Salisbury, NC Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Salisbury's primary NOAA station, SALISBURY - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Salisbury
Salisbury, North Carolina has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 59°F. It scores 83/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 81% of them.
- 59°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 83/100
- comfort score, above 81% of station-mapped location scores
- 43.7"
- annual precipitation · 2" snow
- 207 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Salisbury: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00317615 · Salisbury, NC 59°F mean · 43.7" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 59°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,009
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Winchester
- PRCP-MID 43.7"
- SWING-MID 39°F
- COMF-TOP 83/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,532 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00317615
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Winchester, TN ( -0.1 °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.
- Salisbury (this station) 59°F
- Cold Winchester, TN 59°F
- Hot Siler City, NC 59°F
- Near Shelby, NC 59°F
- Near New Hill, NC 59°F
Climate Living Index · Salisbury
Salisbury: 76/100 · grade B
Salisbury publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Salisbury, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 83/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 66 calendar days | 87/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 2.4 inches/year | 75/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 59.3°F · 8.2° from 67.5°F | 74/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 207 days/year | 69/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 43.7 in · 8.7 from 35 in | 69/100 · C |
Salisbury · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Salisbury is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 39.6°F and warmest-month mean 78.4°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
- 78.4°F
- Coldest month
- 39.6°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 · heating-led station
Where Salisbury sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Salisbury's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 27% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Salisbury sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 66th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 31st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Salisbury compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Salisbury's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
83 Top 19% score exceeds 81% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Salisbury's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 108 complete annual observations from 1888 to 2025, SALISBURY warmed at a fitted rate of 0.08°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Salisbury primary station fitted change +0.08 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F (10°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 3.5" | 1.4" | 19.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 54°F (12°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 3.0" | 0.1" | 14.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 62°F (17°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 4.1" | 0.1" | 8.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 72°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| May | 78°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| June | 85°F (30°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 4.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.6 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 4.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.4 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 9.7 |
| September | 81°F (27°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 71°F (21°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.9 |
| October | 72°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 3.0" | 0.0" | 1.2 | 0.2 |
| November | 61°F (16°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 3.1" | 0.0" | 9.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 53°F (12°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 3.5" | 0.8" | 17.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 88°F around July 14, short of 90°F on every date, while 66 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 29°F near January 10.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 16, then returns to freezing around December 13, covering 66 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 March 4, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is November 6 at 20%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 94 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Salisbury.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 1.4"
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
9.5 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
7.8 days with precipitation
Salisbury spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Salisbury has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 38.8°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: July averages 4.6" and October 3.0". The three wettest months together take 30% 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 Salisbury, it arrives in quantity
43.7" of precipitation falls across only about 94 wet days here, averaging 0.46 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 94 a year, 26% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.46 inches
- Most wet days
- March, about 10
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 6
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 Salisbury, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 2.4 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 1 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
October 30
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 6
50% probability date
Growing Season
207 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,532
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,479
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NC closest to Salisbury 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 (59°F here).
- Abernathy, TX 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Big Sandy, TN 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Coldwater, KS 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Colfax, CA 59°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (43.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Palmyra, VA 43.7" · 0.0" off
- Sunbury, PA 43.7" · 0.0" off
- Vandalia, IL 43.7" · 0.0" off
- Key West, FL 43.6" · 0.1" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Salisbury's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Salisbury's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,532 annual heating degree days against 1,479 for cooling. Its 38.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Salisbury's frost-free season lasts about 207 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Salisbury's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.8°F. The annual average is 59°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Salisbury's 43.7 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Annual snowfall totals 2.4 inches. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Salisbury's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Salisbury, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Salisbury's climate
How much rain does Salisbury get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Salisbury get? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Salisbury's primary station: SALISBURY (USC00317615). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Salisbury area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 3758860). Match rule for Salisbury: 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 Salisbury 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.