254 ft) | Nashville (600 ft) | Chattanooga (671 ft) | Knoxville (962 ft) | Tri-Cities (1,500 ft) | Gatlinburg 2 SW (1,454 ft) | Newfound Gap (5,040 ft) | Mt. LeConte (6,493 ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 2.4 | n/a | 16.1 |
| February | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | n/a | 13.8 |
| March | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | n/a | 16.9 |
| April | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | n/a | 6.4 |
| May | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | 1.3 |
| June | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | 0.0 |
| July | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | 0.0 |
| August | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | 0.0 |
| September | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | 0.0 |
| October | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | n/a | 2.5 |
| November | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | n/a | 5.4 |
| December | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | n/a | 14.4 |
Stations: Memphis = Memphis Intl Ap (USW00013893); Nashville = Nashville Intl Ap (USW00013897); Chattanooga = Chattanooga Lovell Ap (USW00013882); Knoxville = Knoxville Mcghee Tyson Ap (USW00013891); Tri-Cities = Bristol Tri City Ap (USW00013877); Gatlinburg 2 SW = Gatlinburg 2 Sw (USC00403420); Newfound Gap = Newfound Gap (USC00406500); Mt. LeConte = Mt Leconte (USC00406328). Elevations are NOAA’s station elevations converted from metres to feet. Newfound Gap has no snow normal. Gatlinburg 2 SW is the NOAA station near Gatlinburg, not the Gatlinburg town center.
Mountains Versus Plains
In July the normal high is 92°F at Memphis, 91°F at Nashville, 83°F at the Gatlinburg station, 74°F at Newfound Gap and 66°F on Mt. LeConte. In January the normal low is 33°F at Memphis and 18°F on Mt. LeConte. General guidance: pack for the elevation you are going to, not the town you start in.
What The Park Service Says
These are the National Park Service’s words, not ours.
Official Wording
- Elevation and temperature“Temperatures can vary 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit from mountain base to top.” “Clear skies in lower areas do not guarantee the same weather in the higher elevations.” (NPS Great Smoky Mountains weather and conditions pages; the weather page was last updated October 23, 2024.)
- RainfallRainfall averages 55 inches a year in the lowlands and 85 inches at Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome), per the same NPS page.
- Road closuresKuwohi Road is “subject to closures due to snow, ice, and other hazardous weather events.” (NPS seasonal roads page, updated April 20, 2026.) See Great Smoky Mountains visit guide.
What We Could Not Confirm
- Today’s forecast and any current warning: see weather.gov. Not confirmed
- Fall color datesour fall color answer. Not confirmed
- Tornado and severe-storm timingThe NPS says storms occur “especially during spring and summer” but we read no statistics. Not confirmed
- Humidity, wind and sunshine hours. Not confirmed
- Water temperatures for lakes and riversWe pulled none. Not confirmed
Sources Read
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly, read November 3, 2026 (stations USW00013893, USW00013897, USW00013882, USW00013891, USW00013877, USC00403420, USC00406500, USC00406328)
- NPS, Great Smoky Mountains: Weather, read November 3, 2026 (page updated October 23, 2024)
- NPS, Great Smoky Mountains: Seasonal Road Schedule, read November 3, 2026 (page updated April 20, 2026)
- NPS, Great Smoky Mountains: Current Conditions, read November 3, 2026
Keep Planning
Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “Tennessee Weather by Month: Mountains Versus Plains”, itstennessee.com/data/tennessee-weather-by-month/ (updated ). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.