Raeford, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Raeford's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 48.6 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.8°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,233 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRaeford
- Station IDUSC00317056
- Location34.99°N 79.22°W
- Elevation250 ft (76 m)
- Population4,578
On October 22, the normal high in Raeford is 71°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Raeford.
- Jan 53° 30°
- Feb 57° 31°
- Mar 65° 38°
- Apr 74° 47°
- May 80° 56°
- Jun 86° 65°
- Jul 90° 69°
- Aug 88° 68°
- Sep 83° 61°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 64° 38°
- Dec 56° 33°
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 Raeford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in September (5.27 in), the least in April (3.18 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53°F | 30°F | 41.3°F | 3.71 | 1.6 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| February | 57°F | 31°F | 43.7°F | 3.66 | 0.8 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 38°F | 51.3°F | 3.92 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 47°F | 60.0°F | 3.18 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 56°F | 68.0°F | 3.80 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 65°F | 75.8°F | 4.72 | 0.0 | 11 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 69°F | 79.3°F | 4.86 | 0.0 | 12 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 68°F | 77.8°F | 5.05 | 0.0 | 11 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 61°F | 72.0°F | 5.27 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 61.0°F | 3.29 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 38°F | 50.6°F | 3.55 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 56°F | 33°F | 44.4°F | 3.55 | 0.4 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 49°F | 60.4°F | 48.56 | 2.8 | 116 | 54 | 82 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | −1°C | 5.2°C | 94 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 14°C | −1°C | 6.5°C | 93 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 18°C | 3°C | 10.7°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 23°C | 8°C | 15.6°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 13°C | 20.0°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.3°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.4°C | 128 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 22.2°C | 134 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 0°C | 6.9°C | 90 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00317056; 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 Raeford?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00317056.
When is the last frost in Raeford?
In Raeford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 3 in half of years and before October 20 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 31 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 31 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 214 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 22 in half of springs and before November 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Raeford in zone 8a in ZIP code 28376, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Raeford's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (16 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 USC00317056; 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 Raeford?
In a normal year in Raeford, 54 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 82 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 116 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 54a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 82a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 116a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00317056.
How sunny is Raeford?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Raeford, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.8 |
| February | 73% | 3.4 |
| March | 74% | 4.5 |
| April | 79% | 5.7 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 78% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 3.0 |
| December | 74% | 2.4 |
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 Raeford need?
A normal year in Raeford brings 3,280 heating degree days, 39% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,648 cooling degree days, 82% 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 4,813 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 736 | 1 |
| February | 597 | 1 |
| March | 433 | 8 |
| April | 194 | 44 |
| May | 53 | 146 |
| June | 3 | 327 |
| July | 0 | 445 |
| August | 0 | 397 |
| September | 14 | 226 |
| October | 174 | 48 |
| November | 435 | 5 |
| December | 642 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 3,280 | 1,648 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00317056. 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 Raeford's climate compare?
Raeford is warmer than 73 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 45. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.4°F is warmer than 76%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Raeford 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 Raeford share this climate record?
8 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.
- Rockfish, NC3,807 people · 8 mi E
- Five Points, NC1,096 people · 8 mi W
- Silver City, NC789 people · 1 mi NW
- Ashley Heights, NC301 people · 11 mi NW
- Shannon, NC87 people · 11 mi SE
- Lumber Bridge, NC85 people · 11 mi SE
- Bowmore, NC50 people · 6 mi SW
- Dundarrach, NC38 people · 6 mi SE
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 Raeford's climate
What is the coldest month in Raeford?
January, with a normal high of 53°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Raeford?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Raeford?
September, with 5.27 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 3.18 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Raeford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Raeford in zone 8a in ZIP code 28376, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Raeford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Raeford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 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
- Laurinburg, NC16 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Fayetteville, NC19 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Carthage, NC26 miles from this station, 60.7°F a year
- Lumberton, NC28 miles from this station, 63.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made