Carthage, Mississippi climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Carthage's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 57.8 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.2 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.7°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,468 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCarthage
- Station IDUSC00221489
- Location32.75°N 89.54°W
- Elevation370 ft (113 m)
- Population4,855
On October 23, the normal high in Carthage is 75°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carthage.
- Jan 57° 34°
- Feb 61° 37°
- Mar 69° 44°
- Apr 76° 51°
- May 83° 59°
- Jun 89° 67°
- Jul 92° 71°
- Aug 92° 70°
- Sep 88° 64°
- Oct 78° 51°
- Nov 67° 41°
- Dec 58° 35°
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 Carthage each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in April (6.31 in), the least in September (3.80 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57°F | 34°F | 45.1°F | 5.71 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 61°F | 37°F | 48.9°F | 5.32 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 11 h |
| March | 69°F | 44°F | 56.4°F | 5.05 | 8 | <1 | 6 | 12 h |
| April | 76°F | 51°F | 63.4°F | 6.31 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 83°F | 59°F | 71.1°F | 4.38 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 89°F | 67°F | 78.3°F | 3.92 | 8 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 92°F | 71°F | 81.4°F | 5.08 | 9 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 92°F | 70°F | 80.9°F | 4.70 | 8 | 23 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 88°F | 64°F | 75.8°F | 3.80 | 6 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 78°F | 51°F | 64.4°F | 3.88 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 67°F | 41°F | 53.8°F | 4.34 | 7 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 58°F | 35°F | 46.7°F | 5.32 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 52°F | 63.8°F | 57.81 | 94 | 77 | 64 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 145 mm |
| February | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 135 mm |
| March | 21°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 128 mm |
| April | 24°C | 11°C | 17.4°C | 160 mm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.7°C | 111 mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 25.7°C | 100 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.4°C | 129 mm |
| August | 33°C | 21°C | 27.2°C | 119 mm |
| September | 31°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 97 mm |
| October | 25°C | 11°C | 18.0°C | 99 mm |
| November | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 110 mm |
| December | 15°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 135 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00221489; 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 Carthage?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00221489.
When is the last frost in Carthage?
In Carthage, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 19 in half of years and after April 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 7 in half of years and before October 24 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 191 year in 10 after April 7; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 71 year in 10 before October 24; 9 in 10 before November 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 233 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 261 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 3 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carthage in zone 8b in ZIP code 39051, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Mississippi · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00221489; 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 Carthage?
In a normal year in Carthage, 77 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 64 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 94 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 77a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 64a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 94a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1955) is 106°F, on August 30, 2000; the lowest is −5°F, on January 12, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1979, with 82.67 in; the snowiest season is 1963–64, with 10.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00221489; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00221489. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Carthage?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Carthage, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.7 |
| February | 67% | 3.3 |
| March | 72% | 4.4 |
| April | 77% | 5.5 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 82% | 6.4 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 5.1 |
| October | 80% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 3.2 |
| December | 69% | 2.4 |
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 Carthage need?
A normal year in Carthage brings 2,548 heating degree days, 53% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,159 cooling degree days, 2.4 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 5,731 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 618 | 3 |
| February | 456 | 6 |
| March | 290 | 23 |
| April | 120 | 74 |
| May | 22 | 212 |
| June | 0 | 398 |
| July | 0 | 508 |
| August | 0 | 493 |
| September | 5 | 329 |
| October | 113 | 96 |
| November | 351 | 15 |
| December | 572 | 4 |
| Year (annual) | 2,548 | 2,159 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00221489. 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.
How does Carthage's climate compare?
Carthage is warmer than 39 of the other 80 places with their own NOAA record in Mississippi, and wetter than 25. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.8°F is warmer than 85%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Carthage 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 Carthage 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.
- Redwater, MS671 people · 3 mi N
- Standing Pine, MS539 people · 7 mi SE
- Walnut Grove, MS508 people · 12 mi SE
- Lena, MS157 people · 11 mi S
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 Carthage's climate
What is the coldest month in Carthage?
January, with a normal high of 57°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Carthage?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.2 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Carthage?
April, with 6.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 3.80 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carthage in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carthage in zone 8b in ZIP code 39051, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Carthage?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 19; in one year in ten it comes after April 7. Waiting until April 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Mississippi climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Kosciusko, MS21 miles from this station, 62.8°F a year
- Philadelphia, MS24 miles from this station, 64.2°F a year
- Pickens, MS27 miles from this station, 63.5°F a year
- Forest, MS28 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made