Plymouth, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Plymouth's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 54.6 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.7°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,387 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPlymouth (5 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00316853
- Location35.87°N 76.66°W
- Elevation20 ft (6 m)
- Population3,190
On October 24, the normal high in Plymouth is 72°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Plymouth.
- Jan 54° 34°
- Feb 57° 35°
- Mar 64° 41°
- Apr 74° 49°
- May 80° 58°
- Jun 87° 66°
- Jul 89° 70°
- Aug 88° 69°
- Sep 83° 64°
- Oct 75° 53°
- Nov 64° 42°
- Dec 57° 37°
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 Plymouth each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in August (6.60 in), the least in February (3.40 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 34°F | 43.8°F | 3.95 | 1.0 | 12 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| February | 57°F | 35°F | 46.3°F | 3.40 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 64°F | 41°F | 52.5°F | 4.16 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 49°F | 61.6°F | 3.74 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 58°F | 69.1°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 66°F | 76.5°F | 5.42 | 0.0 | 11 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 89°F | 70°F | 79.8°F | 5.70 | 0.0 | 13 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 69°F | 78.3°F | 6.60 | 0.0 | 13 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 64°F | 73.3°F | 6.13 | 0.0 | 11 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 42°F | 53.3°F | 3.57 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 57°F | 37°F | 46.7°F | 3.64 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 73°F | 52°F | 62.1°F | 54.59 | 1.4 | 136 | 44 | 52 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 1°C | 6.6°C | 100 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 86 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 106 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.7°C | 138 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.6°C | 145 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 21°C | 25.7°C | 168 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 18°C | 22.9°C | 156 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 11°C | 17.5°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 6°C | 11.8°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 14°C | 3°C | 8.2°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316853; 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 Plymouth?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USC00316853.
When is the last frost in Plymouth?
In Plymouth, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 7 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 311 year in 10 after April 15; 9 in 10 after March 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 71 year in 10 before October 25; 9 in 10 before November 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 221 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 249 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 17 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Plymouth in zone 8a in ZIP code 27962, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Plymouth's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (29 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 USC00316853; 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 in Plymouth?
In a normal year in Plymouth, 44 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 52 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 136 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 52a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 136a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1945) is 103°F, on August 22, 1983; the lowest is −5°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2016, with 74.83 in; the snowiest season is 1979–80, with 22.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316853; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00316853. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Plymouth?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Plymouth, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.6 |
| February | 73% | 3.3 |
| March | 73% | 4.3 |
| April | 78% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.0 |
| June | 80% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| December | 74% | 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 much heating and cooling does Plymouth need?
A normal year in Plymouth brings 2,843 heating degree days, 47% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,803 cooling degree days, 99% 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 5,186 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 659 | 1 |
| February | 526 | 2 |
| March | 398 | 11 |
| April | 160 | 58 |
| May | 40 | 169 |
| June | 3 | 346 |
| July | 0 | 460 |
| August | 0 | 412 |
| September | 7 | 258 |
| October | 119 | 74 |
| November | 361 | 10 |
| December | 570 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 2,843 | 1,803 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316853. 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 Plymouth been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 62.4°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 62.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62.5°F | +0.4°F | 57.35 | 3.7 |
| 2022 | 62.6°F | +0.5°F | 49.72 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 63.3°F | +1.2°F | 54.20 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 63.4°F | +1.3°F | 46.95 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 62.4°F | +0.3°F | 45.07 | 7.5 |
Over 67 complete years from 1947 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.3°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316853; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Plymouth's climate compare?
Plymouth is warmer than 105 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 91. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.1°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Plymouth 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 Plymouth share this climate record?
Roper 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.
- Roper, NC469 people · 2 mi E
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 Plymouth's climate
What is the coldest month in Plymouth?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Plymouth?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Plymouth?
August, with 6.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.40 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Plymouth in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Plymouth in zone 8a in ZIP code 27962, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Plymouth's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Plymouth?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 15. Waiting until April 15 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
- Edenton, NC12 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Williamston, NC21 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Belhaven, NC21 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Fairfield, NC30 miles from this station, 60.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made