Clayton, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Clayton's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 52.1 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.5°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,324 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationClayton Water Treatment Plant
- Station IDUSC00311820
- Location35.64°N 78.46°W
- Elevation300 ft (91 m)
- Population31,732
On October 22, the normal high in Clayton is 71°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Clayton.
- Jan 52° 30°
- Feb 56° 31°
- Mar 63° 37°
- Apr 73° 46°
- May 79° 56°
- Jun 86° 65°
- Jul 89° 69°
- Aug 87° 68°
- Sep 82° 62°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 63° 38°
- Dec 55° 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 Clayton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in July (6.14 in), the least in February (3.07 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 | 52°F | 30°F | 40.7°F | 4.28 | 2.2 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 31°F | 43.2°F | 3.07 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 37°F | 50.2°F | 4.10 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 46°F | 59.2°F | 3.64 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 56°F | 67.7°F | 4.06 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 65°F | 75.1°F | 4.21 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 89°F | 69°F | 79.0°F | 6.14 | 0.0 | 11 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 68°F | 77.5°F | 5.86 | 0.0 | 10 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 62°F | 71.8°F | 5.89 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 60.6°F | 3.47 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 38°F | 50.5°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 32°F | 43.6°F | 3.82 | 0.8 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 48°F | 59.9°F | 52.13 | 3.2 | 115 | 41 | 77 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −1°C | 4.8°C | 109 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 13°C | −1°C | 6.2°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| March | 17°C | 3°C | 10.1°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 23°C | 8°C | 15.1°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.8°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 23.9°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.1°C | 156 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.3°C | 149 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 150 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 15.9°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 97 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00311820; 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 Clayton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, 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 USC00311820.
When is the last frost in Clayton?
In Clayton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 7 in half of years and after April 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 3 in half of years and before October 22 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 71 year in 10 after April 20; 9 in 10 after March 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 31 year in 10 before October 22; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 211 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 233 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 27 in half of springs and before November 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Clayton in zone 8a across its 2 ZIP code areas (8a in 27520, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Clayton's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 13°F (22 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 USC00311820; 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 Clayton ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Clayton'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 Clayton?
In a normal year in Clayton, 41 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 77 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 115 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 41a 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
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 115a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1955) is 107°F, on August 18, 1988; the lowest is −10°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 70.67 in; the snowiest season is 1979–80, with 18.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00311820; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00311820. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Clayton?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Clayton, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.6 |
| February | 73% | 3.3 |
| March | 74% | 4.3 |
| April | 78% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 78% | 4.7 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| December | 74% | 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 Clayton need?
A normal year in Clayton brings 3,394 heating degree days, 37% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,579 cooling degree days, 74% 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 4,692 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 752 | 0 |
| February | 611 | 1 |
| March | 465 | 6 |
| April | 209 | 37 |
| May | 55 | 139 |
| June | 3 | 307 |
| July | 0 | 434 |
| August | 0 | 388 |
| September | 15 | 219 |
| October | 180 | 44 |
| November | 441 | 4 |
| December | 663 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,394 | 1,579 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00311820. 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 Clayton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 61.0°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.9°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63.9°F | +4.0°F | 49.93 | – |
| 2025 | 61.0°F | +1.1°F | 44.96 | – |
Over 39 complete years from 1956 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.7°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00311820; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Clayton's climate compare?
Clayton is warmer than 68 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 76. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.9°F is warmer than 75%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Clayton 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 Clayton 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.
- Knightdale, NC21,829 people · 11 mi N
- Wendell, NC16,845 people · 12 mi NE
- Zebulon, NC10,505 people · 15 mi NE
- Archer Lodge, NC5,522 people · 6 mi NE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Clayton's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Clayton. This page uses Clayton Water Treatment Plant; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton (3 mi E) USC00311817 | 4 mi E | 332 ft | 60.6°F | 31°F | 90°F | 49.9 | – | March 28 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Clayton's climate
What is the coldest month in Clayton?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Clayton?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Clayton?
July, with 6.14 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.07 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Clayton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Clayton in zone 8a across its 2 ZIP code areas (8a in 27520, the largest). By the same method at Clayton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 13°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Clayton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 7; in one year in ten it comes after April 20. Waiting until April 20 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Clayton in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Smithfield, NC11 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Garner, NC11 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Cary, NC19 miles from this station, 59.7°F a year
- Apex, NC22 miles from this station, 60.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made