Washington, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Washington's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 53.0 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.6°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,345 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWashington Wastewater Treatment Plant (4 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00319100
- Location35.55°N 77.07°W
- Elevation10 ft (3 m)
- Population9,738
On October 14, the normal high in Washington is 74°F and the normal low 55°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Washington.
- Jan 53° 34°
- Feb 56° 35°
- Mar 63° 41°
- Apr 72° 50°
- May 79° 60°
- Jun 85° 67°
- Jul 89° 72°
- Aug 87° 70°
- Sep 82° 65°
- Oct 74° 54°
- Nov 64° 42°
- Dec 56° 36°
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 Washington each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in September (6.60 in), the least in November (3.27 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53°F | 34°F | 43.2°F | 3.91 | 0.4 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 3.45 | 0.1 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 41°F | 52.1°F | 4.22 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 50°F | 61.2°F | 3.43 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 79°F | 60°F | 69.2°F | 4.75 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 67°F | 76.3°F | 4.91 | 0.0 | 9 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 89°F | 72°F | 80.2°F | 5.35 | 0.0 | 11 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 87°F | 70°F | 78.6°F | 5.70 | 0.0 | 11 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 65°F | 73.6°F | 6.60 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 54°F | 63.7°F | 3.76 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 42°F | 52.8°F | 3.27 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 56°F | 36°F | 46.2°F | 3.61 | 0.7 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 52°F | 61.9°F | 52.96 | 1.2 | 105 | 39 | 47 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 1°C | 6.2°C | 99 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| March | 17°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 22°C | 10°C | 16.2°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 26°C | 15°C | 20.7°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 20°C | 24.6°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 22°C | 26.8°C | 136 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 21°C | 25.9°C | 145 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 19°C | 23.1°C | 168 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 12°C | 17.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 6°C | 11.6°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 92 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00319100; 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 Washington?
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 USC00319100.
When is the last frost in Washington?
In Washington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 22 in half of years and after April 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 15 in half of years and before November 3 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 7; 9 in 10 after March 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 151 year in 10 before November 3; 9 in 10 before December 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 237 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 265 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 8 in half of springs and before November 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Washington in zone 8b in ZIP code 27889, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Washington's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in North Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00319100; 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 in Washington?
In a normal year in Washington, 39 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 47 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 105 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 39a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 47a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 105a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 107°F, on August 15, 1900; the lowest is −1°F, on January 7, 2018.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2016, with 71.90 in; the snowiest season is 1979–80, with 34.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00319100; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00319100. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Washington?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Washington, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.6 |
| February | 73% | 3.3 |
| March | 74% | 4.3 |
| April | 78% | 5.6 |
| May | 78% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.6 |
| 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 much heating and cooling does Washington need?
A normal year in Washington brings 2,913 heating degree days, 46% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,813 cooling degree days, 100% 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 5,166 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 677 | 0 |
| February | 544 | 2 |
| March | 412 | 10 |
| April | 165 | 51 |
| May | 33 | 165 |
| June | 2 | 341 |
| July | 0 | 471 |
| August | 0 | 423 |
| September | 5 | 263 |
| October | 117 | 77 |
| November | 374 | 8 |
| December | 585 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 2,913 | 1,813 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00319100. 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 Washington been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 63.3°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 61.9°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63.8°F | +1.9°F | 53.00 | 1.5 |
| 2022 | 63.8°F | +1.9°F | 46.65 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 64.3°F | +2.4°F | 47.89 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 64.6°F | +2.7°F | 53.85 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 63.3°F | +1.4°F | 42.29 | 4.1 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00319100. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Washington's climate compare?
Washington is warmer than 102 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 81. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.9°F is warmer than 80%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Washington 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 Washington share this climate record?
6 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.
- River Road, NC3,518 people · 6 mi SE
- Cypress Landing, NC1,037 people · 4 mi S
- Chocowinity, NC748 people · 3 mi SW
- Grimesland, NC401 people · 7 mi W
- Washington Park, NC382 people · 3 mi SE
- Pinetown, NC18 people · 13 mi E
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 Washington's climate
What is the coldest month in Washington?
January, with a normal high of 53°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 72°F at night).
Does it snow in Washington?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 0 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (0.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Washington?
September, with 6.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.27 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Washington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Washington in zone 8b in ZIP code 27889, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Washington's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 15°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Washington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 22; in one year in ten it comes after April 7. Waiting until April 7 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
- Greenville, NC19 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Aurora, NC20 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Williamston, NC21 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Belhaven, NC27 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made