Jefferson, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Jefferson's primary NOAA station, JEFFERSON 2 E.
The climate verdict for Jefferson
Water is the standout signal in Jefferson, North Carolina: 51.0 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 51°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 51°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 51.0"
- annual precipitation · 14" snow
- 154 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Jefferson: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00314496 · Jefferson, NC 51°F mean · 51.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #3,087
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Lake Arrowhead
- PRCP-WET 51.0"
- SWING-MID 37°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,448 HDD
- STN-1 USC00314496
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Lake Arrowhead, CA (+ 0 °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.
- Jefferson (this station) 51°F
- Cold Mckenzie Rvr Ra…, OR 51°F
- Hot Floyd, VA 51°F
- Near Lake Arrowhead, CA 51°F
- Near Hood Rvr, OR 51°F
Climate Living Index · Jefferson
Jefferson: 45/100 · grade D
Jefferson publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Jefferson, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 14.4 inches/year | 57/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 150 calendar days | 46/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 51.1°F · 16.4° from 67.5°F | 45/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 51.0 in · 16.0 from 35 in | 44/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 154 days/year | 28/100 · F |
Jefferson · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Jefferson is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfb
Coldest-month mean 32.6°F and warmest-month mean 69.5°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, warm summer climates (Cfb). Class Cfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfb
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 69.5°F
- Coldest month
- 32.6°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 Jefferson sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Jefferson's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 45th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 17% wettest
- Jefferson's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 77%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Jefferson is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Jefferson compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Jefferson's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Jefferson's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 51 complete annual observations from 1966 to 2025, JEFFERSON 2 E warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Jefferson primary station fitted change +0.18 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F (6°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 3.9" | 4.3" | 25.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 47°F (8°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 3.3" | 3.3" | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 54°F (12°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 4.1" | 2.9" | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 10.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 71°F (22°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 2.8 | 0.0 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| July | 81°F (27°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| September | 75°F (24°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 4.3" | 0.0" | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 9.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 55°F (13°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.6" | 0.2" | 20.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 47°F (8°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 4.0" | 3.7" | 24.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 81°F around July 12, short of 90°F on every date, while 150 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 22°F near January 19.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 30, then returns to freezing around November 2, covering 150 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 July 25, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 25 at 19%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 96 wet dates a year.
The widest day
November 2 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 28°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Jefferson.
Where Jefferson Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 51 inches.
Jefferson earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.3"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.3"
7.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.9"
8.1 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
9.5 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
5.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.7"
8.0 days with precipitation
Jefferson spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 27% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Jefferson has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 36.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 5.3" and February 3.3". 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 Jefferson, it arrives in quantity
51.0" of precipitation falls across only about 96 wet days here, averaging 0.53 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 96 a year, 26% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.53 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 6
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.
Winter brings real snow to Jefferson
Jefferson averages 14.4 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 4 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 14.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 4 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 3% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 8
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 7
50% probability date
Growing Season
154 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,448
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
408
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Jefferson 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 (51°F here).
- Alpine, UT 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Baiting Hollow, NY 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Burr Oak, KS 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Cambridge, NE 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (51.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Beattyville, KY 51.0" · 0.0" off
- Cairo, GA 50.9" · 0.0" off
- Flemington, NJ 50.9" · 0.0" off
- Clarksville, AR 51.0" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Jefferson
heating led · wet · mid swing
Jefferson's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,448 annual heating degree days against 408 for cooling. Its 36.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Jefferson's frost-free season lasts about 154 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Jefferson coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 33°F (0°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Jefferson typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Jefferson snow peak
January
Jefferson averages 14.4 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Jefferson's climate
How much snow does Jefferson get? ▼
How cold does Jefferson get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Jefferson? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Jefferson's primary station: JEFFERSON 2 E (USC00314496). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3734440). Match rule for Jefferson: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Jefferson 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.