Chapel Hill, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chapel Hill's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 43.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.9°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,106 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChapel Hill Williams Airport
- Station IDUSW00093785
- Location35.93°N 79.06°W
- Elevation512 ft (156 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population64,028
On October 23, the normal high in Chapel Hill is 70°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chapel Hill.
- Jan 51° 32°
- Feb 55° 34°
- Mar 63° 40°
- Apr 72° 48°
- May 79° 57°
- Jun 86° 65°
- Jul 90° 69°
- Aug 88° 68°
- Sep 82° 62°
- Oct 72° 50°
- Nov 62° 40°
- Dec 54° 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 Chapel Hill each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in September (4.41 in), the least in February (2.75 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 | 51°F | 32°F | 41.5°F | 3.39 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 55°F | 34°F | 44.3°F | 2.75 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 40°F | 51.4°F | 3.94 | 11 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 48°F | 60.2°F | 3.56 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 57°F | 68.1°F | 3.46 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 65°F | 75.8°F | 4.36 | 12 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 69°F | 79.5°F | 4.13 | 13 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 68°F | 77.9°F | 3.81 | 12 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 62°F | 72.0°F | 4.41 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 50°F | 61.0°F | 3.20 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 40°F | 50.9°F | 3.20 | 9 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 54°F | 35°F | 44.4°F | 3.35 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 50°F | 60.6°F | 43.56 | 131 | 45 | 68 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 0°C | 5.3°C | 86 mm |
| February | 13°C | 1°C | 6.8°C | 70 mm |
| March | 17°C | 5°C | 10.8°C | 100 mm |
| April | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 90 mm |
| May | 26°C | 14°C | 20.1°C | 88 mm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 111 mm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.4°C | 105 mm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.5°C | 97 mm |
| September | 28°C | 17°C | 22.2°C | 112 mm |
| October | 22°C | 10°C | 16.1°C | 81 mm |
| November | 17°C | 4°C | 10.5°C | 81 mm |
| December | 12°C | 1°C | 6.9°C | 85 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Carrboro (2 miles away), gets 3 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093785; 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 Chapel Hill?
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 USW00093785.
When is the last frost in Chapel Hill?
In Chapel Hill, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 29 in half of years and after April 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 5 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 291 year in 10 after April 12; 9 in 10 after March 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 51 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 222 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 248 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 15 in half of springs and before November 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chapel Hill in zone 8a across its 2 ZIP code areas (8a in 27514, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chapel Hill's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 13°F (17 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 USW00093785; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Chapel Hill ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Chapel Hill's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Chapel Hill?
In a normal year in Chapel Hill, 45 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 68 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 45a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 68a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093785.
How sunny is Chapel Hill?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chapel Hill, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (72%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 243rd (with 32 others) in sunshine.
| 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 Chapel Hill need?
A normal year in Chapel Hill brings 3,239 heating degree days, 40% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,652 cooling degree days, 82% 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 4,839 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 730 | 0 |
| February | 581 | 2 |
| March | 430 | 9 |
| April | 191 | 46 |
| May | 51 | 146 |
| June | 2 | 326 |
| July | 0 | 448 |
| August | 0 | 398 |
| September | 15 | 226 |
| October | 172 | 47 |
| November | 425 | 4 |
| December | 642 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 3,239 | 1,652 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093785. 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 Chapel Hill's climate compare?
Chapel Hill is warmer than 77 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.6°F is warmer than 76%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chapel Hill 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.
Questions about Chapel Hill's climate
What is the coldest month in Chapel Hill?
January, with a normal high of 51°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Chapel Hill?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Chapel Hill's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Carrboro (2 miles away), records 3 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Chapel Hill?
September, with 4.41 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.75 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chapel Hill in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chapel Hill in zone 8a across its 2 ZIP code areas (8a in 27514, the largest). By the same method at Chapel Hill's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 13°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Chapel Hill?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 29; in one year in ten it comes after April 12. Waiting until April 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Chapel Hill in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Carrboro, NC2 miles from this station, 59.7°F a year
- Durham, NC9 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Cane Creek Reservoir, NC10 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Chatham Water Treatment Plant, NC14 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