Clinton, South Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Clinton's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 46.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.6°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,179 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationClinton
- Station IDUSC00381814
- Location34.47°N 81.88°W
- Elevation655 ft (200 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population7,852
On October 23, the normal high in Clinton is 73°F and the normal low 46°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Clinton.
- Jan 54° 32°
- Feb 59° 34°
- Mar 66° 40°
- Apr 75° 48°
- May 82° 57°
- Jun 88° 66°
- Jul 91° 69°
- Aug 89° 68°
- Sep 84° 63°
- Oct 75° 50°
- Nov 65° 39°
- Dec 57° 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 Clinton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in March (4.39 in), the least in October (3.42 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 32°F | 43.1°F | 4.08 | – | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 59°F | 34°F | 46.4°F | 3.70 | – | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 40°F | 52.8°F | 4.39 | – | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 75°F | 48°F | 61.4°F | 3.43 | – | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 57°F | 69.3°F | 3.49 | – | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 88°F | 66°F | 76.9°F | 4.09 | – | 13 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 91°F | 69°F | 80.1°F | 4.05 | – | 21 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 89°F | 68°F | 78.7°F | 4.05 | – | 16 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 63°F | 73.7°F | 3.65 | – | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 50°F | 62.2°F | 3.42 | – | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 39°F | 52.1°F | 3.66 | – | <1 | 7 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 57°F | 33°F | 44.6°F | 4.39 | – | <1 | 13 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 50°F | 61.8°F | 46.40 | – | 65 | 59 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 0°C | 6.2°C | 104 mm |
| February | 15°C | 1°C | 8.0°C | 94 mm |
| March | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 112 mm |
| April | 24°C | 9°C | 16.3°C | 87 mm |
| May | 28°C | 14°C | 20.7°C | 89 mm |
| June | 31°C | 19°C | 24.9°C | 104 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 103 mm |
| August | 32°C | 20°C | 25.9°C | 103 mm |
| September | 29°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 93 mm |
| October | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 87 mm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 11.2°C | 93 mm |
| December | 14°C | 0°C | 7.0°C | 112 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Laurens (8 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00381814; 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 Clinton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September and October.
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 USC00381814.
When is the last frost in Clinton?
In Clinton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 29 in half of years and after April 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 4 in half of years and before October 21 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 13; 9 in 10 after March 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 41 year in 10 before October 21; 9 in 10 before November 20
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 18 in half of springs and before November 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Clinton in zone 8a in ZIP code 29325, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Clinton's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (15 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00381814; 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 Clinton?
In a normal year in Clinton, 65 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more) and 59 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 65a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 59a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00381814.
How sunny is Clinton?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Clinton, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.7 |
| February | 71% | 3.4 |
| March | 74% | 4.4 |
| April | 78% | 5.6 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 82% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 79% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 3.0 |
| December | 73% | 2.4 |
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 Clinton need?
A normal year in Clinton brings 2,948 heating degree days, 45% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,811 cooling degree days, 100% 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 5,104 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 677 | 0 |
| February | 522 | 1 |
| March | 388 | 10 |
| April | 152 | 45 |
| May | 37 | 172 |
| June | 1 | 358 |
| July | 0 | 468 |
| August | 0 | 425 |
| September | 11 | 273 |
| October | 139 | 54 |
| November | 392 | 6 |
| December | 631 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,948 | 1,811 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00381814. 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 Clinton been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 61.7°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 61.8°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.6°F | −0.2°F | 43.10 |
| 2022 | 61.6°F | −0.2°F | 47.40 |
| 2023 | 62.3°F | +0.5°F | 46.21 |
| 2024 | 62.8°F | +1.0°F | 49.48 |
| 2025 | 61.7°F | −0.1°F | 43.28 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00381814. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Clinton's climate compare?
Clinton is warmer than 18 of the other 72 places with their own NOAA record in South Carolina, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.8°F is warmer than 79%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Clinton 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 Clinton share this climate record?
2 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.
- Joanna, SC1,375 people · 6 mi SE
- Mountville, SC100 people · 9 mi SW
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 Clinton's climate
What is the coldest month in Clinton?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Clinton?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Clinton's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Laurens (8 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Clinton?
March, with 4.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.42 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Clinton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Clinton in zone 8a in ZIP code 29325, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Clinton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Clinton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 29; in one year in ten it comes after April 13. Waiting until April 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Laurens, SC8 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Union, SC16 miles from this station, 60.4°F a year
- Newberry, SC19 miles from this station, 61.8°F a year
- Lake Greenwood, SC21 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made