Heat stress in Richmond
Humid mid-Atlantic summers with hot, muggy afternoons and recurring heat advisories.
Light precautions for intense activity. Keep water handy.
Wet-bulb globe temperature via the Liljegren (2008) method. This page is cached and refreshes in the background, so the live badge below can be a few minutes ahead of it.
View Richmond on the live mapReading heat stress in Richmond
Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is the heat measure that actually tracks danger to the body. Unlike the plain air temperature on your phone, it folds in humidity, wind, and direct sun: the factors that decide whether your sweat can still cool you. It’s the standard the military, athletic associations, and occupational-safety bodies use to call when outdoor activity is no longer safe.
That matters in Richmond because humid mid-Atlantic summers with hot, muggy afternoons and recurring heat advisories. The number above is the live outdoor WBGT for the city right now; tap through to the live map to inspect any neighborhood, scrub the forecast hour by hour, and see the 7-day outlook.
How hot Richmond usually gets
Across 2015–2024, Richmond averaged a 87°F daily high in summer: 78th hottest of the 174 metros we track, and July is typically the warmest month.
Most of the heat here sits below the extremes: around 37 days a year top 90°F, and only about 1 reach 100°F.
Humidity is the real story: summer averages about 72%, so sweat evaporates poorly and heat stress runs well above what a 87°F afternoon suggests.
A bad day runs well past a normal one, with 103°F recorded against a 87°F summer average.
Daily high temperatures and humidity from ERA5 reanalysis, 2015–2024 (hottest day in the sample: 2020-07-20). These are climate averages for context: the reading at the top of this page is the live one.
For school sports, VHSL (Virginia High School League) publishes Va. Board of Education, Guidelines for Policies on Heat-Related Illness Prevention in Student Athletes (Aug. 2025), Table 1: VHSL WBGT Participation Recommendations, which uses wet-bulb globe temperature. Virginia’s activity zones appear beside the live reading in the app. Our Virginia heat policy page has the details, the source and the date we last checked it.
Heat in Richmond: common questions
How hot does it usually get in Richmond?
Across 2015–2024, Richmond averaged a 87°F daily high through summer, with about 37 days a year at or above 90°F and 1 at or above 100°F. July is typically the hottest month, and the hottest day in that sample reached 103°F. Figures are from ERA5 daily reanalysis.
When is the hottest time of year in Richmond?
July has the highest average daily high in Richmond. Humidity is the real story here: summer averages about 72%, so sweat evaporates poorly and heat stress runs well above what the temperature alone suggests. Use the forecast on this page to plan around the specific days that matter.
Does Virginia have a heat policy for school sports?
VHSL (Virginia High School League) publishes Va. Board of Education, Guidelines for Policies on Heat-Related Illness Prevention in Student Athletes (Aug. 2025), Table 1: VHSL WBGT Participation Recommendations, which uses wet-bulb globe temperature. Virginia’s activity zones appear beside the live reading in the app. Our WBGT is a modeled estimate rather than the on-site device reading a policy may call for, so check the association's own document for current requirements.
What is the WBGT in Richmond right now?
The reading at the top of this page is the current wet-bulb globe temperature for Richmond, Virginia, computed from live weather by the Liljegren (2008) method and labeled with how recently it updated. For an exact reading at your own neighborhood, plus an hour-by-hour forecast, open the live map.
Why is WBGT more useful than the temperature for Richmond?
Air temperature ignores humidity, wind, and sun: the things that decide whether heat is dangerous. Richmond's climate (humid mid-Atlantic summers with hot, muggy afternoons and recurring heat advisories.) is exactly why a single "feels-like" or thermometer reading can understate the real risk. WBGT captures all of it in one number.
When is heat most dangerous in Richmond?
July is the peak month in Richmond, and within a day heat stress is highest in the early-to-mid afternoon when sun load is greatest. About 37 days a year reach 90°F, so most of the risk sits in a handful of afternoons rather than across the whole season. Use the forecast on this page to find the window that works.
Put Richmond’s live heat stress on your site
A self-updating WBGT badge for schools, teams, camps, and local sites: it always shows the current reading and links back here.
<iframe src="https://wetbulbtracker.com/embed/richmond-va" width="340" height="150" style="border:0" title="Live WBGT: Richmond, VA" loading="lazy"></iframe>Paste it into any website. The badge updates itself and links back here. Add ?theme=light for light sites.