Sandhill Research - Elgin, South Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Sandhill Research - Elgin's normal year runs from 33°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 46.3 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.4 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.5°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 34°C, 1,177 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSandhill Research - Elgin
- Station IDUSC00387666
- Location34.13°N 80.87°W
- Elevation440 ft (134 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Sandhill Research - Elgin is 74°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Sandhill Research - Elgin.
- Jan 56° 33°
- Feb 60° 36°
- Mar 67° 42°
- Apr 76° 51°
- May 83° 59°
- Jun 89° 67°
- Jul 93° 71°
- Aug 91° 70°
- Sep 85° 64°
- Oct 76° 53°
- Nov 66° 42°
- Dec 59° 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 at Sandhill Research - Elgin each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.74 in), the least in November (3.03 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F | 33°F | 44.8°F | 3.70 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 60°F | 36°F | 48.0°F | 3.62 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 42°F | 54.7°F | 3.76 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 76°F | 51°F | 63.3°F | 3.21 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 83°F | 59°F | 71.3°F | 3.19 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 89°F | 67°F | 78.1°F | 4.43 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 93°F | 71°F | 81.6°F | 4.67 | 9 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 70°F | 80.0°F | 4.74 | 9 | 19 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 85°F | 64°F | 74.5°F | 4.64 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 53°F | 64.4°F | 3.24 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 66°F | 42°F | 54.2°F | 3.03 | 6 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 59°F | 37°F | 47.7°F | 4.11 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 75°F | 52°F | 63.5°F | 46.34 | 94 | 73 | 47 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 1°C | 7.1°C | 94 mm |
| February | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 92 mm |
| March | 20°C | 6°C | 12.6°C | 96 mm |
| April | 24°C | 10°C | 17.4°C | 82 mm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 81 mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 25.6°C | 113 mm |
| July | 34°C | 22°C | 27.6°C | 119 mm |
| August | 33°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 120 mm |
| September | 30°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 118 mm |
| October | 25°C | 11°C | 18.0°C | 82 mm |
| November | 19°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 77 mm |
| December | 15°C | 3°C | 8.7°C | 104 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00387666; 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.
Which months are mildest at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, November has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00387666.
When is the last frost at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
In Sandhill Research - Elgin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 22 in half of years and after April 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 15 in half of years and before November 1 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 221 year in 10 after April 10; 9 in 10 after March 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 151 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 239 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 267 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 8 in half of springs and before November 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sandhill Research - Elgin in zone 8b in ZIP code 29229, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 16°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00387666; 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 at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
In a normal year in Sandhill Research - Elgin, 73 days a year reach 90°F (5 of them 100°F or more), 47 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 94 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 73a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 47a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 94a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 109°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −2°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1964, with 70.83 in; the snowiest season is 2001–02, with 7.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00387666; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00387666. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Sandhill Research - Elgin, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (72%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.8 |
| February | 72% | 3.4 |
| March | 74% | 4.5 |
| April | 79% | 5.7 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 82% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 79% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Sandhill Research - Elgin record?
A normal year at Sandhill Research - Elgin brings 2,573 heating degree days, 52% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,076 cooling degree days, 2.3 times 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 5,593 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 627 | 1 |
| February | 476 | 2 |
| March | 335 | 16 |
| April | 123 | 72 |
| May | 22 | 217 |
| June | 1 | 395 |
| July | 0 | 515 |
| August | 0 | 465 |
| September | 7 | 292 |
| October | 106 | 85 |
| November | 336 | 12 |
| December | 540 | 4 |
| Year (annual) | 2,573 | 2,076 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00387666. 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.
Have recent years at Sandhill Research - Elgin been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 63.7°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.5°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 63.7°F | +0.2°F | – |
Over 38 complete years from 1958 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.0°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00387666; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sandhill Research - Elgin's climate compare?
Sandhill Research - Elgin is warmer than 43 of the 73 places with their own NOAA record in South Carolina, and wetter than 15. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.5°F is warmer than 84%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sandhill Research - Elgin 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 Sandhill Research - Elgin share this climate record?
3 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.
- Dentsville, SC15,396 people · 6 mi SW
- Woodfield, SC9,901 people · 6 mi SW
- Elgin, SC1,657 people · 5 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 Sandhill Research - Elgin's climate
What is the coldest month at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
January, with a normal high of 56°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.4 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
August, with 4.74 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sandhill Research - Elgin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sandhill Research - Elgin in zone 8b in ZIP code 29229, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 16°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come at Sandhill Research - Elgin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 22; in one year in ten it comes after April 10. Waiting until April 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- South Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cedar Creek (2 mi E), SC13 miles from this station, 60.2°F a year
- Columbia Owens Downtown Airport, SC13 miles from this station, 65.5°F a year
- Lugoff, SC14 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Camden, SC14 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made