Pool season · West Virginia
Charleston Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 25, 2026 · dates · water temp
One bar, one year, one Charleston pool. The season bar below draws everything the model knows — opening window, prime season, closing window — against today's date, with the working details one click away on the opening and closing pages.
Charleston, WV — 103 swim days a yearEach dot on the bar is one week of Charleston's typical year, colored by what the model says that week is for: gray weeks are off-season, hollow teal marks the opening window (April 8–April 29), solid teal is swim season, and hollow amber is the closing window ending October 15. The black marker is today — its position against the colors is the entire executive summary.
The Charleston pool calendar
Opening — target April 15
Target April 15; the practical window runs April 8–April 29, and the 7-day mean crosses the 61°F threshold around April 29. Cold-water starts are the cheap ones.
Closing — deadline October 15
The window opens October 5 once water leaves the algae zone; the model deadline is October 15, a week ahead of the October 26 freeze normal.
Estimated water temperature by month
Monthly averages of the site's water model run on Charleston's own normals — the shape of a typical year, not a forecast. The widget above shows where the current year actually sits.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36° | 36° | 42° | 52° | 62° | 69° | 75° | 75° | 72° | 63° | 51° | 42° |
The curve peaks near 76°F — comfortable-water months here usually involve a heater or a solar cover.
Every station tells its own story: compare this curve with Morgantown's pool season and Huntington's — neighboring normals stations can shift the windows by a week or more. The full ranking lives on the West Virginia season index.
Charleston pool season FAQ
When should I open my pool in Charleston, WV?
Open by April 15 — the model places Charleston's 61°F crossing about two weeks later, and every warm day you wait pushes the water toward the 65°F algae zone. The Charleston opening guide has the 12-step sequence.
When should I close my pool in Charleston?
Close by October 15: cool water keeps its winter chemistry, but freeze damage is the hard stop. The Charleston closing guide sequences the work backward from that date.
How long is the swim season in Charleston?
Charleston averages 103 days a year with normal highs of 80°F or better — right on the statewide median. The West Virginia season index ranks all 3 covered cities by the same metric.
How warm does pool water get in Charleston?
An unheated pool near Charleston typically peaks around 76°F in high summer and bottoms out near 35°F in winter, never quite reaching the 78°F comfort line without a heater or solar cover. The month-by-month curve above shows the whole cycle; the methodology page explains the ±5°F error bars.
Email me when Charleston hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Charleston Yeager Airport (3.1 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.