North Fork 2, North Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
North Fork 2's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 53.8 inches of precipitation and 2 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.4°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,366 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNorth Fork 2
- Station IDUSC00316236
- Location35.66°N 82.34°W
- Elevation2,480 ft (756 m)
On October 23, the normal high in North Fork 2 is 66°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for North Fork 2.
- Jan 48° 28°
- Feb 52° 30°
- Mar 58° 36°
- Apr 67° 44°
- May 75° 53°
- Jun 81° 60°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 82° 62°
- Sep 77° 56°
- Oct 68° 46°
- Nov 59° 36°
- Dec 51° 31°
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 North Fork 2 each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.38 in), the least in October (3.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 28°F | 38.3°F | 4.31 | 1.5 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 30°F | 41.3°F | 3.76 | 0.1 | 11 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 36°F | 47.1°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 44°F | 55.9°F | 4.66 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 75°F | 53°F | 63.8°F | 4.99 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 81°F | 60°F | 70.3°F | 4.70 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.2°F | 5.38 | 0.0 | 15 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 82°F | 62°F | 72.0°F | 4.94 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 77°F | 56°F | 66.4°F | 5.10 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 46°F | 57.1°F | 3.43 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 36°F | 47.6°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 31°F | 41.3°F | 4.34 | 0.5 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 45°F | 56.2°F | 53.79 | 2.1 | 140 | 3 | 64 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −2°C | 3.5°C | 109 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 11°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 130 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 8°C | 13.9°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 2°C | 8.7°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | 0°C | 5.2°C | 110 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316236; 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 North Fork 2?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00316236.
When is the last frost at North Fork 2?
In North Fork 2, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 5 in half of years and after April 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 31 in half of years and before October 16 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 51 year in 10 after April 22; 9 in 10 after March 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 311 year in 10 before October 16; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 206 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 231 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 24 in half of springs and before November 10 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts North Fork 2 in zone 7a in ZIP code 28757, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00316236; 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 at North Fork 2?
In a normal year in North Fork 2, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 64 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 140 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 64a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 140a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316236.
How sunny is it at North Fork 2?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at North Fork 2, 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 North Fork 2 record?
A normal year at North Fork 2 brings 4,001 heating degree days, 26% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 805 cooling degree days, 11% fewer 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 3,500 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 828 | 0 |
| February | 664 | 0 |
| March | 554 | 0 |
| April | 280 | 7 |
| May | 92 | 55 |
| June | 6 | 163 |
| July | 0 | 253 |
| August | 2 | 217 |
| September | 56 | 97 |
| October | 260 | 13 |
| November | 524 | 0 |
| December | 735 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,001 | 805 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316236. 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 North Fork 2 been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 57.5°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.4°F | +1.2°F | 55.39 | 6.5 |
| 2022 | 57.0°F | +0.8°F | 54.56 | 8.5 |
| 2023 | 58.0°F | +1.8°F | 50.43 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 58.6°F | +2.4°F | 64.37 | 1.3 |
| 2025 | 57.5°F | +1.3°F | 48.38 | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316236. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does North Fork 2's climate compare?
North Fork 2 is warmer than 26 of the 131 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 88. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.2°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, North Fork 2 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 North Fork 2 share this climate record?
2 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.
- Montreat, NC1,044 people · 3 mi E
- Barnardsville, NC431 people · 10 mi NW
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 North Fork 2's climate
What is the coldest month at North Fork 2?
January, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow at North Fork 2?
Yes: 2 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at North Fork 2?
July, with 5.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is North Fork 2 in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts North Fork 2 in zone 7a in ZIP code 28757, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at North Fork 2?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 5; in one year in ten it comes after April 22. Waiting until April 22 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
- Black Mountain, NC4 miles from this station, 55.4°F a year
- Swannanoa, NC7 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Mount Mitchell, NC8 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Old Fort, NC12 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made