Richmond, VA – Virginia wrapped up an unusually cool and dry August, with Richmond posting its 7th coolest August on record and Norfolk experiencing its coolest since 1996. After a blistering July, the sharp drop in temperatures came as a welcome relief across central and eastern parts of the state.
According to the National Weather Service in Wakefield, average temperatures across the region were 3 to 5 degrees below normal throughout August. Richmond’s average temperature came in at 73.8°F—more than 3 degrees below its monthly norm—while Norfolk averaged 75.7°F, the coolest since the mid-1990s. Rainfall also trended below average in both cities, contributing to generally drier-than-normal conditions.
Salisbury, Maryland and Elizabeth City, North Carolina both ranked August 2025 among their top three coolest on record, signaling a broader regional cooling pattern across the Mid-Atlantic. Limited thunderstorm activity, reduced humidity, and fewer 90-degree days helped shift the region into a calmer late-summer pattern.
With the remnants of a tropical system unlikely and no major warmups on the horizon, the National Weather Service says cooler and drier conditions may persist into early September.
