Swanquarter Ferry, North Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Swanquarter Ferry's normal year runs from 36°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 53.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.3°C, January lows of 2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,357 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSwanquarter Ferry
- Station IDUSC00318450
- Location35.40°N 76.33°W
- Elevation3 ft (1 m)
On October 24, the normal high in Swanquarter Ferry is 72°F and the normal low 54°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 Swanquarter Ferry.
- Jan 53° 36°
- Feb 56° 36°
- Mar 62° 42°
- Apr 71° 52°
- May 79° 62°
- Jun 87° 70°
- Jul 90° 74°
- Aug 88° 73°
- Sep 83° 67°
- Oct 74° 57°
- Nov 65° 45°
- Dec 57° 39°
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 Swanquarter Ferry each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 36°F. The most precipitation falls in September (6.31 in), the least in February (3.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53°F | 36°F | 44.6°F | 4.20 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 36°F | 45.6°F | 3.27 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 42°F | 51.9°F | 3.58 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 52°F | 61.5°F | 4.19 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 62°F | 70.5°F | 4.62 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 70°F | 78.4°F | 5.10 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 74°F | 81.6°F | 4.77 | 10 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 73°F | 80.3°F | 6.13 | 10 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 67°F | 75.0°F | 6.31 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 57°F | 65.6°F | 3.65 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 45°F | 54.9°F | 3.98 | 8 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 57°F | 39°F | 47.8°F | 3.61 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 54°F | 63.1°F | 53.41 | 106 | 44 | 34 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 2°C | 7.0°C | 107 mm |
| February | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 83 mm |
| March | 17°C | 5°C | 11.1°C | 91 mm |
| April | 22°C | 11°C | 16.4°C | 106 mm |
| May | 26°C | 17°C | 21.4°C | 117 mm |
| June | 30°C | 21°C | 25.8°C | 130 mm |
| July | 32°C | 23°C | 27.6°C | 121 mm |
| August | 31°C | 23°C | 26.8°C | 156 mm |
| September | 28°C | 20°C | 23.9°C | 160 mm |
| October | 23°C | 14°C | 18.7°C | 93 mm |
| November | 18°C | 7°C | 12.7°C | 101 mm |
| December | 14°C | 4°C | 8.8°C | 92 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Belhaven (19 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 USC00318450; 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 Swanquarter Ferry?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00318450.
When is the last frost at Swanquarter Ferry?
In Swanquarter Ferry, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 18 in half of years and after March 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 25 in half of years and before November 8 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 181 year in 10 after March 31; 9 in 10 after February 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 251 year in 10 before November 8; 9 in 10 before December 13
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 253 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 280 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 5 in half of springs and before December 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Swanquarter Ferry in zone 8b in ZIP code 27885, 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 USC00318450; 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 at Swanquarter Ferry?
In a normal year in Swanquarter Ferry, 44 days a year reach 90°F, 34 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 106 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 34a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 106a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00318450.
How sunny is it at Swanquarter Ferry?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Swanquarter Ferry, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.6 |
| February | 73% | 3.3 |
| March | 73% | 4.3 |
| April | 78% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.0 |
| June | 80% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| December | 74% | 2.3 |
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 Swanquarter Ferry record?
A normal year at Swanquarter Ferry brings 2,704 heating degree days, 50% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,052 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 5,472 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 632 | 0 |
| February | 545 | 0 |
| March | 414 | 7 |
| April | 156 | 51 |
| May | 31 | 199 |
| June | 1 | 401 |
| July | 0 | 515 |
| August | 0 | 473 |
| September | 4 | 304 |
| October | 76 | 93 |
| November | 311 | 9 |
| December | 534 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,704 | 2,052 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00318450. 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 Swanquarter Ferry been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 62.6°F, 0.5°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 63.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63.8°F | +0.7°F | 59.78 |
| 2022 | 63.8°F | +0.7°F | 54.59 |
| 2023 | 64.9°F | +1.8°F | 50.15 |
| 2024 | 64.9°F | +1.8°F | 58.84 |
| 2025 | 62.6°F | −0.5°F | 42.32 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00318450. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Swanquarter Ferry's climate compare?
Swanquarter Ferry is warmer than 117 of the 131 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 86. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.1°F is warmer than 83%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Swanquarter Ferry 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 Swanquarter Ferry share this climate record?
Swan Quarter has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Swan Quarter, NC353 people · 1 mi N
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 Swanquarter Ferry's climate
What is the coldest month at Swanquarter Ferry?
January, with a normal high of 53°F and a normal low of 36°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 74°F at night).
Does it snow at Swanquarter Ferry?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Belhaven (19 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Swanquarter Ferry?
September, with 6.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 3.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Swanquarter Ferry in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Swanquarter Ferry in zone 8b in ZIP code 27885, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Swanquarter Ferry?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 18; in one year in ten it comes after March 31. Waiting until March 31 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
- Fairfield, NC10 miles from this station, 60.2°F a year
- Belhaven, NC19 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Columbia, NC24 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Aurora, NC25 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made