Burlington, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Burlington's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 43.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.9°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,100 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBurlington Alamance Airport
- Station IDUSW00093783
- Location36.05°N 79.48°W
- Elevation617 ft (188 m)
- Population61,365
On October 14, the normal high in Burlington is 74°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 37%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Burlington.
- Jan 52° 30°
- Feb 56° 33°
- Mar 64° 39°
- Apr 74° 48°
- May 80° 57°
- Jun 88° 65°
- Jul 91° 70°
- Aug 89° 68°
- Sep 83° 62°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 63° 38°
- Dec 55° 33°
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 Burlington each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.65 in), the least in February (2.81 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 30°F | 41.0°F | 3.07 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 2.81 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 3.88 | 12 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 48°F | 60.7°F | 3.83 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 57°F | 68.7°F | 3.37 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 88°F | 65°F | 76.3°F | 4.28 | 12 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 91°F | 70°F | 80.1°F | 4.65 | 12 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 89°F | 68°F | 78.5°F | 3.53 | 12 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 62°F | 72.2°F | 4.40 | 12 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 61.0°F | 3.09 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 38°F | 50.6°F | 3.27 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 33°F | 43.8°F | 3.12 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 49°F | 60.7°F | 43.30 | 130 | 48 | 78 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −1°C | 5.0°C | 78 mm |
| February | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 71 mm |
| March | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 99 mm |
| April | 23°C | 9°C | 15.9°C | 97 mm |
| May | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 86 mm |
| June | 31°C | 18°C | 24.6°C | 109 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 118 mm |
| August | 32°C | 20°C | 25.8°C | 90 mm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 112 mm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 78 mm |
| November | 17°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 83 mm |
| December | 13°C | 0°C | 6.6°C | 79 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Siler City (20 miles away), gets 2 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093783; 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 Burlington?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USW00093783.
When is the last frost in Burlington?
In Burlington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 1 in half of years and after April 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 in half of years and before October 21 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 11 year in 10 after April 17; 9 in 10 after March 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 21; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 215 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 239 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 18 in half of springs and before November 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Burlington in zone 8a in ZIP code 27215. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Burlington's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00093783; 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 Burlington?
In a normal year in Burlington, 48 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 78 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 130 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 48a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 78a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 130a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 105°F, on August 9, 2007; the lowest is 1°F, on January 28, 2000.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2003, with 64.62 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093783; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093783. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Burlington?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Burlington, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (71%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 276th (with 27 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.5 |
| February | 71% | 3.2 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 76% | 5.4 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 78% | 5.4 |
| September | 75% | 4.5 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 77% | 2.8 |
| December | 72% | 2.2 |
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 Burlington need?
A normal year in Burlington brings 3,268 heating degree days, 39% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,737 cooling degree days, 91% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,922 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 746 | 1 |
| February | 584 | 2 |
| March | 430 | 10 |
| April | 179 | 51 |
| May | 45 | 160 |
| June | 1 | 342 |
| July | 0 | 470 |
| August | 0 | 419 |
| September | 16 | 230 |
| October | 170 | 48 |
| November | 436 | 4 |
| December | 661 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 3,268 | 1,737 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093783. 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 Burlington been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 59.4°F, 1.3°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 60.7°F. 1 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60.8°F | +0.1°F | – |
| 2022 | 59.6°F | −1.1°F | 43.92 |
| 2023 | 60.2°F | −0.5°F | 46.72 |
| 2024 | 60.8°F | at normal | 56.54 |
| 2025 | 59.4°F | −1.3°F | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093783. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Burlington's climate compare?
Burlington is warmer than 79 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.7°F is warmer than 76%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Burlington 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 Burlington share this climate record?
9 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Elon, NC11,282 people · 4 mi NW
- Gibsonville, NC9,744 people · 5 mi NW
- Glen Raven, NC3,684 people · 5 mi N
- Alamance, NC1,043 people · 1 mi SW
- McLeansville, NC740 people · 11 mi W
- Sedalia, NC695 people · 8 mi W
- Whitsett, NC604 people · 6 mi NW
- Ossipee, NC569 people · 9 mi N
- Altamahaw, NC568 people · 10 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Burlington's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Burlington. This page uses Burlington Alamance Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington Fire Station #5 USC00311239 | 2 mi NE | 660 ft | 60.5°F | 31°F | 90°F | 47.1 | – | March 29 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Burlington's climate
What is the coldest month in Burlington?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Burlington?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Burlington's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Siler City (20 miles away), records 2 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Burlington?
July, with 4.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.81 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Burlington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Burlington in zone 8a in ZIP code 27215. By the same method at Burlington's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Burlington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 1; in one year in ten it comes after April 17. Waiting until April 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Burlington in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Graham, NC6 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Cane Creek Reservoir, NC15 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Siler City, NC20 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Randleman, NC24 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made