Tapoco, North Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Tapoco's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 56.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.8°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,426 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTapoco
- Station IDUSC00318492
- Location35.45°N 83.94°W
- Elevation1,110 ft (338 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Tapoco is 68°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tapoco.
- Jan 48° 28°
- Feb 52° 31°
- Mar 60° 37°
- Apr 70° 44°
- May 77° 52°
- Jun 83° 59°
- Jul 86° 62°
- Aug 85° 61°
- Sep 79° 57°
- Oct 70° 46°
- Nov 59° 36°
- Dec 50° 31°
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 Tapoco each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.52 in), the least in October (2.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 28°F | 38.1°F | 5.40 | 12 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 31°F | 41.5°F | 4.78 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 37°F | 48.5°F | 5.43 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 44°F | 57.0°F | 4.72 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 13 h |
| May | 77°F | 52°F | 64.3°F | 4.94 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 83°F | 59°F | 70.9°F | 5.52 | 13 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 62°F | 73.8°F | 4.99 | 13 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 61°F | 73.1°F | 4.13 | 10 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 79°F | 57°F | 68.0°F | 3.59 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 46°F | 57.7°F | 2.90 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 36°F | 47.5°F | 4.23 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 31°F | 40.7°F | 5.50 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 45°F | 56.8°F | 56.13 | 133 | 35 | 82 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 137 mm |
| February | 11°C | 0°C | 5.3°C | 121 mm |
| March | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 138 mm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 120 mm |
| May | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 125 mm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.6°C | 140 mm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 127 mm |
| August | 29°C | 16°C | 22.8°C | 105 mm |
| September | 26°C | 14°C | 20.0°C | 91 mm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 74 mm |
| November | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 107 mm |
| December | 10°C | 0°C | 4.8°C | 140 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Townsend (14 miles away), gets 9 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00318492; 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 Tapoco?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00318492.
When is the last frost at Tapoco?
In Tapoco, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 17 in half of years and after May 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 27 in half of years and before October 13 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 171 year in 10 after May 4; 9 in 10 after March 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 271 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 193 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 218 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tapoco in zone 7a in ZIP code 28771, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (18 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00318492; 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 Tapoco?
In a normal year in Tapoco, 35 days a year reach 90°F, 82 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 133 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 82a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 133a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1929) is 105°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −14°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1989, with 77.58 in; the snowiest season is 1941–42, with 20.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00318492; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00318492. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Tapoco?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Tapoco, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 69% | 4.1 |
| April | 73% | 5.3 |
| May | 74% | 5.8 |
| June | 76% | 6.1 |
| July | 75% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.7 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 68% | 2.2 |
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 Tapoco record?
A normal year at Tapoco brings 3,920 heating degree days, 27% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 943 cooling degree days, 4% 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 3,791 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 832 | 0 |
| February | 659 | 0 |
| March | 513 | 1 |
| April | 254 | 15 |
| May | 92 | 70 |
| June | 10 | 185 |
| July | 1 | 275 |
| August | 2 | 251 |
| September | 33 | 121 |
| October | 247 | 22 |
| November | 526 | 2 |
| December | 753 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,920 | 943 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00318492. 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.
How does Tapoco's climate compare?
Tapoco is warmer than 28 of the 131 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 98. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.8°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tapoco 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 Tapoco share this climate record?
4 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.
- Vonore, TN1,684 people · 20 mi NW
- Greenback, TN1,224 people · 19 mi NW
- Kahite, TN697 people · 19 mi NW
- Lake Santeetlah, NC41 people · 7 mi SE
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 Tapoco's climate
What is the coldest month at Tapoco?
January, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow at Tapoco?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Townsend (14 miles away), records 9 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Tapoco?
June, with 5.52 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 2.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tapoco in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tapoco in zone 7a in ZIP code 28771, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Tapoco?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 17; in one year in ten it comes after May 4. Waiting until May 4 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
- Townsend, TN14 miles from this station, 55.1°F a year
- Robbinsville, NC14 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Andrews, NC18 miles from this station, 56.8°F a year
- Tellico Plains, TN21 miles from this station, 59.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made