Durham, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Durham's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 48.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.6°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,234 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDurham
- Station IDUSC00312515
- Location36.04°N 78.96°W
- Elevation400 ft (122 m)
- From the center6 miles
- Population301,870
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Durham.
- Jan 49° 28°
- Feb 53° 30°
- Mar 61° 37°
- Apr 70° 46°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 83° 64°
- Jul 87° 69°
- Aug 85° 67°
- Sep 79° 61°
- Oct 70° 48°
- Nov 60° 37°
- Dec 52° 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 Durham each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.24 in), the least in February (2.91 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 28°F | 38.4°F | 3.98 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| February | 53°F | 30°F | 41.4°F | 2.91 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 37°F | 49.0°F | 4.51 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 46°F | 58.1°F | 3.66 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 66.0°F | 3.80 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 83°F | 64°F | 73.8°F | 5.24 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 69°F | 77.9°F | 4.20 | 10 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 67°F | 75.9°F | 5.23 | 9 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 79°F | 61°F | 70.1°F | 4.70 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 48°F | 58.8°F | 3.35 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 37°F | 48.6°F | 3.65 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 52°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 3.34 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 48°F | 58.3°F | 48.57 | 103 | 40 | 84 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −2°C | 3.6°C | 101 mm |
| February | 11°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 74 mm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 115 mm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.5°C | 93 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 97 mm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.2°C | 133 mm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.5°C | 107 mm |
| August | 29°C | 20°C | 24.4°C | 133 mm |
| September | 26°C | 16°C | 21.2°C | 119 mm |
| October | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 85 mm |
| November | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 93 mm |
| December | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 85 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Carrboro (11 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 USC00312515; 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 Durham?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00312515.
When is the last frost in Durham?
In Durham, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 2 in half of years and after April 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 4 in half of years and before October 24 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 21 year in 10 after April 18; 9 in 10 after March 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 41 year in 10 before October 24; 9 in 10 before November 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 217 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 242 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 19 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Durham in zone 8a across its 8 ZIP code areas (8a in 27703, the largest).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00312515; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Durham ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Durham's 8 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 Durham?
In a normal year in Durham, 40 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 84 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 40a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 84a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1899) is 105°F, on June 27, 1954; the lowest is 0°F, on January 11, 1942.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2003, with 59.74 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 27.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00312515; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00312515. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Durham?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Durham, 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 | 74% | 2.5 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 78% | 2.8 |
| December | 73% | 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 Durham need?
A normal year in Durham brings 3,750 heating degree days, 30% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,350 cooling degree days, 49% 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 4,272 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 825 | 0 |
| February | 661 | 0 |
| March | 501 | 3 |
| April | 235 | 29 |
| May | 74 | 105 |
| June | 7 | 269 |
| July | 0 | 400 |
| August | 0 | 338 |
| September | 25 | 178 |
| October | 219 | 25 |
| November | 495 | 2 |
| December | 709 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,750 | 1,350 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00312515. 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 Durham's climate compare?
Durham is warmer than 43 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 46. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.3°F is warmer than 70%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Durham 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 Durham 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.
- Hillsborough, NC9,773 people · 8 mi W
- Gorman, NC1,447 people · 9 mi E
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 Durham's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Durham. This page uses Durham; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durham (11 mi W) USW00003758 | 11 mi W | 562 ft | 59.1°F | 30°F | 88°F | 46.7 | – | March 31 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Durham's climate
What is the coldest month in Durham?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Durham?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Durham's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Carrboro (11 miles away), records 3 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Durham?
June, with 5.24 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Durham in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Durham in zone 8a across its 8 ZIP code areas (8a in 27703, the largest).
How late can frost come in Durham?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 2; in one year in ten it comes after April 18. Waiting until April 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Chapel Hill, NC9 miles from this station, 60.6°F a year
- Carrboro, NC11 miles from this station, 59.7°F a year
- Raleigh, NC14 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Cane Creek Reservoir, NC17 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made