Forest City, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Forest City's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 52.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,322 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationForest City (8 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00313152
- Location35.31°N 81.99°W
- Elevation849 ft (259 m)
- From the center7 miles
- Population7,397
On October 23, the normal high in Forest City is 70°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Forest City.
- Jan 52° 27°
- Feb 55° 30°
- Mar 63° 35°
- Apr 72° 44°
- May 79° 53°
- Jun 86° 63°
- Jul 89° 67°
- Aug 87° 66°
- Sep 82° 60°
- Oct 73° 46°
- Nov 63° 34°
- Dec 55° 30°
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 Forest City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.01 in), the least in October (3.57 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 | 27°F | 39.4°F | 4.27 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| February | 55°F | 30°F | 42.6°F | 3.86 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 35°F | 49.3°F | 4.35 | 10 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 44°F | 57.9°F | 4.42 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 53°F | 66.0°F | 3.93 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 63°F | 74.2°F | 5.01 | 11 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 89°F | 67°F | 77.7°F | 4.91 | 13 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 66°F | 76.6°F | 4.48 | 12 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 60°F | 70.7°F | 4.54 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 46°F | 59.1°F | 3.57 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 34°F | 48.5°F | 3.90 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 30°F | 42.4°F | 4.82 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 46°F | 58.7°F | 52.06 | 119 | 45 | 99 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −3°C | 4.1°C | 108 mm |
| February | 13°C | −1°C | 5.9°C | 98 mm |
| March | 17°C | 2°C | 9.6°C | 110 mm |
| April | 22°C | 6°C | 14.4°C | 112 mm |
| May | 26°C | 12°C | 18.9°C | 100 mm |
| June | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 127 mm |
| July | 32°C | 19°C | 25.4°C | 125 mm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.8°C | 114 mm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.5°C | 115 mm |
| October | 23°C | 8°C | 15.1°C | 91 mm |
| November | 17°C | 1°C | 9.2°C | 99 mm |
| December | 13°C | −1°C | 5.8°C | 122 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Lake Lure (13 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 USC00313152; 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 Forest 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 USC00313152.
When is the last frost in Forest City?
In Forest City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 11 in half of years and after April 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 27 in half of years and before October 14 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 111 year in 10 after April 28; 9 in 10 after March 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 271 year in 10 before October 14; 9 in 10 before November 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 198 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 222 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 28 in half of springs and before November 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Forest City in zone 8a in ZIP code 28043. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Forest City's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (15 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00313152; 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 Forest City?
In a normal year in Forest City, 45 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 99 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 119 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 45a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 99a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 119a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00313152.
How sunny is Forest City?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Forest City, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.6 |
| February | 72% | 3.3 |
| March | 73% | 4.3 |
| April | 76% | 5.5 |
| May | 76% | 6.0 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.7 |
| October | 77% | 3.8 |
| November | 78% | 3.0 |
| December | 72% | 2.3 |
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 Forest City need?
A normal year in Forest City brings 3,652 heating degree days, 32% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,387 cooling degree days, 53% 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 4,333 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 794 | 0 |
| February | 626 | 1 |
| March | 490 | 3 |
| April | 233 | 20 |
| May | 74 | 103 |
| June | 3 | 279 |
| July | 0 | 395 |
| August | 0 | 360 |
| September | 21 | 192 |
| October | 216 | 33 |
| November | 494 | 1 |
| December | 701 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,652 | 1,387 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00313152. 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 Forest City been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 59.0°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.7°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.2°F | +0.5°F | 46.43 |
| 2022 | 58.9°F | +0.2°F | 57.58 |
| 2023 | 59.7°F | +1.0°F | 47.88 |
| 2024 | 60.2°F | +1.5°F | 57.96 |
| 2025 | 59.0°F | +0.3°F | 54.71 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00313152. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Forest City's climate compare?
Forest City is warmer than 48 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 75. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.7°F is warmer than 71%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Forest 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 Forest City share this climate record?
4 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.
- Spindale, NC4,168 people · 5 mi NE
- Rutherfordton, NC3,718 people · 4 mi NE
- Bostic, NC362 people · 9 mi E
- Ruth, NC358 people · 5 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.
Questions about Forest City's climate
What is the coldest month in Forest City?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Forest City?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Forest City's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Lake Lure (13 miles away), records 3 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Forest City?
June, with 5.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.57 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Forest City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Forest City in zone 8a in ZIP code 28043. By the same method at Forest City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Forest City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 11; in one year in ten it comes after April 28. Waiting until April 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Forest City in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lake Lure, NC14 miles from this station, 58.5°F a year
- Chesnee, SC14 miles from this station, 58.7°F a year
- Tryon, NC17 miles from this station, 59.6°F a year
- Shelby, NC24 miles from this station, 59.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made