Climate reading

Atlanta and the Chinese solar calendar

In Atlanta, the first freeze typically comes November 21, 29 days after the calendar's Frost's Descent begins on October 23. The last freeze is typically over by March 20, and Atlanta gets 246 days a year without one. Where the calendar and your weather disagree, go by your weather.

The weather station behind this page

Weather station	Hartsfield, GA
Station ID	USW00013874
Days without a freeze, per year	246
Typical first freeze	November 21
Typical last freeze	March 20
Rain and heat	r = -0.08 (no clear pattern)
Years averaged	1991–2020

Official NOAA averages for 1991–2020 at this station: a typical year, not a forecast.

Rain and heat across the whole year

Here rainy days are spread through the year instead of bunching up in the hot months as they do where the calendar comes from, so the calendar's muggy season has no clear match in Atlanta. On a scale from −1 (opposite) to 1 (perfectly together), Atlanta scores -0.08 and the calendar's home region 0.88.

Where the calendar is most wrong about Atlanta

These four two-week stretches are where the calendar's names or advice sit furthest from Atlanta's thirty-year record.

Cold Dew 寒露from 2026-10-08

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 鸿雁来宾 · 雀入大水为蛤 · 菊有黄华

The Su Wen, part of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, calls fall the season of containment and levelling (容平). Go to bed early and get up early, it says, up with the rooster. That keeps you in step with fall. Go against it, the text warns, and the lungs suffer, showing up in winter as diarrhea with undigested food.

Average, low, high	65.0°F / 55.3°F / 74.8°F
Days with measurable rain	22.7%
Days at or below freezing	0.0
Daylight	11h 31m (-32 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 59.0°F. At Hartsfield, GA: 65.0°F, 6.0°F warmer.
'Cold Dew' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Hartsfield, GA, half of all years have had their first freeze by November 21, 44 days after these weeks begin; they usually bring about 0.0 freezing days.
The fastest-cooling stretch of the year: 5.6°F cooler than the two weeks before.

Major Cold 大寒from 2026-01-20

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 鸡乳 · 征鸟厉疾 · 水泽腹坚

The Su Wen calls winter the season of closing and storing (閉藏). Go to bed early and get up late, once the sun is up; stay warm without sweating. That keeps you in step with winter. Go against it, the text warns, and the kidneys suffer, showing up in spring as weakness and collapse (痿厥).

Average, low, high	45.3°F / 35.8°F / 54.7°F
Days with measurable rain	35.5%
Days at or below freezing	5.8
Daylight	10h 14m (+14 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 34.0°F. At Hartsfield, GA: 45.3°F, 11.3°F warmer.
'Major Cold' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Hartsfield, GA, the last freeze of spring typically doesn't clear until March 20, still 59 days away; these weeks usually bring about 5.8 freezing days.

Yang deficiency (running low on the body's warmth) traditionally finds winter hard. Here the average low this stretch is 35.8°F.

Major Snow 大雪from 2026-12-07

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 鹖鴠不鸣 · 虎始交 · 荔挺出

The winter advice above covers these weeks too.

Average, low, high	47.5°F / 38.7°F / 56.4°F
Days with measurable rain	33.9%
Days at or below freezing	4.4
Daylight	9h 59m (-14 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 36.3°F. At Hartsfield, GA: 47.5°F, 11.2°F warmer.
'Major Snow' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Hartsfield, GA, half of all years have had their first freeze by November 21, 16 days before these weeks begin; they usually bring about 4.4 freezing days.

Blood stasis (blood that doesn't move freely) traditionally finds cold hard. Here the average low this stretch is 38.7°F.

Minor Cold 小寒from 2026-01-05

The old calendar's three signs for these weeks, one per five days: 雁北乡 · 鹊始巢 · 雉雊

The winter advice above covers these weeks too.

Average, low, high	44.5°F / 35.4°F / 53.6°F
Days with measurable rain	36.4%
Days at or below freezing	6.2
Daylight	10h 00m (+5 min from two weeks ago)

Where the calendar comes from, these weeks average about 33.1°F. At Hartsfield, GA: 44.5°F, 11.4°F warmer.
'Minor Cold' names what people in the Yellow River valley saw in nature, not a temperature. At Hartsfield, GA, the last freeze of spring typically doesn't clear until March 20, still 74 days away; these weeks usually bring about 6.2 freezing days.

