What Kind of Climate Does Virginia Have?

Atlantic Ocean

• In general, Virginia has a temperate climate with an abundant amount of rainfall, whereas most major cities average around 40 inches per year. One contributing factor to this large amount of moisture is the Atlantic Ocean, where the Gulf Stream passes just offshore, as the current moves from south to north. This movement of warm water is responsible for bringing low pressure systems and winter storms northward along the coast, where they are able to deposit ample amounts of precipitation.

Topography

• Virginia has a topography that rises in elevation as you travel from east to west. The Atlantic Seaboard sits at sea level, while the the western highlands can rise up to several thousand feet. This pertinent fact of geography helps explain why the rainfall is so evenly distributed about the state. The increase in elevation creates a situation where the higher landforms interact with the coastal low pressure systems to produce rainfall in the west. However, some pockets of slightly lesser amounts (30 to 40 inches) are found in the mountainous west.

Tropical Air

• Virginia gets a strong flow of tropical weather systems during the summer months, excluding the occasional hurricane or tropical storm that visits every few years. Much more common are the summer tropical systems that move out of the Gulf of Mexico and venture into the state from the southwest. As a result, thunderstorm activity is most frequent in southwestern and south central regions of the state, producing additional rainfall and warm temperatures in these places. Those areas least affected are situated in the northwest tip, where high mountains act as an obstacle to the Gulf weather.

Winter

• In winter, weather systems cross the state in several directions. Besides the Gulf Stream weather, there are the frontal boundaries and systems, which pass along the southern edge of the Great Lakes and bring cold air, moisture -- sometimes in the form of snow. Here, as in other eastern states, snowfall increases with elevation, creating a situation where the northern and western zones see more in the way of frozen temperatures during the winter months because of location.