Raeford, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Raeford's primary NOAA station, RAEFORD.
The climate verdict for Raeford
Water is the standout signal in Raeford, North Carolina: 48.6 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 60°F. It scores 93/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 93% of them.
- 60°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 93/100
- comfort score, above 93% of station-mapped location scores
- 48.6"
- annual precipitation · 3" snow
- 214 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Raeford: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00317056 · Raeford, NC 60°F mean · 48.6" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 60°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,214
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Bagdad
- PRCP-MID 48.6"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-TOP 93/100
- LOAD-MIX H/C balanced
- STN-1 USC00317056
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Bagdad, AZ (+ 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.
- Raeford (this station) 60°F
- Hot Chester, SC 60°F
- Near Bagdad, AZ 60°F
- Near Ben Lomond, CA 60°F
- Near Chatham Wtp, NC 60°F
Climate Living Index · Raeford
Raeford: 75/100 · grade B
Raeford publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Raeford, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 93/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 64 calendar days | 87/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 60.4°F · 7.1° from 67.5°F | 78/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 214 days/year | 74/100 · B |
| Snowfall burden | 2.8 inches/year | 74/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 48.6 in · 13.6 from 35 in | 52/100 · D |
Raeford · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Raeford is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 41.3°F and warmest-month mean 79.3°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
- 79.3°F
- Coldest month
- 41.3°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 Raeford sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Raeford's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 24% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Raeford sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 23% wettest
- Raeford's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 73%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Raeford is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Raeford compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Raeford's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
93 Top 7% score exceeds 93% 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%). Below this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). This entry sits in this band.
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 | 53°F (12°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 3.7" | 1.6" | 20.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 57°F (14°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.7" | 0.8" | 18.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 65°F (18°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 10.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 74°F (23°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 3.2" | 0.0" | 1.8 | 0.8 |
| May | 80°F (27°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| June | 86°F (30°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 11.7 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.9 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 5.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.3 |
| September | 83°F (28°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 5.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.2 |
| October | 73°F (23°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 1.3 | 0.4 |
| November | 64°F (18°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 10.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 56°F (13°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 3.5" | 0.4" | 18.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 90°F around July 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 64 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 29°F near January 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 22, then returns to freezing around December 21, covering 64 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 11, when 39% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 9 at 25%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 117 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 14 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Raeford.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 1.6"
10.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
9.1 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
12.1 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
10.3 days with precipitation
Raeford spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 30% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Raeford has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 5.3" and April 3.2". The three wettest months together take 31% 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 Raeford, it arrives in quantity
48.6" of precipitation falls across only about 116 wet days here, averaging 0.42 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 116 a year, 32% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- July, about 12
- Fewest wet days
- November, about 8
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 Raeford, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 2.8 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 2 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
November 3
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 3
50% probability date
Growing Season
214 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,280
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,648
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Raeford 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 (60°F here).
- Bagdad, AZ 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Ben Lomond, CA 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Chester, SC 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Cushing, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (48.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Gravette, AR 48.6" · 0.0" off
- Bamberg, SC 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Hawkinsville, GA 48.5" · 0.0" off
- Pineville, WV 48.5" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Raeford's climate pattern fits together
mixed demand · wet · mid swing
Water is prominent even though neither heating nor cooling wholly defines the record. Raeford averages 48.6 inches of precipitation a year. Annual snowfall totals 2.8 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 Raeford's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.0°F. The annual average is 60°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Heating and cooling both register in Raeford's normal, at 3,280 and 1,648 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.
A roughly 214-day frost-free season sits inside this mixed heating-and-cooling profile. Start and end dates matter because both sides of the thermostat register during a normal year.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Raeford'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 Raeford, the bands are descriptive ranges rather than an official NOAA classification or a forecast.
Questions about Raeford's climate
How much rain does Raeford get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Raeford get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Raeford? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Raeford's primary station: RAEFORD (USC00317056). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 3754580). Match rule for Raeford: 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 Raeford 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.