Roanoke County enjoys the variety of four seasons, with generally mild winters and warm summers. The mean annual temperature is 56.1 degrees, with 102 clear days and 40.3 inches of rain on average each year.
Winter:
The coldest weather normally occurs during
late December and January, when the average temperature is 37.7 degrees.
Average annual snowfall is 24.4 inches. On the average, 13 days of the year have at least 1 inch of snow on the ground. The number of such days varies greatly from year to year.
Spring:
The arrival of spring is typically seen in late
March.
Summer:
The warm temperatures of summer begin in late
June, and the warmest temperatures occur in July and August, when the average
daily temperature is 76 degrees.
Fall:
Fall in the Roanoke Valley is marked by beautiful
foliage, which reaches its peak in mid-October.
Geography
Roanoke County is located in the southernmost end of the Shenandoah Valley, between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains. It is nearly hexagonal in shape, with a land area of approximately 250 square miles. Dividing the county is a northeast-to-southwest valley.
The mean width of the Roanoke Valley is between 7 and 8 miles and its elevation ranges from 900 feet above sea level on the valley floor to about 3,900 feet on Poor Mountain in the southwestern part of the county.
The Roanoke Valley is surrounded by mountain ranges.
North:
Catawba Mountain is to the north. It has a peak,
called McAfee's Knob, at an elevation of 3,197 feet above sea level.
Northeast:
To the northeast are the Tinker and Read
Mountains.
East:
To the east is the Blue Ridge. Weaver and Stewart
Knobs are at an elevation of 2,400 feet.
South:
The Blue Ridge is also to the south. It has a
peak called Mason's Knob, which is at an elevation of 3,217 feet and is on the
border with Franklin County.
Southwest: To the southwest are Poor Mountain, which has an elevation of 2,707 feet at Twelve o'clock Knob; Bent Mountain at an elevation of 3,202 feet; and Sugar Loaf Mountain.
West:
Fort Lewis Mountain is to the west. It has a peak
at an elevation of 3,280 feet. It extends northward to the northwest boundary of
Salem.
The Roanoke River originates in the Blue Ridge Mountains, flowing east through the middle of Roanoke County, draining into Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County and continuing into North Carolina, ultimately reaching the Albemarle Sound. The Roanoke River Valley drainage system serves the cities of Roanoke and Salem and most of Roanoke County, with a small area in the northern part of the county drained instead by Catawba Creek, which is part of the James River drainage system that drains into the Chesapeake Bay.