Carthage, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Carthage's normal year runs from 31°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 47.8 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.9°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,214 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCarthage Water Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00311515
- Location35.33°N 79.41°W
- Elevation440 ft (134 m)
- Population2,999
On October 14, the normal high in Carthage is 73°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carthage.
- Jan 53° 31°
- Feb 56° 32°
- Mar 65° 40°
- Apr 73° 47°
- May 80° 57°
- Jun 87° 65°
- Jul 90° 69°
- Aug 88° 67°
- Sep 83° 61°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 64° 39°
- 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 Carthage each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.67 in), the least in May (2.95 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53°F | 31°F | 41.6°F | 3.93 | 0.7 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 32°F | 44.0°F | 3.09 | 0.3 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 40°F | 52.6°F | 4.12 | 0.2 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 47°F | 60.0°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 57°F | 68.5°F | 2.95 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 65°F | 76.0°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 69°F | 79.7°F | 4.72 | 0.0 | 9 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 67°F | 77.6°F | 4.86 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 61°F | 72.1°F | 5.67 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 61.1°F | 3.38 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 39°F | 51.4°F | 3.61 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 33°F | 44.2°F | 3.66 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 49°F | 60.7°F | 47.81 | 1.3 | 89 | 55 | 62 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −1°C | 5.3°C | 100 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 13°C | 0°C | 6.7°C | 78 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 18°C | 4°C | 11.4°C | 105 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 23°C | 8°C | 15.6°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 14°C | 20.3°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.4°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.5°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.3°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 144 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 1°C | 6.8°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00311515; 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, September and October. 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 USC00311515.
When is the last frost in Carthage?
In Carthage, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 1 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 5 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
- April 11 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 51 year in 10 before October 24; 9 in 10 before November 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 219 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 244 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 17 in half of springs and before November 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carthage in zone 8a in ZIP code 28327, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00311515; 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, 55 days a year reach 90°F, 62 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 89 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 55a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 62a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 89a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00311515.
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, 4.4 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 Carthage need?
A normal year in Carthage brings 3,172 heating degree days, 41% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,641 cooling degree days, 81% 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 4,842 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 725 | 0 |
| February | 588 | 0 |
| March | 394 | 9 |
| April | 182 | 32 |
| May | 45 | 152 |
| June | 2 | 332 |
| July | 0 | 455 |
| August | 0 | 389 |
| September | 15 | 228 |
| October | 163 | 40 |
| November | 412 | 3 |
| December | 647 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,172 | 1,641 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00311515. 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 79 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 37. 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, 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?
8 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.
- Pinehurst, NC18,502 people · 10 mi S
- Southern Pines, NC16,987 people · 9 mi S
- Aberdeen, NC9,573 people · 14 mi S
- Whispering Pines, NC5,416 people · 6 mi S
- Robbins, NC1,270 people · 12 mi NW
- Vass, NC1,035 people · 9 mi SE
- Taylortown, NC687 people · 9 mi SW
- Cameron, NC262 people · 9 mi E
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 53°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Carthage?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Carthage?
September, with 5.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 2.95 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carthage in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carthage in zone 8a in ZIP code 28327, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Carthage?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 1; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 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
- Jackson Springs, NC19 miles from this station, 61.5°F a year
- Sanford, NC25 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Raeford, NC26 miles from this station, 60.4°F a year
- Siler City, NC30 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made