Norfolk, Virginia Weather
Thunder quiets the land. Day 93 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Norfolk weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 10:20 AM EDT · Open-Meteo
- TodaySep 21Mostly Clear——80°72°—
- TuesdaySep 22Overcast61%—79°71°-1°
- WednesdaySep 23Light Showers80%0.17″73°68°-6°
- ThursdaySep 24Light Drizzle61%—70°65°-3°
- FridaySep 25Light Drizzle31%—68°64°-2°
- SaturdaySep 26Clear17%—73°65°+5°
- SundaySep 27Overcast11%—77°61°+4°
Air quality now AQI 48 · Good
AQI 48 (Good), driven by PM2.5. AQI projected to climb to 72 over the next 6 hours. PM2.5 at 9.3 µg/m³, PM10 at 10.9 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 7 PM.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 43 now. With UV 4.2 peaking around 1 PM under partly cloudy skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 17.
- Present
- AQI 43
- UV peak
- 4.2 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- partly cloudy
- Projected peak
- AQI 17
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 9.3 µg/m³, PM10 at 10.9 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.85
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- background
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
September dries up ditches or breaks down bridges.
- Moonrise
- 4:28 PM
- Moonset
- 1:33 AM
- In sign
- ♑︎ Capricorn
Thunder quiets the land
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Norfolk at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 76°F (high 80°F, low 72°F), 6°F above the 70°F normal for Sep 21
- Last frost: March 23 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 4 km away)
- Microseason: Sep 21–25
- Planting calendar: September — plant beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots; harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash
16-Day Forecast — Norfolk
- Mon80°72°8%
- Tue79°71°61%
- Wed73°68°80%
- Thu70°65°61%
- Fri68°64°31%
- Sat73°65°17%
- Sun77°61°11%
- Mon78°60°6%
- Tue81°62°9%
- Wed80°65°15%
- Thu81°66°15%
- Fri79°68°20%
- Sat77°67°32%
- Sun82°68°31%
- Mon78°60°23%
- Tue64°56°19%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Norfolk
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Norfolk — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Late season
As of September 21, the first frost (around November 16) is about 8 weeks away. Frost-tender plants keep producing until then. This city's planting calendar for September: plant beans, squash, fall brassicas, and carrots; harvest tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, and winter squash.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Norfolk
SPC includes Norfolk in the general thunderstorm area today — no severe risk, but storms are possible.
- TODAYTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- TOMORROWTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- DAY 3NONENo severe risk
Thunderstorms possible. Not severe, but capable of producing lightning and brief heavy rain.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook.
Sun & seasons in Norfolk
Norfolk sits in Norfolk County, where the year’s longest day runs 14h 42m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 38m — a swing of +5h 4m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Virginia Beach, the state’s largest city, lies about 16 miles to the SE. The nearest town Norfolk tracks is Hampton, roughly 12 miles to the NNW.
Air quality in Norfolk
Air quality in Norfolk’s county has trended dirtier since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2020 (median AQI 18). See the full air-quality history for Norfolk.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | radishes |
| April | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| May | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| June | beans, squash | lettuce, peas, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash |
| August | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| September | beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| November | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| December | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
Norfolk's warmest month is July (~80°F mean) and its coldest is January (~41°F). Rainfall peaks in August (6.6 inches) and bottoms out in February (3.1 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 3.6″ | 6 |
| February | 43° | 3.1″ | 6 |
| March | 49° | 4.0″ | 7 |
| April | 59° | 3.7″ | 7 |
| May | 67° | 4.1″ | 7 |
| June | 75° | 4.8″ | 8 |
| July | 80° | 5.7″ | 8 |
| August | 78° | 6.6″ | 8 |
| September | 72° | 6.2″ | 6 |
| October | 62° | 4.5″ | 6 |
| November | 51° | 3.5″ | 6 |
| December | 44° | 3.5″ | 6 |
Regional context
Similar climates Portsmouth, VA, Hampton, VA, Carrollton, VA
Norfolk's climate, from NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 station normals, pairs 41°F Januarys with 80°F Julys — a 39°F swing. About 53.3 inches of precipitation falls over roughly 80 days a year.
Precipitation in Norfolk runs summer-dominant: August averages 6.6 inches across 7.7 days of warm-season storms, while February drops to 3.1 inches over 6.2 rainy days of drier cool air. That puts Norfolk in a summer-convective cohort with places like Portsmouth, VA, Hampton, VA and Carrollton, VA.
The cool-season window in Norfolk starts at March 23, when nights stop freezing — think peas, lettuce, spinach, and radishes. In Norfolk, warm-season transplants — tomatoes, peppers, basil — wait two weeks past Norfolk's frost date. Norfolk's window closes around November 16 as Norfolk's overnight lows return below freezing. Sheltered Norfolk yards can escape a light frost.
Similar climates: Portsmouth, VA, Hampton, VA, Carrollton, VA, Chesapeake, VA, Virginia Beach, VA.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Norfolk?
- Frost typically leaves Norfolk by March 23 and returns to Norfolk near November 16.
- What is the rainy season in Norfolk?
- Norfolk sees its heaviest rain in August (around 6.6 inches), part of roughly 53 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in Norfolk?
- July is Norfolk's warmest month, averaging about 80°F.
- What is the coldest month in Norfolk?
- Norfolk bottoms out in January, with a mean near 41°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Norfolk?
- Time tomatoes in Norfolk for two weeks after March 23; peas and greens start at Norfolk's frost line.
- How many rainy days does Norfolk get?
- Expect roughly 80 wet days a year in Norfolk.
- What hardiness zone is Norfolk?
- Norfolk's USDA zone comes from its January mean (41°F); enter the ZIP on the USDA lookup for the number.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Norfolk?
- Norfolk's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Norfolk?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Norfolk in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Norfolk?
- Current conditions for Norfolk and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Norfolk forecast updated?
- The Norfolk forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Norfolk?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Norfolk are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Norfolk?
- The next few days in Norfolk's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Norfolk sits at 36.9°N; its climate zone is humid subtropical (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Norfolk
- 23501
- 23502
- 23503
- 23504
- 23505
- 23506
- 23507
- 23508
- 23509
- 23510
- 23511
- 23513
- 23514
- 23515
- 23517
- 23518
- 23519
- 23523
- 23529
- 23541
- 23551