Carrboro, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Carrboro's normal year runs from 29°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 48.9 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.4°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,241 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChapel Hill (2 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00311677
- Location35.91°N 79.08°W
- Elevation500 ft (152 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population21,079
On October 14, the normal high in Carrboro is 73°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carrboro.
- Jan 51° 29°
- Feb 54° 31°
- Mar 62° 38°
- Apr 72° 47°
- May 79° 56°
- Jun 86° 65°
- Jul 90° 69°
- Aug 88° 68°
- Sep 82° 62°
- Oct 72° 49°
- Nov 62° 38°
- Dec 54° 32°
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 Carrboro each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.42 in), the least in February (3.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51°F | 29°F | 40.0°F | 3.95 | 1.5 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 31°F | 42.8°F | 3.27 | 0.9 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 38°F | 49.9°F | 4.39 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 47°F | 59.2°F | 3.71 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 56°F | 67.5°F | 3.78 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 65°F | 75.4°F | 4.08 | 0.0 | 11 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 69°F | 79.4°F | 4.82 | 0.0 | 11 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 68°F | 77.6°F | 4.30 | 0.0 | 11 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 62°F | 71.7°F | 5.42 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 49°F | 60.3°F | 3.77 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 38°F | 49.9°F | 3.50 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 54°F | 32°F | 43.1°F | 3.87 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 49°F | 59.7°F | 48.86 | 2.8 | 124 | 44 | 77 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −1°C | 4.4°C | 100 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 12°C | 0°C | 6.0°C | 83 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 17°C | 3°C | 9.9°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 22°C | 8°C | 15.1°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.3°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.3°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 3°C | 9.9°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 12°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 98 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00311677; 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 Carrboro?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00311677.
When is the last frost in Carrboro?
In Carrboro, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 3 in half of years and before October 23 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 311 year in 10 after April 14; 9 in 10 after March 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 31 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 218 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 242 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 19 in half of springs and before November 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carrboro in zone 8a in ZIP code 27510. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Carrboro's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (25 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 USC00311677; 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 Carrboro?
In a normal year in Carrboro, 44 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 77 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 124 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 77a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 124a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1891) is 107°F, on July 21, 1900; the lowest is −8°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 61.38 in; the snowiest season is 1999–00, with 18.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00311677; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00311677. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Carrboro?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Carrboro, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.6 |
| February | 72% | 3.3 |
| March | 73% | 4.3 |
| April | 77% | 5.5 |
| May | 77% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.7 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| December | 73% | 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 Carrboro need?
A normal year in Carrboro brings 3,500 heating degree days, 35% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,605 cooling degree days, 77% 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 4,671 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 774 | 0 |
| February | 622 | 0 |
| March | 475 | 7 |
| April | 216 | 40 |
| May | 63 | 139 |
| June | 5 | 316 |
| July | 0 | 446 |
| August | 0 | 391 |
| September | 18 | 218 |
| October | 188 | 42 |
| November | 457 | 5 |
| December | 682 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,500 | 1,605 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00311677. 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 Carrboro been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 60.0°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.7°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60.4°F | +0.6°F | 40.21 | – |
| 2022 | 59.9°F | +0.2°F | 51.90 | – |
| 2024 | 61.3°F | +1.6°F | 56.34 | – |
| 2025 | 60.0°F | +0.3°F | 57.65 | – |
Over 106 complete years from 1821 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.3°F per century (+0.01°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00311677; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Carrboro's climate compare?
Carrboro is warmer than 65 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 49. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.7°F is warmer than 74%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Carrboro 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 Carrboro share this climate record?
4 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.
- Briar Chapel, NC6,084 people · 6 mi S
- Governors Village, NC2,148 people · 5 mi SE
- Governors Club, NC1,772 people · 5 mi S
- Carolina Meadows, NC536 people · 5 mi SE
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 Carrboro's climate
What is the coldest month in Carrboro?
January, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Carrboro?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Carrboro?
September, with 5.42 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carrboro in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carrboro in zone 8a in ZIP code 27510. By the same method at Carrboro's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Carrboro?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 14. Waiting until April 14 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
- Chapel Hill, NC2 miles from this station, 60.6°F a year
- Cane Creek Reservoir, NC9 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Durham, NC11 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Chatham Water Treatment Plant, NC13 miles from this station, 60.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made