Cherokee, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cherokee's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 56.7 inches of precipitation and 7 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.9°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 28°C, 1,440 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCherokee
- Station IDUSC00316341
- Location35.49°N 83.31°W
- Elevation1,965 ft (599 m)
- Population (census place)1,631
On October 23, the normal high in Cherokee is 67°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cherokee.
- Jan 46° 26°
- Feb 51° 29°
- Mar 59° 34°
- Apr 68° 42°
- May 75° 51°
- Jun 80° 59°
- Jul 83° 63°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 78° 55°
- Oct 69° 43°
- Nov 58° 33°
- Dec 49° 29°
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 Cherokee each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in March (5.84 in), the least in October (3.06 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 26°F | 36.4°F | 4.74 | 2.6 | 11 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| February | 51°F | 29°F | 39.6°F | 5.00 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 34°F | 46.4°F | 5.84 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 42°F | 55.2°F | 4.93 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 13 h |
| May | 75°F | 51°F | 62.9°F | 4.71 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 80°F | 59°F | 69.6°F | 5.13 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 83°F | 63°F | 72.7°F | 5.21 | 0.0 | 14 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.7°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 78°F | 55°F | 66.4°F | 4.04 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 43°F | 55.9°F | 3.06 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 33°F | 45.9°F | 4.18 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 49°F | 29°F | 39.2°F | 5.66 | 2.0 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 44°F | 55.2°F | 56.71 | 6.5 | 131 | 12 | 122 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 120 mm | 7 cm |
| February | 10°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 127 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 15°C | 1°C | 8.0°C | 148 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 130 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 6°C | 13.3°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 1°C | 7.7°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 10°C | −1°C | 4.0°C | 144 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316341; 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 Cherokee?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00316341.
When is the last frost in Cherokee?
In Cherokee, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 7 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 171 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 186 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cherokee in zone 7a in ZIP code 28789, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cherokee's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (15 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 USC00316341; 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 Cherokee?
In a normal year in Cherokee, 12 days a year reach 90°F, 122 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 12a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 122a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316341.
How sunny is Cherokee?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cherokee, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 68% | 2.2 |
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 Cherokee need?
A normal year in Cherokee brings 4,339 heating degree days, 19% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 780 cooling degree days, 14% fewer than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,430 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 888 | 0 |
| February | 710 | 0 |
| March | 577 | 0 |
| April | 305 | 9 |
| May | 118 | 55 |
| June | 17 | 155 |
| July | 1 | 242 |
| August | 3 | 211 |
| September | 53 | 96 |
| October | 295 | 13 |
| November | 575 | 1 |
| December | 798 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,339 | 780 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316341. 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 Cherokee been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.5°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.2°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.8°F | +0.6°F | 58.17 | 7.7 |
| 2024 | 56.4°F | +1.2°F | 60.90 | 0.6 |
| 2025 | 55.5°F | +0.3°F | – | 9.1 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316341. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cherokee's climate compare?
Cherokee is warmer than 14 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 100. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.2°F is warmer than 61%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cherokee 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 Cherokee's climate
What is the coldest month in Cherokee?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Cherokee?
Yes: 7 inches in a normal year, falling on 4 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cherokee?
March, with 5.84 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.06 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cherokee in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cherokee in zone 7a in ZIP code 28789, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cherokee's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 4°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Cherokee?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Cherokee in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bryson City, NC9 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Newfound Gap, TN11 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Mount Leconte, TN14 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Cullowhee, NC14 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made