Elizabeth City, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Elizabeth City's primary NOAA station, ELIZABETH CITY.
The climate verdict for Elizabeth City
Water is the standout signal in Elizabeth City, North Carolina: 51.3 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 62°F. It scores 83/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 81% of them.
- 62°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 83/100
- comfort score, above 81% of station-mapped location scores
- 51.3"
- yearly precipitation total
- 235 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Elizabeth City: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00312719 · Elizabeth City, NC 62°F mean · 51.3" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 62°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,557
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Atlanta Fulton…
- PRCP-WET 51.3"
- SWING-MID 37°F
- COMF-TOP 83/100
- LOAD-MIX H/C balanced
- STN-1 USC00312719
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Atlanta Fulton County, GA (+ 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.
- Elizabeth City (this station) 62°F
- Hot Douglas Bisbee…, AZ 62°F
- Near Atlanta Fulton…, GA 62°F
- Near Camp Pendleton…, CA 62°F
- Near Chickasha, OK 62°F
Climate Living Index · Elizabeth City
Elizabeth City: 82/100 · grade B
Elizabeth City publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Elizabeth City, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 83/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 0.2 inches/year | 89/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 62.3°F · 5.2° from 67.5°F | 84/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 235 days/year | 83/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 51.3 in · 16.3 from 35 in | 42/100 · D |
Elizabeth City · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Elizabeth City is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 43.4°F and warmest-month mean 80.7°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
- 80.7°F
- Coldest month
- 43.4°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 Elizabeth City sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Elizabeth City's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 19% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Elizabeth City sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 17% wettest
- Elizabeth City's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 76%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Elizabeth City is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Elizabeth City compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Elizabeth City's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
83 Top 19% score exceeds 81% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Elizabeth City's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 64 complete annual observations from 1914 to 2025, ELIZABETH CITY warmed at a fitted rate of 0.14°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Elizabeth City primary station fitted change +0.14 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53°F (12°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.6" | 0.1" | 16.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 56°F (13°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.3" | 0.1" | 13.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 63°F (17°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 8.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 72°F (22°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| May | 79°F (26°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 4.1" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 2.2 |
| June | 86°F (30°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 9.1 |
| July | 89°F (32°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 81°F (27°C) | 5.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.5 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 5.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 11.2 |
| September | 82°F (28°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| October | 74°F (23°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| November | 64°F (18°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 4.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 56°F (14°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 13.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Elizabeth City: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 33°F near January 25 and 89°F near July 10.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 33°F around January 25.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 1, when 38% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 21 at 27%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 121 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 2 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 22°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Elizabeth City.
Where Elizabeth City Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 51 inches.
Days and nights track unusually close together; the widest normal swing, about 22°F, is narrower than most stations record.
Elizabeth City earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 0.1"
11.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
10.2 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
9.2 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
Elizabeth City spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 32% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Elizabeth City has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 37.3°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 5.9" and February 3.3". The three wettest months together take 33% 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.
When it rains in Elizabeth City, it arrives in quantity
51.3" of precipitation falls across only about 121 wet days here, averaging 0.42 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 121 a year, 33% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- January, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Elizabeth City, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 0.2 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 0 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 17
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 27
50% probability date
Growing Season
235 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
2,852
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,895
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Elizabeth City 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 (62°F here).
- Houston, MS 62°F · 0.0°F off
- Madera, CA 62°F · 0.0°F off
- Oneonta, AL 62°F · 0.0°F off
- Opelika, AL 62°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (51.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Booneville, KY 51.3" · 0.0" off
- Daytona Beach, FL 51.3" · 0.0" off
- Kingston, RI 51.3" · 0.0" off
- Venice, FL 51.3" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Elizabeth City's climate pattern fits together
mixed demand · wet · mid swing
Water is prominent even though neither heating nor cooling wholly defines the record. Elizabeth City averages 51.3 inches of precipitation a year. Recorded annual snowfall is negligible. 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 Elizabeth City's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 37.3°F. The annual average is 62°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Heating and cooling both register in Elizabeth City's normal, at 2,852 and 1,895 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 235-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 Elizabeth City'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 Elizabeth City, the bands are descriptive ranges rather than an official NOAA classification or a forecast.
Questions about Elizabeth City's climate
How much rain does Elizabeth City get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Elizabeth City get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Elizabeth City? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Elizabeth City's primary station: ELIZABETH CITY (USC00312719). 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 3720580). Match rule for Elizabeth City: 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 Elizabeth City 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.