Richlands, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Richlands's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 55.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.1°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,409 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRichlands
- Station IDUSC00316422
- Location34.92°N 77.51°W
- Elevation20 ft (6 m)
- Population2,446
On October 22, the normal high in Richlands is 72°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Richlands.
- Jan 54° 32°
- Feb 57° 33°
- Mar 65° 39°
- Apr 73° 46°
- May 80° 56°
- Jun 87° 64°
- Jul 90° 68°
- Aug 88° 67°
- Sep 83° 62°
- Oct 74° 51°
- Nov 64° 39°
- Dec 57° 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 Richlands each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in August (7.56 in), the least in January (2.75 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 32°F | 42.9°F | 2.75 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| February | 57°F | 33°F | 45.0°F | 3.74 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 39°F | 51.6°F | 3.80 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 73°F | 46°F | 59.5°F | 3.90 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 56°F | 68.0°F | 4.89 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 64°F | 75.5°F | 4.93 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 68°F | 78.7°F | 6.03 | 10 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 67°F | 77.5°F | 7.56 | 11 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 62°F | 72.4°F | 6.80 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 51°F | 62.4°F | 3.64 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 39°F | 51.8°F | 3.52 | 7 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 57°F | 34°F | 45.9°F | 3.92 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 73°F | 49°F | 60.9°F | 55.48 | 101 | 53 | 69 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 0°C | 6.1°C | 70 mm |
| February | 14°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 95 mm |
| March | 18°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 97 mm |
| April | 23°C | 8°C | 15.3°C | 99 mm |
| May | 27°C | 13°C | 20.0°C | 124 mm |
| June | 30°C | 18°C | 24.2°C | 125 mm |
| July | 32°C | 20°C | 25.9°C | 153 mm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 25.3°C | 192 mm |
| September | 28°C | 17°C | 22.4°C | 173 mm |
| October | 23°C | 10°C | 16.9°C | 92 mm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 11.0°C | 89 mm |
| December | 14°C | 1°C | 7.7°C | 100 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, New River McAf (17 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316422; 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 Richlands?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00316422.
When is the last frost in Richlands?
In Richlands, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 5 in half of years and after April 20 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 4 in half of years and before October 24 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 51 year in 10 after April 20; 9 in 10 after March 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 41 year in 10 before October 24; 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 24 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richlands in zone 8a in ZIP code 28574, 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 USC00316422; 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 Richlands?
In a normal year in Richlands, 53 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 69 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 101 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 53a 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
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 101a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00316422.
How sunny is Richlands?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Richlands, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.7 |
| February | 74% | 3.4 |
| March | 76% | 4.5 |
| April | 81% | 5.8 |
| May | 82% | 6.3 |
| June | 82% | 6.5 |
| July | 83% | 6.3 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 77% | 4.7 |
| October | 79% | 3.9 |
| November | 78% | 3.0 |
| December | 73% | 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 Richlands need?
A normal year in Richlands brings 3,077 heating degree days, 43% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,626 cooling degree days, 79% 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 4,901 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 685 | 0 |
| February | 561 | 2 |
| March | 426 | 9 |
| April | 200 | 36 |
| May | 50 | 143 |
| June | 2 | 319 |
| July | 0 | 426 |
| August | 0 | 388 |
| September | 10 | 230 |
| October | 146 | 64 |
| November | 402 | 7 |
| December | 596 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 3,077 | 1,626 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00316422. 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 Richlands been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 61.3°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 60.9°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61.9°F | +1.0°F | 42.14 |
| 2025 | 61.3°F | +0.4°F | 47.75 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00316422. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Richlands's climate compare?
Richlands is warmer than 84 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 94. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 60.9°F is warmer than 77%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Richlands 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 Richlands 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.
- Potters Hill, NC548 people · 11 mi W
- Trenton, NC246 people · 13 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 Richlands's climate
What is the coldest month in Richlands?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow in Richlands?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Richlands's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, New River McAf (17 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Richlands?
August, with 7.56 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 2.75 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Richlands in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Richlands in zone 8a in ZIP code 28574, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Richlands?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 5; in one year in ten it comes after April 20. Waiting until April 20 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
- Jacksonville, NC11 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Hofmann Forest, NC13 miles from this station, 60.4°F a year
- New River McAf, NC17 miles from this station, 63.6°F a year
- Perrytown, NC25 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made