Atlantic Beach, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Atlantic Beach's normal year runs from 39°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 59.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.8°C, January lows of 4°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,498 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAtlantic Beach Water Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00310356
- Location34.70°N 76.74°W
- Elevation4 ft (1 m)
- Population1,421
On October 14, the normal high in Atlantic Beach is 75°F and the normal low 61°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Atlantic Beach.
- Jan 54° 39°
- Feb 55° 40°
- Mar 61° 46°
- Apr 68° 55°
- May 76° 64°
- Jun 83° 72°
- Jul 86° 76°
- Aug 86° 75°
- Sep 83° 71°
- Oct 74° 60°
- Nov 65° 50°
- Dec 57° 43°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Atlantic Beach each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 39°F. The most precipitation falls in September (9.65 in), the least in March (3.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 39°F | 46.2°F | 4.23 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 10 h |
| February | 55°F | 40°F | 47.4°F | 3.70 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| March | 61°F | 46°F | 53.5°F | 3.35 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 55°F | 61.7°F | 3.99 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 76°F | 64°F | 70.1°F | 4.50 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 83°F | 72°F | 77.4°F | 3.91 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 76°F | 81.0°F | 5.72 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 75°F | 80.3°F | 7.10 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 71°F | 76.5°F | 9.65 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 60°F | 67.3°F | 4.20 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 50°F | 57.7°F | 3.94 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 57°F | 43°F | 49.8°F | 4.68 | 12 | <1 | 5 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 58°F | 64.1°F | 58.97 | 120 | 7 | 27 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 4°C | 7.9°C | 107 mm |
| February | 13°C | 5°C | 8.6°C | 94 mm |
| March | 16°C | 8°C | 11.9°C | 85 mm |
| April | 20°C | 13°C | 16.5°C | 101 mm |
| May | 25°C | 18°C | 21.2°C | 114 mm |
| June | 28°C | 22°C | 25.2°C | 99 mm |
| July | 30°C | 24°C | 27.2°C | 145 mm |
| August | 30°C | 24°C | 26.8°C | 180 mm |
| September | 28°C | 21°C | 24.7°C | 245 mm |
| October | 24°C | 16°C | 19.6°C | 107 mm |
| November | 18°C | 10°C | 14.3°C | 100 mm |
| December | 14°C | 6°C | 9.9°C | 119 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Morehead City (2 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00310356; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Atlantic Beach?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September, October and November. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00310356.
When is the last frost in Atlantic Beach?
In Atlantic Beach, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 3 in half of years and after March 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 13 in half of years and before November 25 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- March 31 year in 10 after March 21; 9 in 10 after February 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 131 year in 10 before November 25; 9 in 10 before January 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 286 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 312 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 17 in half of springs and before December 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Atlantic Beach in zone 8b in ZIP code 28512.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00310356; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Atlantic Beach?
In a normal year in Atlantic Beach, 7 days a year reach 90°F, 27 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 120 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 7a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 27a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 120a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00310356.
How sunny is Atlantic Beach?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Atlantic Beach, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and January the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.5 |
| February | 71% | 3.3 |
| March | 74% | 4.4 |
| April | 79% | 5.6 |
| May | 81% | 6.2 |
| June | 82% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 78% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| December | 71% | 2.3 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Atlantic Beach need?
A normal year in Atlantic Beach brings 2,344 heating degree days, 56% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,041 cooling degree days, 2.2 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,654 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 583 | 0 |
| February | 494 | 0 |
| March | 359 | 3 |
| April | 130 | 31 |
| May | 17 | 175 |
| June | 0 | 374 |
| July | 0 | 496 |
| August | 0 | 474 |
| September | 1 | 347 |
| October | 52 | 123 |
| November | 236 | 17 |
| December | 472 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 2,344 | 2,041 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00310356. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Atlantic Beach been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 63.9°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 64.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.5°F | +0.4°F | 56.36 |
| 2022 | 64.7°F | +0.6°F | 48.14 |
| 2023 | 65.2°F | +1.1°F | 59.32 |
| 2024 | 65.2°F | +1.1°F | 52.61 |
| 2025 | 63.9°F | −0.2°F | 44.41 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00310356. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Atlantic Beach's climate compare?
Atlantic Beach is warmer than 125 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 110. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.1°F is warmer than 86%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Atlantic Beach is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Atlantic Beach share this climate record?
Pine Knoll Shores has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Pine Knoll Shores, NC1,435 people · 5 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Atlantic Beach's climate
What is the coldest month in Atlantic Beach?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 39°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 76°F at night).
Does it snow in Atlantic Beach?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Atlantic Beach's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Morehead City (2 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Atlantic Beach?
September, with 9.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 3.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Atlantic Beach in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Atlantic Beach in zone 8b in ZIP code 28512.
How late can frost come in Atlantic Beach?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 3; in one year in ten it comes after March 21. Waiting until March 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Morehead City, NC2 miles from this station, 63.2°F a year
- Beaufort, NC5 miles from this station, 63.8°F a year
- Newport, NC9 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Havelock, NC16 miles from this station, 64.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made