Bent Creek, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bent Creek's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 52.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.4°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,321 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBent Creek
- Station IDUSC00310724
- Location35.50°N 82.60°W
- Elevation2,110 ft (643 m)
- Population (census place)1,854
On October 10, the normal high in Bent Creek is 70°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bent Creek.
- Jan 46° 25°
- Feb 51° 26°
- Mar 58° 32°
- Apr 68° 40°
- May 75° 50°
- Jun 81° 58°
- Jul 84° 62°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 77° 54°
- Oct 68° 43°
- Nov 57° 32°
- Dec 49° 27°
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 Bent Creek each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.19 in), the least in February (3.57 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 25°F | 35.4°F | 4.50 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 10 h |
| February | 51°F | 26°F | 38.4°F | 3.57 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 32°F | 45.0°F | 4.64 | 12 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 40°F | 53.8°F | 4.46 | 10 | <1 | 5 | 13 h |
| May | 75°F | 50°F | 62.3°F | 4.12 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 81°F | 58°F | 69.4°F | 4.75 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 62°F | 72.9°F | 5.19 | 13 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 71.8°F | 4.13 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 77°F | 54°F | 65.8°F | 4.74 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 43°F | 55.2°F | 3.64 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 32°F | 44.5°F | 4.07 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 49°F | 27°F | 38.1°F | 4.20 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 42°F | 54.4°F | 52.01 | 123 | 8 | 108 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 114 mm |
| February | 10°C | −3°C | 3.6°C | 91 mm |
| March | 14°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 118 mm |
| April | 20°C | 4°C | 12.1°C | 113 mm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 105 mm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.8°C | 121 mm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 132 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 105 mm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 120 mm |
| October | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 92 mm |
| November | 14°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 103 mm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 3.4°C | 107 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Fletcher (6 miles away), gets 9 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00310724; 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 Bent Creek?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00310724.
When is the last frost in Bent Creek?
In Bent Creek, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 18 in half of years and before October 5 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
- April 261 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 181 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 197 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bent Creek in zone 7b in ZIP code 28806, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bent Creek's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (23 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00310724; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. 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 Bent Creek?
In a normal year in Bent Creek, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 108 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 123 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 108a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 123a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 100°F, on August 21, 1983; the lowest is −16°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1979, with 68.21 in; the snowiest season is 1986–87, with 28.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00310724; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00310724. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bent Creek?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bent Creek, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. November is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.6 |
| February | 70% | 3.3 |
| March | 71% | 4.3 |
| April | 74% | 5.4 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 76% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 77% | 3.8 |
| November | 77% | 3.0 |
| 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 Bent Creek need?
A normal year in Bent Creek brings 4,590 heating degree days, 15% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 745 cooling degree days, 18% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,309 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 918 | 0 |
| February | 746 | 0 |
| March | 620 | 0 |
| April | 342 | 5 |
| May | 125 | 43 |
| June | 15 | 147 |
| July | 2 | 245 |
| August | 3 | 213 |
| September | 59 | 82 |
| October | 311 | 8 |
| November | 617 | 0 |
| December | 834 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,590 | 745 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00310724. 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 Bent Creek been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 55.6°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.4°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.1°F | +0.7°F | 46.63 |
| 2022 | 54.7°F | +0.3°F | 44.47 |
| 2023 | 55.6°F | +1.2°F | 40.44 |
Over 56 complete years from 1951 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00310724; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bent Creek's climate compare?
Bent Creek is warmer than 11 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 74. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.4°F is warmer than 58%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bent Creek 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 Bent Creek share this climate record?
Biltmore Forest 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.
- Biltmore Forest, NC1,462 people · 4 mi NE
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 Bent Creek's climate
What is the coldest month in Bent Creek?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Bent Creek?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Bent Creek's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Fletcher (6 miles away), records 9 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Bent Creek?
July, with 5.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.57 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bent Creek in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bent Creek in zone 7b in ZIP code 28806, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bent Creek's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Bent Creek?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 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
- Enka, NC4 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Fletcher, NC6 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Asheville, NC6 miles from this station, 57.3°F a year
- Candler (1 mi W), NC6 miles from this station, 55.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made