Elizabeth City, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elizabeth City's normal year runs from 33°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 46.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.3°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,181 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElizabeth City Coast Guard Air Station
- Station IDUSW00013786
- Location36.26°N 76.17°W
- Elevation13 ft (4 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population19,028
On October 23, the normal high in Elizabeth City is 71°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elizabeth City.
- Jan 52° 33°
- Feb 55° 35°
- Mar 61° 41°
- Apr 71° 49°
- May 78° 58°
- Jun 85° 67°
- Jul 88° 71°
- Aug 87° 70°
- Sep 82° 65°
- Oct 73° 53°
- Nov 63° 42°
- Dec 56° 37°
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 Elizabeth City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.65 in), the least in February (2.87 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 33°F | 42.7°F | 3.30 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| February | 55°F | 35°F | 45.0°F | 2.87 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 41°F | 50.9°F | 3.59 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 49°F | 60.1°F | 3.16 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 58°F | 68.2°F | 3.68 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 67°F | 76.2°F | 4.71 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 71°F | 79.6°F | 5.65 | 12 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 70°F | 78.4°F | 5.32 | 12 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 65°F | 73.4°F | 4.52 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 53°F | 63.1°F | 3.63 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 42°F | 52.7°F | 2.97 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 56°F | 37°F | 46.0°F | 3.11 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 52°F | 61.4°F | 46.51 | 120 | 35 | 50 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 1°C | 5.9°C | 84 mm |
| February | 13°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 73 mm |
| March | 16°C | 5°C | 10.5°C | 91 mm |
| April | 22°C | 10°C | 15.6°C | 80 mm |
| May | 26°C | 15°C | 20.1°C | 93 mm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 120 mm |
| July | 31°C | 22°C | 26.4°C | 144 mm |
| August | 30°C | 21°C | 25.8°C | 135 mm |
| September | 28°C | 18°C | 23.0°C | 115 mm |
| October | 23°C | 12°C | 17.3°C | 92 mm |
| November | 17°C | 6°C | 11.5°C | 75 mm |
| December | 13°C | 3°C | 7.8°C | 79 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Elizabeth City's own co-op station Elizabeth City station does: 0 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013786; 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 Elizabeth City?
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 USW00013786.
When is the last frost in Elizabeth City?
In Elizabeth City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 28 in half of years and after April 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 12 in half of years and before October 29 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 281 year in 10 after April 11; 9 in 10 after March 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 121 year in 10 before October 29; 9 in 10 before December 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 230 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 255 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 14 in half of springs and before November 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elizabeth City in zone 8a in ZIP code 27909, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Elizabeth City's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°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 USW00013786; 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 Elizabeth City?
In a normal year in Elizabeth City, 35 days a year reach 90°F, 50 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 120 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 50a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 120a normal year
The highest temperature in Elizabeth City's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1934) is 107°F, on July 18, 1942; the lowest is −2°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 63.95 in; the snowiest season is 1979–80, with 39.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013786; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ECGthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elizabeth City?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elizabeth City, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.5 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 73% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 76% | 3.5 |
| November | 77% | 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 Elizabeth City need?
A normal year in Elizabeth City brings 3,053 heating degree days, 43% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,759 cooling degree days, 94% 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 5,030 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 692 | 1 |
| February | 562 | 2 |
| March | 446 | 9 |
| April | 194 | 47 |
| May | 52 | 151 |
| June | 2 | 339 |
| July | 0 | 453 |
| August | 0 | 415 |
| September | 8 | 258 |
| October | 131 | 72 |
| November | 375 | 8 |
| December | 590 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 3,053 | 1,759 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013786. 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 Elizabeth City been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 61.4°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 61.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62.2°F | +0.8°F | 45.03 |
| 2022 | 61.8°F | +0.4°F | 42.73 |
| 2023 | 62.6°F | +1.3°F | 37.37 |
| 2024 | 62.8°F | +1.4°F | 47.66 |
| 2025 | 61.4°F | at normal | 40.56 |
Over 53 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.0°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013786; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elizabeth City's climate compare?
Elizabeth City is warmer than 89 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.4°F is warmer than 78%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City share this climate record?
3 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.
- Grandy, NC2,443 people · 17 mi E
- Camden, NC1,072 people · 4 mi N
- Coinjock, NC298 people · 14 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 Elizabeth City's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Elizabeth City. This page uses Elizabeth City Coast Guard Air Station; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth City station USC00312719 | 2 mi NE | 8 ft | 62.3°F | 34°F | 89°F | 51.3 | 0 | March 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Elizabeth City's climate
What is the coldest month in Elizabeth City?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Elizabeth City?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Elizabeth City's NOAA station; Elizabeth City's own co-op station Elizabeth City station records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Elizabeth City?
July, with 5.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elizabeth City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elizabeth City in zone 8a in ZIP code 27909, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elizabeth City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Elizabeth City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 28; in one year in ten it comes after April 11. Waiting until April 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Elizabeth City in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Edenton, NC27 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Wallaceton-Lake Drummond, VA27 miles from this station, 57.7°F a year
- Chesapeake, VA30 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Manteo, NC35 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made