Gatlinburg weather by month
The best time to visit Gatlinburg is May, September and October — 87/100 in September, 25°C and 9 rainy days. The best season is autumn, September to November (80/100 on average).
The worst month is January at 53/100 — cold, rainy, clean air. See January →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit United States →
Best season: September to November (80/100 on average) · worst January (53/100)
- Days
- 25°C
- Nights
- 14°C
- Wet days
- 9
- Sun
- 9.8 h
- Humidity
- 74%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Gatlinburg, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Gatlinburg is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Gatlinburg through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
Crowds in Gatlinburg in September
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsLabor Day weekend, Fall colour in the Smokies, Summer break in United States(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Traveller notes on Gatlinburg
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters put typical May highs in the mid-to-upper 70sF with lows in the mid-to-lower 50sF, though some report highs into the 80s and lows near 60 by mid-May - shorts and t-shirts by midday, but pants and layers for the notably cooler mornings and evenings. Rain is normal but not usually heavy. The month is repeatedly called an excellent window: less humidity than summer, wildflowers in full bloom, and crowds that stay well below the Memorial Day surge since school is still in session - weekday visits in particular are described as notably quieter than weekends.
Forum posters cite typical November days in Gatlinburg in the low-to-mid 60sF with evenings dropping into the 40s or even high 30s, describing conditions as pleasant by day and genuinely cool at night. Posters are consistent that November is too early for snow at valley level, calling any snow before Thanksgiving a rare fluke rather than a realistic expectation. Posters describe some fall color still lingering into mid-November in a typical year, though it varies and can already be mostly gone by then. Posters note crowds and accommodation rates both drop compared to October's peak leaf-season rush, with one major exception: the weekend after Thanksgiving ranks among the single busiest of the entire year, driven partly by the Christmas lights and Winterfest displays that go up around November 9th. Posters generally rate November as mild by day, cool by night and a good value window for Gatlinburg outside the Thanksgiving-weekend crowd surge.
Add your own note from Gatlinburg's card on the map.