Weather in Richmond in October

A hard month. October asks something of you. Go in knowing what. You should expect rain on 17 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

October ranks 7 of 12 in Richmond: past the worst of the year but short of July, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 17 days, 5 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Layers, and a genuinely waterproof outer — at 13 °C the difference between a good day and a miserable one is entirely down to what you are wearing.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: the day barely swings — 4.1 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest October day reached 20.7 °C and the coldest night fell to 0.9 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 99 mm — roughly 71% of the month's rain in one day.

October is moderately variable: 22 mm in the driest year against 310 mm in the wettest, around an average of 140 mm. Roughly two Octobers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 5.9 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 84%, which at 13 °C means damp rather than muggy — the kind of cold that gets into a coat and stays there.

How October sits in the year

The month is on the way down: 5.2 °C cooler than September, with November dropping another 4.4 °C. The first week and the last are not the same trip. Rain has already shifted: 6 days more than September had.

Daylight in October

11.3 hours of daylight, losing 1.2 hours across the month. That is between Richmond's extremes of 14.7 and 9.6 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 18.7 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

How busy it gets

Quiet. Few other visitors, cheaper rooms, and a real chance some seasonal operators are shut.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

October in Richmond versus nearby

If Richmond is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Virginia Beach is a better bet in October — 8.1 °C warmer, 9 days less rain. Washington is a better bet in October — 7.2 °C warmer, 8 days less rain.

So: October is a compromise. July is 49 points better and is what Richmond is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Richmond

See all twelve months in Richmond, or where else to go in October.