Grandfather Mtn, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Grandfather Mtn's primary NOAA station, GRANDFATHER MTN.
The climate verdict for Grandfather Mtn
Water is the standout signal in Grandfather Mtn, North Carolina: 64.8 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 48°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 48°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 64.8"
- annual precipitation
- 161 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Grandfather Mtn: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00313565 · Grandfather Mtn, NC 48°F mean · 64.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #1,990
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Upper Baker Dam
- PRCP-WET 64.8"
- SWING-MID 36°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,455 HDD
- STN-1 USC00313565
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Upper Baker Dam, WA ( -0.1 °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.
- Grandfather Mtn (this station) 48°F
- Hot Parkdale, OR 48°F
- Cold Ocate, NM 47°F
- Near Upper Baker Dam, WA 47°F
- Near Beaver Falls, AK 47°F
Climate Living Index · Grandfather Mtn
Grandfather Mtn: 34/100 · grade F
Grandfather Mtn publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Grandfather Mtn, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 133 calendar days | 57/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 161 days/year | 34/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 47.5°F · 20.0° from 67.5°F | 29/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 64.8 in · 29.8 from 35 in | 2/100 · F |
Grandfather Mtn · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Grandfather Mtn is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 29.1°F and warmest-month mean 64.8°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 64.8°F
- Coldest month
- 29.1°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 · heating-led station
Where Grandfather Mtn sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Grandfather Mtn's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 71%
- Among 6,861 stations, Grandfather Mtn sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 3% wettest
- Grandfather Mtn's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 81%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Grandfather Mtn is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Grandfather Mtn compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Grandfather Mtn's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Grandfather Mtn's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 30 complete annual observations from 1965 to 2025, GRANDFATHER MTN warmed at a fitted rate of 0.33°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Grandfather Mtn primary station fitted change +0.33 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F (3°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 5.0" | 23.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 40°F (4°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 3.9" | 21.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 46°F (8°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 5.4" | 17.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 5.9" | 8.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 62°F (17°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 6.0" | 2.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 69°F (20°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 6.4" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 72°F (22°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 6.2" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 71°F (21°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 5.8" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 66°F (19°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 6.5" | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 5.0" | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 4.2" | 14.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 42°F (5°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 4.5" | 21.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 72°F around July 11, short of 90°F on every date, while 133 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 20°F near January 24.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 26, then returns to freezing around November 15, covering 133 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is June 22, when 53% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 8 at 37%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 167 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 16 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 18°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Grandfather Mtn.
Where Grandfather Mtn Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 65 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 18°F.
Grandfather Mtn earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
14.6 days with precipitation
13.5 days with precipitation
14.2 days with precipitation
13.4 days with precipitation
15.2 days with precipitation
15.8 days with precipitation
16.3 days with precipitation
15.8 days with precipitation
12.4 days with precipitation
11.8 days with precipitation
10.8 days with precipitation
13.4 days with precipitation
Grandfather Mtn spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Grandfather Mtn has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 35.7°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 6.5" and February 3.9". The three wettest months together take 29% 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 Grandfather Mtn, it arrives in quantity
64.8" of precipitation falls across only about 167 wet days here, averaging 0.39 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 167 a year, 46% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.39 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 16
- Fewest wet days
- November, about 11
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 13
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 5
50% probability date
Growing Season
161 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,455
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
103
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Grandfather Mtn 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 (48°F here).
- Anselmo, NE 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Ardmore, SD 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Butte, NE 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Denison, IA 48°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (64.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Baytown, TX 64.7" · 0.0" off
- Downieville, CA 64.9" · 0.2" off
- Waveland, MS 65.0" · 0.2" off
- Brusly, LA 64.5" · 0.3" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Grandfather Mtn's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Grandfather Mtn's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,455 annual heating degree days against 103 for cooling. Its 35.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Grandfather Mtn's frost-free season lasts about 161 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Grandfather Mtn's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 35.7°F. The annual average is 48°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Grandfather Mtn carries 64.8 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Grandfather Mtn's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Grandfather Mtn, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Grandfather Mtn's climate
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Grandfather Mtn's primary station: GRANDFATHER MTN (USC00313565). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Grandfather Mtn; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Grandfather Mtn 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.