Elizabethtown, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elizabethtown's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 53.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.7°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,353 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElizabethtown
- Station IDUSC00312732
- Location34.63°N 78.61°W
- Elevation120 ft (37 m)
- Population3,290
On October 24, the normal high in Elizabethtown is 72°F and the normal low 48°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elizabethtown.
- Jan 54° 32°
- Feb 59° 34°
- Mar 66° 40°
- Apr 75° 49°
- May 82° 58°
- Jun 87° 66°
- Jul 91° 71°
- Aug 89° 69°
- Sep 84° 64°
- Oct 75° 52°
- Nov 65° 40°
- Dec 58° 35°
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 Elizabethtown 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 September (6.89 in), the least in December (3.38 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 32°F | 43.0°F | 3.73 | – | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| February | 59°F | 34°F | 46.2°F | 3.48 | – | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 40°F | 53.2°F | 3.91 | – | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 75°F | 49°F | 61.7°F | 3.55 | – | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 58°F | 69.7°F | 4.05 | – | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 66°F | 76.8°F | 5.08 | – | 13 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 91°F | 71°F | 80.8°F | 5.33 | – | 20 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 89°F | 69°F | 78.8°F | 6.56 | – | 13 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 64°F | 73.6°F | 6.89 | – | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 52°F | 63.1°F | 3.70 | – | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 40°F | 52.5°F | 3.62 | – | <1 | 7 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 58°F | 35°F | 46.3°F | 3.38 | – | <1 | 13 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 51°F | 62.1°F | 53.28 | – | 55 | 62 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 0°C | 6.1°C | 95 mm |
| February | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 88 mm |
| March | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 99 mm |
| April | 24°C | 9°C | 16.5°C | 90 mm |
| May | 28°C | 14°C | 20.9°C | 103 mm |
| June | 31°C | 19°C | 24.9°C | 129 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 27.1°C | 135 mm |
| August | 31°C | 21°C | 26.0°C | 167 mm |
| September | 29°C | 18°C | 23.1°C | 175 mm |
| October | 24°C | 11°C | 17.3°C | 94 mm |
| November | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 92 mm |
| December | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 86 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Whiteville (18 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 USC00312732; 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 Elizabethtown?
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 USC00312732.
When is the last frost in Elizabethtown?
In Elizabethtown, 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 8 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 291 year in 10 after April 13; 9 in 10 after March 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 81 year in 10 before October 29; 9 in 10 before November 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 226 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 250 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 14 in half of springs and before November 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elizabethtown in zone 8b in ZIP code 28337, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00312732; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Elizabethtown?
In a normal year in Elizabethtown, 55 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 62 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 55a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 62a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1946) is 104°F, on August 22, 1983; the lowest is 6°F, on January 17, 1977.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 63.90 in; the snowiest season is 1935–36, with 18.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00312732; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00312732. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elizabethtown?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elizabethtown, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.8 |
| February | 73% | 3.4 |
| March | 75% | 4.5 |
| April | 79% | 5.7 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.3 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 77% | 4.7 |
| October | 78% | 3.8 |
| November | 79% | 3.0 |
| December | 75% | 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 Elizabethtown need?
A normal year in Elizabethtown brings 2,877 heating degree days, 46% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,865 cooling degree days, 2.1 times 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 5,246 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 683 | 1 |
| February | 529 | 2 |
| March | 378 | 12 |
| April | 155 | 56 |
| May | 32 | 176 |
| June | 1 | 357 |
| July | 0 | 488 |
| August | 0 | 426 |
| September | 8 | 266 |
| October | 129 | 71 |
| November | 381 | 6 |
| December | 582 | 4 |
| Year (annual) | 2,877 | 1,865 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00312732. 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 Elizabethtown's climate compare?
Elizabethtown is warmer than 105 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 85. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.1°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elizabethtown 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 Elizabethtown share this climate record?
5 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.
- White Lake, NC852 people · 7 mi E
- Garland, NC614 people · 16 mi NE
- Dublin, NC264 people · 7 mi W
- White Oak, NC145 people · 10 mi NW
- Tar Heel, NC90 people · 13 mi NW
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 Elizabethtown's climate
What is the coldest month in Elizabethtown?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Elizabethtown?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Elizabethtown's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Whiteville (18 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Elizabethtown?
September, with 6.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 3.38 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elizabethtown in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elizabethtown in zone 8b in ZIP code 28337, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Elizabethtown?
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
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Whiteville, NC18 miles from this station, 61.8°F a year
- Lumberton, NC25 miles from this station, 63.5°F a year
- Lumber River State Park, NC27 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Fayetteville, NC29 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made