Clayton, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Clayton's primary NOAA station, CLAYTON 3E.
The climate verdict for Clayton
Water is the standout signal in Clayton, North Carolina: 49.9 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 61°F. It scores 92/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 92% of them.
- 61°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 92/100
- comfort score, above 92% of station-mapped location scores
- 49.9"
- yearly precipitation total
- 225 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Clayton: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00311817 · Clayton, NC 61°F mean · 49.9" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 61°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,214
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Apache
- PRCP-MID 49.9"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-TOP 92/100
- LOAD-MIX H/C balanced
- STN-1 USC00311817
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Apache, OK (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every NC station list.
- Clayton (this station) 61°F
- Hot Bessie, OK 61°F
- Near Apache, OK 61°F
- Near Artesia, NM 61°F
- Near Beedeville, AR 61°F
Climate Living Index · Clayton
Clayton: 75/100 · grade B
Clayton publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Clayton, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 92/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 68 calendar days | 86/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 225 days/year | 79/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 60.6°F · 6.9° from 67.5°F | 78/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 49.9 in · 14.9 from 35 in | 48/100 · D |
Clayton · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Clayton is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 42.1°F and warmest-month mean 80.2°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 80.2°F
- Coldest month
- 42.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · balanced station
Where Clayton sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Clayton's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 24% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Clayton sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 20% wettest
- Clayton's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 72%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Clayton is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Clayton compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Clayton's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
92 Top 8% score exceeds 92% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Below this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). This entry sits in this band.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53°F (12°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.7" | 16.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 56°F (13°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.1" | 13.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 64°F (18°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 4.1" | 10.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 73°F (23°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 3.4" | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 80°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.8" | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| June | 87°F (31°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.1" | 0.0 | 11.6 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 5.9" | 0.0 | 18.9 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 4.4" | 0.0 | 10.9 |
| September | 82°F (28°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 6.4" | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| October | 72°F (22°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.8" | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| November | 63°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 3.4" | 8.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 56°F (13°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.7" | 10.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Clayton works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 90°F by July 9 and hold at or above 90°F on 23 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 45 dates, bottoming at 30°F around January 30.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 2 through July 24, covering 23 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 6 to October 22.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
Freezing normal lows persist into February 21, covering 45 dates.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
The widest day
March 31 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Clayton.
Where Clayton Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 50 inches.
Clayton earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Clayton spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Clayton has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.1°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 6.4" and February 3.1". The three wettest months together take 34% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 8
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 28
50% probability date
Growing Season
225 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,247
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,691
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Clayton on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (61°F here).
- Apache, OK 61°F · 0.0°F off
- Artesia, NM 61°F · 0.0°F off
- Beedeville, AR 61°F · 0.0°F off
- Bessie, OK 61°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (49.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Crescent City, FL 49.9" · 0.0" off
- Camden, NY 49.9" · 0.0" off
- Fernandina Beach, FL 49.9" · 0.0" off
- Freeport, TX 49.9" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Clayton's climate pattern fits together
mixed demand · wet · mid swing
Water is prominent even though neither heating nor cooling wholly defines the record. Clayton averages 49.9 inches of precipitation a year. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The monthly table supplies the seasonal distribution hidden by that annual total.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Clayton's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.1°F. The annual average is 61°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Heating and cooling both register in Clayton's normal, at 3,247 and 1,691 degree days respectively. Neither total exceeds the other by more than two to one, so the record is better read as a mixed-demand calendar than as heating-led or cooling-led.
A roughly 225-day frost-free season sits inside this mixed heating-and-cooling profile. Start and end dates matter because both sides of the thermostat register during a normal year.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Clayton's primary station, where heating and cooling demand are close enough that neither season sets the character on its own. On a balanced station like Clayton, the bands are descriptive ranges rather than an official NOAA classification or a forecast.
Questions about Clayton's climate
How much rain does Clayton get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Clayton get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Clayton? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Clayton's primary station: CLAYTON 3E (USC00311817). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3712860). Match rule for Clayton: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Clayton comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.