Qi stagnation (energy that gets stuck, often felt as low spirits) traditionally finds gray, rainy stretches hard. Rain falls on 36.4% of days in this stretch, against 31.8% across Atlanta's year.

All twenty-four two-week stretches in Atlanta

Two weeks		Begins	Avg °F	Rainy days %	Freezing days	vs. calendar °F
Minor Cold	小寒	2026-01-05	44.5	36.4	6.2	+11.4
Major Cold	大寒	2026-01-20	45.3	35.5	5.8	+11.3
Start of Spring	立春	2026-02-04	47.6	35.7	3.7	+9.3
Rain Water	雨水	2026-02-18	51.0	35.4	3.6	+8.2
Awakening of Insects	惊蛰	2026-03-05	54.6	34.0	1.5	+6.6
Spring Equinox	春分	2026-03-20	58.4	32.8	1.2	+4.6
Pure Brightness	清明	2026-04-05	62.2	30.9	0.1	+3.4
Grain Rain	谷雨	2026-04-20	66.2	29.1	0.1	+1.6
Start of Summer	立夏	2026-05-05	70.3	29.8	0.0	+2.7
Grain Buds	小满	2026-05-21	74.2	33.2	0.0	+1.9
Grain in Ear	芒种	2026-06-05	77.4	36.1	0.0	+0.9
Summer Solstice	夏至	2026-06-21	79.8	37.9	0.0	+0.8
Minor Heat	小暑	2026-07-07	81.0	38.0	0.0	+0.9
Major Heat	大暑	2026-07-23	81.2	36.2	0.0	-0.1
Start of Autumn	立秋	2026-08-07	80.4	33.5	0.0	+2.1
End of Heat	处暑	2026-08-23	78.6	29.1	0.0	+3.8
White Dew	白露	2026-09-07	75.3	24.5	0.0	+6.8
Autumn Equinox	秋分	2026-09-23	70.6	22.8	0.0	+6.7
Cold Dew	寒露	2026-10-08	65.0	22.7	0.0	+6.0
Frost's Descent	霜降	2026-10-23	59.4	24.0	0.6	+6.0
Start of Winter	立冬	2026-11-07	54.5	26.0	1.4	+7.9
Minor Snow	小雪	2026-11-22	50.5	29.3	2.6	+9.9
Major Snow	大雪	2026-12-07	47.5	33.9	4.4	+11.2
Winter Solstice	冬至	2026-12-22	45.5	36.5	4.6	+11.7

‘vs. calendar’ is how much warmer (+) or cooler (−) each stretch runs here than where the calendar comes from. Rain figures count rainy days, not inches.

The body-type notes follow traditional Chinese medicine as set out in a national standard in China. Tying them to this city's weather is a traditional association, not a finding from modern research. Which type goes with which stretch is our own arrangement: each is matched to the time of year the standard says it finds hard, or, for rain, to the rainiest of the four when it's wetter than Atlanta's year as a whole. Weather doesn't decide anyone's body type. To find yours, take the assessment.

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How Atlanta compares with the other thirteen

Atlanta has 246 frost-free days a year, more than 6 of the other cities here. That's 95 more than Denver, which has the fewest. It's 119 fewer than San Francisco, which has the most.

Rain falls on 31.8% of days here over a year. Phoenix is the driest of the fourteen at 9.2% and Seattle the wettest at 43.1%, which puts Atlanta in the middle.

The hottest two weeks here are Minor Heat, with an average high of 90.2°F and rain on 38.0% of days: hot and wet at once. 4 of the fourteen get hotter at their peak, Phoenix among them.

The other thirteen cities

All fourteen cities side by side

Where this comes from

The thirty-year averages are NOAA's official 1991–2020 figures, one station per city, read straight from NOAA's records by our own program. Freezing days for each two-week stretch are estimated from NOAA's monthly counts. Figures for where the calendar comes from are based on weather-station measurements and reanalysis data from the Yellow River valley in northern China, where the calendar's names come from. The seasonal advice comes from the Su Wen, in our own translation.