Cape Hatteras Airport, North Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Cape Hatteras Airport's normal year runs from 41°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 61.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.2°C, January lows of 5°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,555 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCape Hatteras Airport
- Station IDUSW00093729
- Location35.23°N 75.62°W
- Elevation11 ft (3 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Cape Hatteras Airport is 73°F and the normal low 59°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cape Hatteras Airport.
- Jan 55° 41°
- Feb 57° 42°
- Mar 61° 46°
- Apr 69° 54°
- May 77° 63°
- Jun 84° 71°
- Jul 87° 75°
- Aug 87° 74°
- Sep 83° 71°
- Oct 75° 61°
- Nov 66° 52°
- Dec 59° 45°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Cape Hatteras Airport each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 41°F. The most precipitation falls in September (7.63 in), the least in April (3.92 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 | 55°F | 41°F | 48.0°F | 4.91 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 10 h |
| February | 57°F | 42°F | 49.1°F | 4.34 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 46°F | 53.8°F | 4.43 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 54°F | 61.8°F | 3.92 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 77°F | 63°F | 69.7°F | 4.37 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 84°F | 71°F | 77.5°F | 4.41 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 87°F | 75°F | 81.3°F | 5.39 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 74°F | 80.7°F | 6.73 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 71°F | 76.9°F | 7.63 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 61°F | 68.2°F | 5.59 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 66°F | 52°F | 58.7°F | 4.76 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 45°F | 52.1°F | 4.73 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 58°F | 64.8°F | 61.21 | 125 | 8 | 17 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 5°C | 8.9°C | 125 mm |
| February | 14°C | 5°C | 9.5°C | 110 mm |
| March | 16°C | 8°C | 12.1°C | 113 mm |
| April | 21°C | 12°C | 16.6°C | 100 mm |
| May | 25°C | 17°C | 20.9°C | 111 mm |
| June | 29°C | 22°C | 25.3°C | 112 mm |
| July | 31°C | 24°C | 27.4°C | 137 mm |
| August | 31°C | 24°C | 27.1°C | 171 mm |
| September | 28°C | 22°C | 24.9°C | 194 mm |
| October | 24°C | 16°C | 20.1°C | 142 mm |
| November | 19°C | 11°C | 14.8°C | 121 mm |
| December | 15°C | 7°C | 11.2°C | 120 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093729; 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.
Which months are mildest at Cape Hatteras Airport?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September, October and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USW00093729.
When is the last frost at Cape Hatteras Airport?
In Cape Hatteras Airport, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 4 in half of years and after March 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 22 in half of years and before November 29 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 41 year in 10 after March 25; 9 in 10 after February 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 221 year in 10 before November 29; 9 in 10 before January 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 290 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 320 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 12 in half of springs and before January 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cape Hatteras Airport in zone 9a in ZIP code 27936, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (30 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 USW00093729; 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 at Cape Hatteras Airport?
In a normal year in Cape Hatteras Airport, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 17 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 125 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
- 17a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 125a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 96°F, on July 10, 1992; the lowest is 6°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1989, with 90.84 in; the snowiest season is 1989–90, with 13.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093729; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093729. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is it at Cape Hatteras Airport, and how clear are the skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 72°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 73°F, above the 65°F at which most people call the air sticky; the driest air comes in January (38°F). March is the windiest month (10.4 mph on average).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 73% | 66% | 9.6 mph | – | – |
| February | 41°F | 72% | 64% | 9.8 mph | – | – |
| March | 48°F | 72% | 64% | 10.4 mph | – | – |
| April | 57°F | 76% | 67% | 10.2 mph | – | – |
| May | 65°F | 77% | 68% | 9.0 mph | – | – |
| June | 72°F | 78% | 69% | 9.0 mph | – | – |
| July | 73°F | 80% | 72% | 8.4 mph | – | – |
| August | 71°F | 79% | 69% | 8.6 mph | – | – |
| September | 65°F | 77% | 68% | 8.3 mph | – | – |
| October | 54°F | 73% | 65% | 8.8 mph | – | – |
| November | 46°F | 74% | 66% | 8.8 mph | – | – |
| December | 41°F | 74% | 67% | 9.1 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00093729. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is it at Cape Hatteras Airport?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Cape Hatteras Airport, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (81%) and January the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.4 |
| February | 71% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 79% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.6 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 74% | 2.7 |
| December | 71% | 2.1 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Cape Hatteras Airport record?
A normal year at Cape Hatteras Airport brings 2,168 heating degree days, 60% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,127 cooling degree days, 2.3 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 5,830 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 528 | 1 |
| February | 447 | 1 |
| March | 354 | 7 |
| April | 143 | 45 |
| May | 26 | 172 |
| June | 1 | 375 |
| July | 0 | 505 |
| August | 0 | 487 |
| September | 1 | 358 |
| October | 46 | 144 |
| November | 216 | 26 |
| December | 406 | 6 |
| Year (annual) | 2,168 | 2,127 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093729. 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.
Have recent years at Cape Hatteras Airport been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 64.7°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 64.8°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65.0°F | +0.2°F | 64.24 |
| 2022 | 65.0°F | +0.2°F | 48.71 |
| 2023 | 64.6°F | −0.2°F | 64.52 |
| 2024 | 64.7°F | −0.1°F | 53.59 |
Over 144 complete years from 1875 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.0°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093729; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cape Hatteras Airport's climate compare?
Cape Hatteras Airport is warmer than 130 of the 131 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 118. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.8°F is warmer than 87%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cape Hatteras Airport 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 Cape Hatteras Airport share this climate record?
Hatteras 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.
- Hatteras, NC381 people · 4 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 Cape Hatteras Airport's climate
What is the coldest month at Cape Hatteras Airport?
January, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 41°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 75°F at night).
What is the rainiest month at Cape Hatteras Airport?
September, with 7.63 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 3.92 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cape Hatteras Airport in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cape Hatteras Airport in zone 9a in ZIP code 27936, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come at Cape Hatteras Airport?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 4; in one year in ten it comes after March 25. Waiting until March 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Cape Hatteras Airport in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Frisco, NC2 miles from this station, 64.4°F a year
- Ocracoke, NC22 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Swanquarter Ferry, NC41 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Cedar Island, NC42 miles from this station, 66.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made