Murphy, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Murphy's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 59.3 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.7°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,506 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMurphy (4 mi ESE)
- Station IDUSC00316001
- Location35.07°N 83.97°W
- Elevation1,600 ft (488 m)
- Population1,693
On October 22, the normal high in Murphy is 70°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Murphy.
- Jan 50° 25°
- Feb 54° 28°
- Mar 62° 34°
- Apr 71° 41°
- May 78° 51°
- Jun 84° 59°
- Jul 87° 63°
- Aug 86° 62°
- Sep 81° 56°
- Oct 72° 43°
- Nov 61° 33°
- Dec 53° 28°
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 Murphy each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in December (5.99 in), the least in October (3.45 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 | 50°F | 25°F | 37.5°F | 5.10 | 0.8 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 28°F | 40.8°F | 5.26 | 1.5 | 11 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 34°F | 47.7°F | 5.29 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 41°F | 56.0°F | 5.20 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 51°F | 64.1°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 84°F | 59°F | 71.3°F | 5.41 | 0.0 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 87°F | 63°F | 74.9°F | 5.25 | 0.0 | 12 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 62°F | 74.2°F | 4.70 | 0.0 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 81°F | 56°F | 68.6°F | 4.28 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 43°F | 57.5°F | 3.45 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 61°F | 33°F | 47.1°F | 4.60 | 0.1 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 53°F | 28°F | 40.5°F | 5.99 | 1.9 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 44°F | 56.7°F | 59.28 | 4.4 | 132 | 21 | 103 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −4°C | 3.1°C | 130 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 12°C | −2°C | 4.9°C | 134 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 16°C | 1°C | 8.7°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 22°C | 5°C | 13.3°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 10°C | 17.8°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.8°C | 133 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.4°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 20.3°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 6°C | 14.2°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 0°C | 8.4°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 12°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 152 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316001; 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 Murphy?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00316001.
When is the last frost in Murphy?
In Murphy, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 22 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 8 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 221 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 204 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Murphy in zone 7b in ZIP code 28902, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Murphy's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (20 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 USC00316001; 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 Murphy?
In a normal year in Murphy, 21 days a year reach 90°F, 103 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 132 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 21a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 103a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 132a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1873) is 100°F, on July 2, 2012; the lowest is −10°F, on January 9, 1970.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 77.04 in; the snowiest season is 2010–11, with 22.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316001; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00316001. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Murphy?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Murphy, 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 Murphy need?
A normal year in Murphy brings 4,041 heating degree days, 25% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,038 cooling degree days, 14% more than 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 3,839 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 851 | 0 |
| February | 679 | 0 |
| March | 537 | 1 |
| April | 282 | 12 |
| May | 100 | 72 |
| June | 11 | 201 |
| July | 0 | 307 |
| August | 1 | 284 |
| September | 33 | 139 |
| October | 250 | 20 |
| November | 538 | 1 |
| December | 758 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,041 | 1,038 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316001. 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 Murphy been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.5°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.7°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.8°F | +1.1°F | 69.89 | 2.2 |
| 2022 | 57.3°F | +0.6°F | 52.73 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 58.0°F | +1.3°F | 57.05 | 0.3 |
| 2024 | 58.9°F | +2.2°F | 59.52 | 0.3 |
| 2025 | 57.5°F | +0.8°F | 56.30 | 1.5 |
Over 33 complete years from 1969 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.9°F per century (+0.33°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316001; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Murphy's climate compare?
Murphy is warmer than 27 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 113. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.7°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Murphy 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 Murphy share this climate record?
9 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.
- Epworth, GA1,509 people · 25 mi W
- Blue Ridge, GA1,246 people · 25 mi SW
- McCaysville, GA1,165 people · 24 mi W
- Copperhill, TN457 people · 24 mi W
- Ducktown, TN448 people · 24 mi W
- Mineral Bluff, GA332 people · 21 mi SW
- Morganton, GA294 people · 21 mi SW
- Farner, TN204 people · 21 mi W
- Cherry Log, GA0 people · 31 mi SW
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 Murphy's climate
What is the coldest month in Murphy?
January, with a normal high of 50°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Murphy?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 3 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (1.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Murphy?
December, with 5.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Murphy in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Murphy in zone 7b in ZIP code 28902, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Murphy's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Murphy?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 22; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Murphy in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hayesville, NC9 miles from this station, 55.5°F a year
- Andrews, NC12 miles from this station, 56.8°F a year
- Blairsville, GA15 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Robbinsville, NC26 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made