The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Virginia reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
NorfolkNorfolk International Airport, USW00013737
Jan 20 to 26
33°F
10°FJan 8, 2018
Nov 24
−3°FJan 21, 1985records since 1946
RichmondRichmond International Airport, USW00013740
Jan 20 to 26
28°F
−3°FJan 7, 2018
Nov 12
−12°FJan 29, 1940records since 1939
DullesWashington DC Dulles Airport, USW00093738
Jan 21 to 27
25°F
−2°FJan 31, 2019
Oct 30
−18°FJan 22, 1984records since 1960
RoanokeRoanoke Regional Airport, USW00013741
Jan 19 to 25
28°F
3°FDec 24, 2022
Nov 7
−11°FJan 21, 1985records since 1948
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Norfolk against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 4 Virginia reference stations.
At Norfolk it is usually Jan 20 to 26, with a normal low of 33°F. At the other reference stations: Richmond Jan 20 to 26 (28°F), Dulles Jan 21 to 27 (25°F) and Roanoke Jan 19 to 25 (28°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Norfolk stays above 32°F all winter; it bottoms out at 33°F. Single nights still freeze: the first came around Nov 24 in the median of the last 10 winters.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Norfolk was 10°F on Jan 8, 2018, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was 18°F. Elsewhere: Richmond −3°F on Jan 7, 2018, Dulles −2°F on Jan 31, 2019 and Roanoke 3°F on Dec 24, 2022. The record at the Norfolk station is −3°F, on Jan 21, 1985, in daily records since 1946.
At Norfolk a typical recent winter brings 32 nights at 32°F or colder and 3 at 20°F or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Norfolk International Airport (USW00013737), Richmond International Airport (USW00013740), Washington DC Dulles Airport (USW00093738) and Roanoke Regional Airport (USW00013741). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
