Oxford, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Oxford's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 46.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.2°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,183 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOxford Agricultural
- Station IDUSC00316510
- Location36.30°N 78.61°W
- Elevation500 ft (152 m)
- Population8,972
On October 14, the normal high in Oxford is 71°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Oxford.
- Jan 49° 30°
- Feb 52° 32°
- Mar 61° 39°
- Apr 71° 48°
- May 78° 57°
- Jun 85° 66°
- Jul 89° 70°
- Aug 87° 68°
- Sep 80° 61°
- Oct 71° 49°
- Nov 60° 40°
- Dec 52° 34°
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 Oxford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.01 in), the least in February (2.81 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 30°F | 39.2°F | 3.32 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 2.81 | 8 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 61°F | 39°F | 49.5°F | 4.63 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 48°F | 59.1°F | 3.72 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 57°F | 67.5°F | 3.52 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 66°F | 75.3°F | 5.01 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 70°F | 79.3°F | 4.27 | 9 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 68°F | 77.4°F | 4.77 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 61°F | 70.5°F | 4.33 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 49°F | 59.9°F | 3.18 | 6 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 40°F | 49.9°F | 3.38 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 52°F | 34°F | 42.6°F | 3.62 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 49°F | 59.4°F | 46.56 | 95 | 38 | 69 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −1°C | 4.0°C | 84 mm |
| February | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 71 mm |
| March | 16°C | 4°C | 9.7°C | 118 mm |
| April | 21°C | 9°C | 15.1°C | 94 mm |
| May | 25°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 89 mm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.1°C | 127 mm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.3°C | 108 mm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.2°C | 121 mm |
| September | 26°C | 16°C | 21.4°C | 110 mm |
| October | 21°C | 10°C | 15.5°C | 81 mm |
| November | 16°C | 4°C | 9.9°C | 86 mm |
| December | 11°C | 1°C | 5.9°C | 92 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Henderson (12 miles away), gets 2 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316510; 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 Oxford?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00316510.
When is the last frost in Oxford?
In Oxford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 30 in half of years and after April 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 6 in half of years and before October 25 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 301 year in 10 after April 14; 9 in 10 after March 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 61 year in 10 before October 25; 9 in 10 before November 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 222 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 250 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 17 in half of springs and before November 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oxford in zone 7b in ZIP code 27565, 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 USC00316510; 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 Oxford?
In a normal year in Oxford, 38 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 69 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 95 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 38a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 69a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 95a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316510.
How sunny is Oxford?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Oxford, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.5 |
| February | 72% | 3.2 |
| March | 72% | 4.2 |
| April | 77% | 5.4 |
| May | 77% | 5.9 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 78% | 2.8 |
| December | 73% | 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 Oxford need?
A normal year in Oxford brings 3,574 heating degree days, 33% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,551 cooling degree days, 71% 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 4,592 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 800 | 0 |
| February | 640 | 0 |
| March | 485 | 5 |
| April | 217 | 38 |
| May | 60 | 138 |
| June | 6 | 315 |
| July | 0 | 442 |
| August | 0 | 386 |
| September | 24 | 189 |
| October | 194 | 36 |
| November | 456 | 3 |
| December | 694 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,574 | 1,551 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316510. 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.
How does Oxford's climate compare?
Oxford is warmer than 59 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.4°F is warmer than 73%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Oxford 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 Oxford share this climate record?
Stem has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Stem, NC1,018 people · 10 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 Oxford's climate
What is the coldest month in Oxford?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Oxford?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Oxford's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Henderson (12 miles away), records 2 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Oxford?
June, with 5.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.81 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Oxford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Oxford in zone 7b in ZIP code 27565, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Oxford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 30; in one year in ten it comes after April 14. Waiting until April 14 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
- Henderson, NC12 miles from this station, 58.2°F a year
- Roxboro, NC16 miles from this station, 58.2°F a year
- Louisburg, NC22 miles from this station, 59.1°F a year
- Clarksville, VA22 miles from this station, 59.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made