Highlands, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Highlands's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 88.3 inches of precipitation and 10 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.5°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 25°C, 2,242 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHighlands
- Station IDUSC00314055
- Location35.06°N 83.20°W
- Elevation3,850 ft (1,174 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,119
On October 22, the normal high in Highlands is 61°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 35%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Highlands.
- Jan 42° 24°
- Feb 46° 26°
- Mar 54° 32°
- Apr 62° 39°
- May 69° 47°
- Jun 75° 54°
- Jul 78° 58°
- Aug 76° 57°
- Sep 71° 51°
- Oct 63° 41°
- Nov 53° 32°
- Dec 45° 27°
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 Highlands each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in December (8.65 in), the least in October (6.47 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 24°F | 33.1°F | 7.99 | 2.6 | 14 | <1 | 24 | 10 h |
| February | 46°F | 26°F | 36.3°F | 6.90 | 2.0 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 32°F | 42.7°F | 7.60 | 1.8 | 14 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 39°F | 50.3°F | 6.98 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 47°F | 58.0°F | 6.60 | 0.2 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 75°F | 54°F | 64.5°F | 7.16 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 78°F | 58°F | 67.7°F | 7.09 | 0.0 | 17 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 76°F | 57°F | 66.4°F | 7.10 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 71°F | 51°F | 61.3°F | 7.98 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 41°F | 51.7°F | 6.47 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 53°F | 32°F | 42.4°F | 7.76 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 45°F | 27°F | 36.1°F | 8.65 | 3.5 | 14 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 41°F | 50.9°F | 88.28 | 10.2 | 163 | <1 | 115 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 203 mm | 7 cm |
| February | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 175 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 193 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 177 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 168 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 182 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 14°C | 19.8°C | 180 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 14°C | 19.1°C | 180 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 11°C | 16.3°C | 203 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 164 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 0°C | 5.8°C | 197 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 7°C | −3°C | 2.3°C | 220 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00314055; 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 Highlands?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USC00314055.
When is the last frost in Highlands?
In Highlands, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 30 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 3 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 301 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 167 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 192 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 16 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Highlands in zone 7a in ZIP code 28741, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Highlands's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (29 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 USC00314055; 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 Highlands?
In a normal year in Highlands, a 90°F day is rare, 115 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 163 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 115a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 163a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 98°F, on July 12, 1930; the lowest is −19°F, on February 13, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 136.50 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 35.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00314055; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00314055. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Highlands?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Highlands, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 68% | 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 Highlands need?
A normal year in Highlands brings 5,369 heating degree days, 0% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 242 cooling degree days, 73% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,374 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 989 | 0 |
| February | 802 | 0 |
| March | 691 | 0 |
| April | 440 | 1 |
| May | 224 | 8 |
| June | 62 | 47 |
| July | 14 | 98 |
| August | 29 | 72 |
| September | 128 | 16 |
| October | 415 | 1 |
| November | 680 | 0 |
| December | 896 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,369 | 242 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00314055. 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 Highlands been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.4°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.9°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.4°F | +0.5°F | 100.80 | 12.1 |
| 2022 | 51.0°F | +0.1°F | 105.66 | 16.2 |
| 2023 | 51.6°F | +0.7°F | 70.03 | 2.6 |
| 2024 | 52.4°F | +1.5°F | 97.56 | 1.5 |
| 2025 | 51.4°F | +0.5°F | 80.43 | 9.0 |
Over 94 complete years from 1877 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.2°F per century (+0.01°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00314055; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Highlands's climate compare?
Highlands is warmer than 4 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 123. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.9°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Highlands is Cfb: temperate, no dry season, warm 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.
Questions about Highlands's climate
What is the coldest month in Highlands?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Highlands?
Yes: 10 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (3.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Highlands?
December, with 8.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 6.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Highlands in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Highlands in zone 7a in ZIP code 28741, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Highlands's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Highlands?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 30; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Highlands in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Jocassee (8 mi WNW), SC9 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Coweeta Experiment Station, NC13 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Franklin, NC14 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Lake Toxaway (2 mi SW), NC14 miles from this station, 54.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made