Florence, South Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Florence's normal year runs from 36°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 45.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.2°C, January lows of 2°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,151 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFlorence Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00013744
- Location34.19°N 79.72°W
- Elevation146 ft (45 m)
- Population40,923
On October 23, the normal high in Florence is 75°F and the normal low 51°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Florence.
- Jan 57° 36°
- Feb 61° 39°
- Mar 68° 44°
- Apr 77° 52°
- May 84° 61°
- Jun 89° 69°
- Jul 92° 72°
- Aug 90° 71°
- Sep 85° 66°
- Oct 77° 54°
- Nov 67° 44°
- Dec 59° 38°
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 Florence each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 36°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.80 in), the least in November (2.63 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 | 57°F | 36°F | 46.6°F | 3.08 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 61°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 3.00 | 9 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| March | 68°F | 44°F | 56.3°F | 3.19 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 77°F | 52°F | 64.4°F | 3.00 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 61°F | 72.2°F | 3.71 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 89°F | 69°F | 79.1°F | 4.61 | 10 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 92°F | 72°F | 82.2°F | 5.80 | 12 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 90°F | 71°F | 80.9°F | 4.86 | 11 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 85°F | 66°F | 75.6°F | 4.53 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 77°F | 54°F | 65.5°F | 3.42 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 67°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 2.63 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 38°F | 48.9°F | 3.47 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 54°F | 64.7°F | 45.30 | 111 | 70 | 40 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 2°C | 8.1°C | 78 mm |
| February | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 76 mm |
| March | 20°C | 7°C | 13.5°C | 81 mm |
| April | 25°C | 11°C | 18.0°C | 76 mm |
| May | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 94 mm |
| June | 32°C | 21°C | 26.2°C | 117 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.9°C | 147 mm |
| August | 32°C | 22°C | 27.2°C | 123 mm |
| September | 30°C | 19°C | 24.2°C | 115 mm |
| October | 25°C | 12°C | 18.6°C | 87 mm |
| November | 19°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 67 mm |
| December | 15°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 88 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Florence's own co-op station Florence (8 mi NE) does: 0 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013744; 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 Florence?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. 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 USW00013744.
When is the last frost in Florence?
In Florence, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 19 in half of years and after April 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 13 in half of years and before November 1 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 191 year in 10 after April 5; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 131 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 241 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 269 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Florence in zone 8b across its 2 ZIP code areas (8b in 29501, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Florence's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 17°F (30 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 USW00013744; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Florence ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Florence's 2 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8b. 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 Florence?
In a normal year in Florence, 70 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 40 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 70a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 40a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 108°F, on June 27, 1954; the lowest is 0°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1959, with 64.71 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 17.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013744; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00013744. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Florence, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 70°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 71°F, above the 65°F at which most people call the air sticky; the driest air comes in January (33°F). March is the windiest month (8.5 mph on average), and November has the most clear or nearly clear hours (69%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 61% | 40% | 7.8 mph | 64% | 25% |
| February | 39°F | 62% | 42% | 8.3 mph | 63% | 23% |
| March | 45°F | 60% | 38% | 8.5 mph | 66% | 20% |
| April | 54°F | 65% | 43% | 8.0 mph | 67% | 17% |
| May | 64°F | 70% | 49% | 6.9 mph | 63% | 16% |
| June | 70°F | 72% | 51% | 6.4 mph | 68% | 9% |
| July | 71°F | 76% | 55% | 6.0 mph | 66% | 11% |
| August | 68°F | 75% | 53% | 6.4 mph | 65% | 14% |
| September | 61°F | 74% | 51% | 6.5 mph | 65% | 18% |
| October | 49°F | 71% | 46% | 6.3 mph | 69% | 18% |
| November | 41°F | 68% | 44% | 6.5 mph | 69% | 19% |
| December | 36°F | 68% | 47% | 7.0 mph | 64% | 23% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00013744. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Florence?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Florence, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) 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 | 74% | 4.5 |
| April | 79% | 5.7 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 78% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 3.0 |
| December | 74% | 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 Florence need?
A normal year in Florence brings 2,334 heating degree days, 57% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,257 cooling degree days, 2.5 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,926 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 575 | 3 |
| February | 435 | 6 |
| March | 293 | 24 |
| April | 104 | 86 |
| May | 17 | 240 |
| June | 1 | 424 |
| July | 0 | 533 |
| August | 0 | 491 |
| September | 5 | 323 |
| October | 89 | 104 |
| November | 310 | 17 |
| December | 507 | 6 |
| Year (annual) | 2,334 | 2,257 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013744. 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 Florence been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 64.5°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 64.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65.2°F | +0.5°F | 40.86 |
| 2022 | 65.2°F | +0.5°F | 39.25 |
| 2023 | 65.2°F | +0.5°F | 46.47 |
| 2024 | 66.3°F | +1.6°F | 47.68 |
| 2025 | 64.5°F | −0.2°F | 40.16 |
Over 106 complete years from 1899 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.9°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013744; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Florence's climate compare?
Florence is warmer than 61 of the other 72 places with their own NOAA record in South Carolina, and wetter than 10. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.7°F is warmer than 87%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Florence 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 Florence 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.
- Quinby, SC895 people · 3 mi N
- Danwood, SC384 people · 7 mi S
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 Florence's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Florence. This page uses Florence Regional Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florence (8 mi NE) USC00383111 | 8 mi N | 120 ft | 64.2°F | 34°F | 93°F | 48.1 | 0 | March 22 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Florence's climate
What is the coldest month in Florence?
January, with a normal high of 57°F and a normal low of 36°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 72°F at night).
Does it snow in Florence?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Florence's NOAA station; Florence's own co-op station Florence (8 mi NE) records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Florence?
July, with 5.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 2.63 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Florence in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Florence in zone 8b across its 2 ZIP code areas (8b in 29501, the largest). By the same method at Florence's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 17°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Florence?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 19; in one year in ten it comes after April 5. Waiting until April 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Florence in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- South Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Darlington, SC12 miles from this station, 62.8°F a year
- Marion, SC19 miles from this station, 63.2°F a year
- Lake City, SC22 miles from this station, 64.2°F a year
- Hartsville, SC24 miles from this station, 62.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made