Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE), North Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)'s normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 65.0 inches of precipitation and 7 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.1°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,652 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPisgah Forest (3 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00316805
- Location35.27°N 82.65°W
- Elevation2,190 ft (668 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) is 68°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE).
- Jan 49° 26°
- Feb 53° 28°
- Mar 60° 34°
- Apr 69° 41°
- May 75° 50°
- Jun 81° 58°
- Jul 84° 62°
- Aug 83° 61°
- Sep 78° 55°
- Oct 70° 43°
- Nov 61° 33°
- Dec 52° 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 at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in August (6.17 in), the least in October (4.91 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 26°F | 37.5°F | 5.93 | 2.3 | 11 | <1 | 24 | 10 h |
| February | 53°F | 28°F | 40.5°F | 4.95 | 0.8 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 34°F | 46.8°F | 5.34 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 41°F | 54.8°F | 5.32 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 13 h |
| May | 75°F | 50°F | 62.7°F | 5.07 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 81°F | 58°F | 69.7°F | 5.46 | 0.0 | 16 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 62°F | 73.1°F | 5.72 | 0.0 | 16 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 83°F | 61°F | 72.2°F | 6.17 | 0.0 | 16 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 78°F | 55°F | 66.7°F | 5.43 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 43°F | 56.7°F | 4.91 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 61°F | 33°F | 46.5°F | 4.95 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 52°F | 28°F | 40.2°F | 5.79 | 2.7 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 43°F | 55.6°F | 65.04 | 6.7 | 148 | 10 | 118 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −4°C | 3.1°C | 151 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 12°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 126 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 15°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 136 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 20°C | 5°C | 12.7°C | 135 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 15°C | 20.9°C | 139 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.8°C | 145 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 157 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.7°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 0°C | 8.1°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | −2°C | 4.6°C | 147 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316805; 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 Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
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 USC00316805.
When is the last frost at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
In Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 9 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 191 year in 10 after May 8; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 9; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 186 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 211 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) in zone 7b in ZIP code 28766, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 5°F (28 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 USC00316805; 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 at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
In a normal year in Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE), 10 days a year reach 90°F, 118 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 148 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 118a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 148a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1939) is 98°F, on June 23, 1964; the lowest is −16°F, on January 26, 1940.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 99.87 in; the snowiest season is 1986–87, with 31.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316805; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00316805. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE), 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 Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) record?
A normal year at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) brings 4,203 heating degree days, 22% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 805 cooling degree days, 11% fewer than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,469 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 854 | 0 |
| February | 686 | 0 |
| March | 564 | 0 |
| April | 312 | 6 |
| May | 120 | 48 |
| June | 17 | 158 |
| July | 1 | 254 |
| August | 2 | 224 |
| September | 50 | 101 |
| October | 271 | 14 |
| November | 556 | 1 |
| December | 769 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,203 | 805 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316805. 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 Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 55.2°F, 0.4°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 55.6°F. 1 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.0°F | −0.6°F | 61.19 | 5.5 |
| 2022 | 53.7°F | −1.9°F | 64.17 | 7.5 |
| 2023 | 55.6°F | at normal | 57.40 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 56.2°F | +0.6°F | 81.96 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 55.2°F | −0.4°F | 57.07 | 2.3 |
Over 64 complete years from 1949 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.8°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316805; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)'s climate compare?
Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) is warmer than 20 of the 131 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 121. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.6°F is warmer than 62%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) 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 Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) 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.
- Etowah, NC7,765 people · 4 mi NE
- Horse Shoe, NC1,699 people · 6 mi NE
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 Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
Yes: 7 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (2.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
August, with 6.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 4.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE) in zone 7b in ZIP code 28766, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 5°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Pisgah Forest (3 mi NE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 8. Waiting until May 8 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
- Brevard, NC6 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Caesars Head, SC11 miles from this station, 54.3°F a year
- Fletcher, NC12 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Hendersonville, NC12 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made