Late spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October) are the best months: temperatures in the 20s°C, low humidity, and — in autumn — some of the brightest hardwood colour in the eastern United States, particularly out in the surrounding Allegheny mountains. Summer (July–August) is hot and notoriously humid; the river valley traps the moisture. Winter is mild by Appalachian standards but generally grey.
The big annual events are FestivALL in mid-June (ten days of music, theatre, and art across the city), the Sternwheel Regatta on the Kanawha River in late summer, and the West Virginia State Fair (held outside Lewisburg, but Charleston-focused) in August.