October brings 21°C daytime highs, 18mm of precipitation across about 3 wet days and 11 hours of daylight — best for hiking, cycling and reliable sunshine. The strongest run of the year is August to October. February is the quietest month: quiet and local, and still good for low-angle light and quiet and local.
Long-run climate normals for Knoxville. Month ratings compare months within Knoxville only — they are not a ranking of Knoxville against other destinations, and they are not a forecast for a specific year.
Conditions on this page are recalculated from the latest forecast every time it is opened, for the current date in the location's own time zone. Showing .
| Best month | October — Hiking, Cycling, Reliable sunshine |
| Best 3-month window | August–October |
| Quietest month | February — Quiet and local |
| Driest month | October — 18mm |
| Wettest month | May — 138mm |
| Warmest / coolest | July 31°C / January 10°C |
| Seasonality | Strongly seasonal — the months feel like different places |
| Annual rainfall | 831mm over roughly 113 rain days |
February gets roughly 333% more precipitation than October — 78mm against 18mm. That difference, more than temperature, is what changes how a day here feels.
Knoxville swings 21°C between July (31°C) and January (10°C) — the month you pick changes what you pack more than where you go.
June gives you 14.4 hours of daylight against just 9.6 in December — a 5-hour difference in how much you can actually fit into a day.
October is the driest month at 18mm across roughly 3 wet days, while May peaks at 138mm.
September is almost as good as October, but usually quieter and cheaper. If your dates are flexible, it is the easier trip.
Knoxville changes character completely through the year — October and February are effectively two different destinations. Pick the month that matches what you want to do, not the highest-rated one.
Ratings compare months within Knoxville, not against destinations worldwide: five stars means the best time to be here, not that Knoxville beats anywhere else. Tags describe what the conditions actually suit.
| Month | Rating | High / Low | Precipitation | Wet days | Sun | Daylight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | ★★☆☆☆ | 10°C / -1°C | 66mm | 11 | 6h | 9.8h | Low-angle light · Quiet and local |
| February | ★★☆☆☆ | 11°C / 1°C | 78mm | 13 | 5h | 10.7h | Low-angle light · Quiet and local |
| March | ★★☆☆☆ | 15°C / 5°C | 90mm | 15 | 4h | 11.8h | Spring greenery · Quiet and local |
| April | ★★★☆☆ | 21°C / 11°C | 78mm | 13 | 6h | 13h | Hiking · Cycling · Spring greenery |
| May | ★★★☆☆ | 26°C / 17°C | 138mm | 15 | 6h | 13.9h | Quiet and local |
| June | ★★★☆☆ | 30°C / 21°C | 93mm | 10 | 8h | 14.4h | Pool and terrace weather |
| July | ★★★☆☆ | 31°C / 23°C | 93mm | 10 | 8h | 14.2h | Pool and terrace weather |
| August | ★★★★☆ | 30°C / 21°C | 57mm | 6 | 10h | 13.3h | Pool and terrace weather · Reliable sunshine |
| September | ★★★★★ | 26°C / 17°C | 48mm | 5 | 11h | 12.2h | Pool and terrace weather · Reliable sunshine |
| October | ★★★★★ | 21°C / 11°C | 18mm | 3 | 11h | 11h | Hiking · Cycling · Reliable sunshine |
| November | ★★★★☆ | 15°C / 5°C | 30mm | 5 | 9h | 10.1h | Hiking · Cycling · Reliable sunshine |
| December | ★★★☆☆ | 11°C / 1°C | 42mm | 7 | 8h | 9.6h | Festive season · Low-angle light · Quiet and local |
| You are planning | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sun & beach days | October | 11h daily sunshine, 21°C highs and only 3 rain days. |
| City walking & sightseeing | October | 21°C highs with 11h of daylight — long days without heat fatigue. |
| Photography & light | October | 11h of sun and 11h daylight give the widest window for golden-hour work. |
| Value & fewer crowds | November | Scores 71/100 — close to peak conditions but outside the busiest window. |
| Cooler-weather travel | November | 15°C highs and 5°C nights suit anyone who dislikes heat. |
Each month in Knoxville is described from long-run climate normals and then rated relative to the other eleven months in the same city. A five-star January in a cold destination means January is one of the best times to be there — not that it beats a Mediterranean summer.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Described | Average daytime high and overnight low for the month, shown as measured rather than judged. |
| Precipitation | Described | Monthly millimetres and wet-day count, labelled as snow or rain/snow where temperatures make that the likely phase. |
| Sunshine & daylight | Described | Average daily sunshine hours and astronomical daylight length at mid-month, from the city’s latitude. |
| “Best for” tags | Derived | Applied only when the conditions genuinely support the activity — snow depth-friendly cold for skiing, 13–24°C and low rain risk for hiking, dark evenings at high latitude for aurora. A month with few strong use cases gets fewer tags rather than padded ones. |
| Star rating | Relative | Ranks the month against the other eleven months in the same city. Never a comparison between cities. |
Figures are long-run climate averages, not a forecast for a specific year. This city has no published month-by-month normals on file, so monthly temperatures are interpolated from its summer and winter averages and rainfall is modelled from rain-day frequency.
October is the best all-round month in Knoxville: 21°C highs, 18mm of precipitation and 11 hours of daylight, which suits hiking, cycling and reliable sunshine. The strongest three-month window is August to October.
February — 11°C highs, 78mm of precipitation over roughly 13 days and 10.7 hours of daylight. It is the cheapest and least crowded time to go, and it still works for low-angle light and quiet and local.
October is the driest month at 18mm over about 3 rain days, against 138mm in May. Across the year Knoxville records around 831mm.
Yes, but the months are genuinely different trips. October suits hiking, cycling and reliable sunshine, while February suits low-angle light and quiet and local. Pick the month that matches what you want to do.
Daylight ranges from 9.6 hours in December to 14.4 hours in June, calculated from the city's latitude.