Mount Mitchell, North Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Mount Mitchell's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 67°F July afternoons, with 81.1 inches of precipitation and 89 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.1°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 19°C, 2,060 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Mitchell
- Station IDUSC00315923
- Location35.76°N 82.27°W
- Elevation6,240 ft (1,902 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Mount Mitchell is 52°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Mitchell.
- Jan 34° 17°
- Feb 36° 19°
- Mar 41° 24°
- Apr 50° 32°
- May 58° 41°
- Jun 64° 49°
- Jul 67° 52°
- Aug 66° 51°
- Sep 61° 46°
- Oct 54° 37°
- Nov 45° 28°
- Dec 38° 21°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Mount Mitchell each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 67°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in September (8.76 in), the least in June (5.46 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 17°F | 25.1°F | 7.47 | 19.2 | 14 | <1 | 26 | 10 h |
| February | 36°F | 19°F | 27.0°F | 5.62 | 18.6 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 41°F | 24°F | 32.3°F | 7.22 | 18.5 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 32°F | 41.1°F | 6.52 | 7.1 | 13 | <1 | 13 | 13 h |
| May | 58°F | 41°F | 49.5°F | 6.08 | 1.4 | 14 | <1 | 5 | 14 h |
| June | 64°F | 49°F | 56.3°F | 5.46 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 67°F | 52°F | 59.6°F | 6.92 | 0.0 | 18 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 66°F | 51°F | 58.6°F | 7.69 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 61°F | 46°F | 53.8°F | 8.76 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 54°F | 37°F | 45.2°F | 6.29 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 45°F | 28°F | 36.2°F | 6.17 | 3.9 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 38°F | 21°F | 29.6°F | 6.89 | 19.7 | 13 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 35°F | 42.9°F | 81.09 | 89.1 | 164 | <1 | 136 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.8°C | 190 mm | 49 cm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.8°C | 143 mm | 47 cm |
| March | 5°C | −5°C | 0.2°C | 183 mm | 47 cm |
| April | 10°C | 0°C | 5.1°C | 166 mm | 18 cm |
| May | 14°C | 5°C | 9.7°C | 154 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 18°C | 9°C | 13.5°C | 139 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 19°C | 11°C | 15.3°C | 176 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 19°C | 11°C | 14.8°C | 195 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16°C | 8°C | 12.1°C | 223 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12°C | 3°C | 7.3°C | 160 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 7°C | −2°C | 2.3°C | 157 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.3°C | 175 mm | 50 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00315923; 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.
Which months are mildest at Mount Mitchell?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in July and August. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (16).
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 USC00315923.
When is the last frost at Mount Mitchell?
In Mount Mitchell, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 16 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 20 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
- May 161 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 140 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 157 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 7 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Mitchell in zone 7a in ZIP code 28709, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (29 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 USC00315923; 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 at Mount Mitchell?
In a normal year in Mount Mitchell, a 90°F day is rare, 136 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 164 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
- 136a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 164a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1980) is 80°F, on July 27, 2005; the lowest is −24°F, on January 28, 1986.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 139.94 in; the snowiest season is 1997–98, with 176.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00315923; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00315923. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Mount Mitchell?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Mount Mitchell, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. November is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.6 |
| February | 70% | 3.3 |
| March | 71% | 4.3 |
| April | 74% | 5.4 |
| May | 74% | 5.9 |
| June | 76% | 6.2 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 76% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 77% | 3.8 |
| November | 77% | 3.0 |
| December | 71% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Mount Mitchell record?
A normal year at Mount Mitchell brings 8,056 heating degree days, 50% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 4 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,045 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,237 | 0 |
| February | 1,064 | 0 |
| March | 1,014 | 0 |
| April | 717 | 0 |
| May | 479 | 0 |
| June | 263 | 1 |
| July | 171 | 2 |
| August | 200 | 2 |
| September | 336 | 0 |
| October | 612 | 0 |
| November | 864 | 0 |
| December | 1,099 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,056 | 4 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00315923. 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.
Have recent years at Mount Mitchell been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 45.5°F, 2.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.9°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.5°F | +2.6°F | 76.91 | 45.9 |
| 2022 | 44.9°F | +2.0°F | 81.10 | 62.2 |
| 2023 | 45.5°F | +2.6°F | 72.15 | 27.9 |
Over 35 complete years from 1980 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.8°F per century (+0.27°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00315923; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mount Mitchell's climate compare?
Mount Mitchell is warmer than 0 of the 131 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 42.9°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mount Mitchell is Dfb: continental, 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 Mount Mitchell's climate
What is the coldest month at Mount Mitchell?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (67°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow at Mount Mitchell?
Yes: 89 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (19.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Mount Mitchell?
September, with 8.76 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 5.46 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Mitchell in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Mitchell in zone 7a in ZIP code 28709, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Mount Mitchell?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 16; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Celo (2 mi S), NC7 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- North Fork 2, NC8 miles from this station, 56.2°F a year
- Old Fort, NC11 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Burnsville, NC12 miles from this station, 54.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made