Ocracoke, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Ocracoke's primary NOAA station, OCRACOKE.
The climate verdict for Ocracoke
Water is the standout signal in Ocracoke, North Carolina: 58.3 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 63°F. It scores 87/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 87% of them.
- 63°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 87/100
- comfort score, above 87% of station-mapped location scores
- 58.3"
- annual precipitation · 2" snow
- 294 days
- frost-free growing season
Ocracoke: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00316349 · Ocracoke, NC 63°F mean · 58.3" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 63°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,695
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Athens Ben Epps
- PRCP-WET 58.3"
- SWING-MID 34°F
- COMF-TOP 87/100
- LOAD-MIX H/C balanced
- STN-1 USC00316349
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Athens Ben Epps, GA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every NC station list.
- Ocracoke (this station) 63°F
- Hot Clarksville, TX 63°F
- Near Athens Ben Epps, GA 63°F
- Near Batesburg, SC 63°F
- Near Clanton, AL 63°F
Climate Living Index · Ocracoke
Ocracoke: 79/100 · grade B
Ocracoke publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ocracoke, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 87/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 294 days/year | 100/100 · A |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 63.0°F · 4.5° from 67.5°F | 86/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 1.7 inches/year | 78/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 58.3 in · 23.3 from 35 in | 17/100 · F |
Ocracoke · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ocracoke is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 45.7°F and warmest-month mean 79.7°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 79.7°F
- Coldest month
- 45.7°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · balanced station
Where Ocracoke sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ocracoke's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 17% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Ocracoke sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 7% wettest
- Ocracoke's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 84%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Ocracoke is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ocracoke compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ocracoke's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
87 Top 13% score exceeds 87% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F (11°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 4.1" | 1.4" | 8.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 54°F (12°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 4.0" | 0.2" | 4.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 59°F (15°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 4.3" | 0.0" | 1.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 75°F (24°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 82°F (28°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| July | 85°F (30°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 7.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.5 |
| September | 80°F (27°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 7.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| October | 73°F (23°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 5.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 62°F (17°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 56°F (13°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 4.4" | 0.1" | 3.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Ocracoke: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 39°F near January 20 and 86°F near July 27.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 39°F around January 20.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 31, when 35% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 23 at 24%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 108 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 8 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 14°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Ocracoke.
Where Ocracoke Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 58 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 14°F.
Ocracoke earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 1.4"
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
9.4 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
10.1 days with precipitation
Ocracoke spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Ocracoke has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 34°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 7.4" and April 3.8". The three wettest months together take 34% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Ocracoke, it arrives in quantity
58.3" of precipitation falls across only about 108 wet days here, averaging 0.54 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 108 a year, 30% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.54 inches
- Most wet days
- August, about 11
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 7
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Snow reaches Ocracoke, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 1.7 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 1 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
December 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
294 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
2,508
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,829
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Ocracoke on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (63°F here).
- Clanton, AL 63°F · 0.0°F off
- Clarksville, TX 63°F · 0.0°F off
- Dermott, AR 63°F · 0.0°F off
- Elliott, SC 63°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (58.3" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Summerville, GA 58.3" · 0.0" off
- Murfreesboro, AR 58.4" · 0.0" off
- Packwood, WA 58.4" · 0.0" off
- Winnsboro, LA 58.3" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Ocracoke's climate pattern fits together
mixed demand · wet · mid swing
Water is prominent even though neither heating nor cooling wholly defines the record. Ocracoke averages 58.3 inches of precipitation a year. Annual snowfall totals 1.7 inches. The monthly table supplies the seasonal distribution hidden by that annual total.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Ocracoke's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 34.0°F. The annual average is 63°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Heating and cooling both register in Ocracoke's normal, at 2,508 and 1,829 degree days respectively. Neither total exceeds the other by more than two to one, so the record is better read as a mixed-demand calendar than as heating-led or cooling-led.
The frost-free window extends for about 294 days. That is a long calendar measure, but it is not a forecast and does not combine heat, rainfall, soil, or local elevation into a planting recommendation.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Ocracoke's primary station, where heating and cooling demand are close enough that neither season sets the character on its own. On a balanced station like Ocracoke, the bands are descriptive ranges rather than an official NOAA classification or a forecast.
Questions about Ocracoke's climate
How much rain does Ocracoke get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ocracoke? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ocracoke's primary station: OCRACOKE (USC00316349). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 3748740), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Ocracoke: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Ocracoke comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.