Marion, South Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Marion's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 49.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.3°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,251 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMarion
- Station IDUSC00385509
- Location34.17°N 79.39°W
- Elevation75 ft (23 m)
- Population6,068
On October 23, the normal high in Marion is 74°F and the normal low 49°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Marion.
- Jan 56° 34°
- Feb 60° 37°
- Mar 67° 42°
- Apr 75° 49°
- May 82° 59°
- Jun 88° 67°
- Jul 91° 71°
- Aug 89° 70°
- Sep 84° 64°
- Oct 76° 52°
- Nov 66° 42°
- Dec 59° 37°
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 Marion each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.97 in), the least in February (3.22 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 3.51 | – | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 60°F | 37°F | 48.1°F | 3.22 | – | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 42°F | 54.6°F | 3.51 | – | <1 | 5 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 75°F | 49°F | 62.3°F | 3.43 | – | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 59°F | 70.5°F | 3.62 | – | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 88°F | 67°F | 77.5°F | 4.96 | – | 13 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 91°F | 71°F | 80.8°F | 5.23 | – | 20 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 89°F | 70°F | 79.3°F | 5.54 | – | 16 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 64°F | 74.0°F | 5.97 | – | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 52°F | 63.7°F | 3.26 | – | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 66°F | 42°F | 54.2°F | 3.33 | – | <1 | 7 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 37°F | 48.0°F | 3.69 | – | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 52°F | 63.2°F | 49.27 | – | 59 | 49 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 89 mm |
| February | 15°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 82 mm |
| March | 19°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 89 mm |
| April | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 87 mm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 92 mm |
| June | 31°C | 20°C | 25.3°C | 126 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.1°C | 133 mm |
| August | 32°C | 21°C | 26.3°C | 141 mm |
| September | 29°C | 18°C | 23.3°C | 152 mm |
| October | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 83 mm |
| November | 19°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 85 mm |
| December | 15°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 94 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Dillon (17 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00385509; 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 Marion?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September, October and November.
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 USC00385509.
When is the last frost in Marion?
In Marion, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 22 in half of years and after April 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 11 in half of years and before October 30 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 221 year in 10 after April 13; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 111 year in 10 before October 30; 9 in 10 before December 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 234 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 264 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Marion in zone 8b in ZIP code 29571, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00385509; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Marion?
In a normal year in Marion, 59 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 49 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 59a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 49a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 108°F, on June 27, 1954; the lowest is 0°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1964, with 72.45 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 15.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00385509; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00385509. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Marion?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Marion, 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 Marion need?
A normal year in Marion brings 2,582 heating degree days, 52% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,944 cooling degree days, 2.1 times 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 5,460 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 621 | 1 |
| February | 475 | 4 |
| March | 336 | 15 |
| April | 138 | 58 |
| May | 23 | 195 |
| June | 1 | 376 |
| July | 0 | 488 |
| August | 0 | 442 |
| September | 7 | 277 |
| October | 113 | 73 |
| November | 337 | 12 |
| December | 531 | 4 |
| Year (annual) | 2,582 | 1,944 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00385509. 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.
How does Marion's climate compare?
Marion is warmer than 39 of the other 72 places with their own NOAA record in South Carolina, and wetter than 38. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.2°F is warmer than 83%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Marion 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 Marion share this climate record?
3 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.
- Centenary, SC453 people · 10 mi S
- Sellers, SC146 people · 9 mi NW
- Rains, SC40 people · 6 mi SE
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 Marion's climate
What is the coldest month in Marion?
January, with a normal high of 56°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Marion?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Marion's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Dillon (17 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Marion?
September, with 5.97 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.22 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Marion in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Marion in zone 8b in ZIP code 29571, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Marion?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 22; in one year in ten it comes after April 13. Waiting until April 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mullins, SC8 miles from this station, 61.9°F a year
- Dillon, SC17 miles from this station, 62.7°F a year
- Florence, SC19 miles from this station, 64.7°F a year
- Lumber River State Park, NC27 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made