Ocracoke, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ocracoke's normal year runs from 40°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 58.3 inches of precipitation and 2 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.2°C, January lows of 4°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,481 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOcracoke
- Station IDUSC00316349
- Location35.11°N 75.99°W
- Elevation4 ft (1 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population (census place)709
On October 22, the normal high in Ocracoke is 71°F and the normal low 58°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ocracoke.
- Jan 52° 40°
- Feb 54° 40°
- Mar 59° 46°
- Apr 68° 54°
- May 75° 63°
- Jun 82° 70°
- Jul 85° 74°
- Aug 85° 73°
- Sep 80° 70°
- Oct 73° 60°
- Nov 62° 50°
- Dec 56° 43°
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 Ocracoke each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in August (7.42 in), the least in April (3.78 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 40°F | 45.7°F | 4.13 | 1.4 | 9 | <1 | 8 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 40°F | 47.0°F | 4.03 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 46°F | 52.3°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 54°F | 60.9°F | 3.78 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 75°F | 63°F | 68.6°F | 3.83 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 82°F | 70°F | 76.1°F | 4.16 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 85°F | 74°F | 79.7°F | 5.04 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 73°F | 78.9°F | 7.42 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 80°F | 70°F | 75.1°F | 7.39 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 60°F | 66.3°F | 5.19 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 62°F | 50°F | 56.2°F | 4.66 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 56°F | 43°F | 49.6°F | 4.39 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 57°F | 63.0°F | 58.31 | 1.7 | 108 | 6 | 18 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 4°C | 7.6°C | 105 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 12°C | 5°C | 8.3°C | 102 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 15°C | 8°C | 11.3°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 20°C | 12°C | 16.1°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 17°C | 20.3°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 21°C | 24.5°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 23°C | 26.5°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 23°C | 26.1°C | 188 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 21°C | 23.9°C | 188 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 16°C | 19.1°C | 132 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 10°C | 13.4°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 6°C | 9.8°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316349; 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 Ocracoke?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00316349.
When is the last frost in Ocracoke?
In Ocracoke, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 1 in half of years and after March 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 20 in half of years and before November 29 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 11 year in 10 after March 21; 9 in 10 after February 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 201 year in 10 before November 29; 9 in 10 before January 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 293 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 322 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 8 in half of springs and before January 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ocracoke in zone 9a in ZIP code 27960.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00316349; 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 Ocracoke?
In a normal year in Ocracoke, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 18 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 108 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 18a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 108a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 99°F, on August 22, 1975; the lowest is 13°F, on February 20, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1962, with 82.06 in; the snowiest season is 2024–25, with 8.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316349; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00316349. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ocracoke?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ocracoke, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (81%) and January the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.4 |
| February | 71% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 79% | 6.0 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.6 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 74% | 2.7 |
| December | 71% | 2.1 |
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 Ocracoke need?
A normal year in Ocracoke brings 2,508 heating degree days, 53% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,829 cooling degree days, 2.0 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,330 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 600 | 1 |
| February | 506 | 0 |
| March | 396 | 3 |
| April | 153 | 30 |
| May | 31 | 144 |
| June | 1 | 335 |
| July | 0 | 457 |
| August | 0 | 432 |
| September | 2 | 305 |
| October | 67 | 109 |
| November | 275 | 11 |
| December | 478 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 2,508 | 1,829 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316349. 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 Ocracoke been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 64.2°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.0°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.7°F | +1.7°F | 62.31 | 0.0 |
| 2022 | 64.8°F | +1.8°F | 45.04 | 0.0 |
| 2023 | 65.5°F | +2.5°F | 73.66 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 64.9°F | +1.9°F | 55.15 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 64.2°F | +1.2°F | 59.10 | 8.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316349. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ocracoke's climate compare?
Ocracoke is warmer than 115 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 106. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.0°F is warmer than 83%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ocracoke 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.
Questions about Ocracoke's climate
What is the coldest month in Ocracoke?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 74°F at night).
Does it snow in Ocracoke?
Yes: 2 inches in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Ocracoke?
August, with 7.42 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 3.78 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ocracoke in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ocracoke in zone 9a in ZIP code 27960.
How late can frost come in Ocracoke?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 1; in one year in ten it comes after March 21. Waiting until March 21 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
- Cedar Island, NC20 miles from this station, 66.6°F a year
- Cape Hatteras Airport, NC22 miles from this station, 64.8°F a year
- Frisco, NC24 miles from this station, 64.4°F a year
- Swanquarter Ferry, NC27 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made