Wateree Dam, South Carolina climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Wateree Dam's normal year runs from 32°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 38.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.2°C, January lows of 0°C, July highs of 33°C, 973 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWateree Dam
- Station IDUSC00388979
- Location34.33°N 80.70°W
- Elevation230 ft (70 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Wateree Dam is 75°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wateree Dam.
- Jan 56° 32°
- Feb 59° 33°
- Mar 67° 40°
- Apr 76° 49°
- May 83° 58°
- Jun 90° 67°
- Jul 92° 71°
- Aug 91° 69°
- Sep 86° 64°
- Oct 77° 51°
- Nov 67° 40°
- Dec 59° 34°
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 Wateree Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.11 in), the least in May (2.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F | 32°F | 43.9°F | 3.38 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 59°F | 33°F | 46.2°F | 2.78 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 40°F | 53.1°F | 3.25 | 7 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 76°F | 49°F | 62.3°F | 2.73 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 83°F | 58°F | 70.4°F | 2.34 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 90°F | 67°F | 78.4°F | 4.11 | 9 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 92°F | 71°F | 81.4°F | 3.37 | 9 | 25 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 69°F | 80.1°F | 3.62 | 9 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 86°F | 64°F | 74.9°F | 3.75 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 77°F | 51°F | 64.3°F | 3.07 | 6 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 67°F | 40°F | 53.6°F | 2.45 | 6 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 59°F | 34°F | 46.5°F | 3.46 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 75°F | 51°F | 62.9°F | 38.31 | 90 | 86 | 59 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 0°C | 6.6°C | 86 mm |
| February | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 71 mm |
| March | 19°C | 4°C | 11.7°C | 83 mm |
| April | 24°C | 9°C | 16.8°C | 69 mm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 59 mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 25.8°C | 104 mm |
| July | 33°C | 21°C | 27.4°C | 86 mm |
| August | 33°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 92 mm |
| September | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 95 mm |
| October | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 78 mm |
| November | 20°C | 4°C | 12.0°C | 62 mm |
| December | 15°C | 1°C | 8.1°C | 88 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00388979; 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 Wateree Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October 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 USC00388979.
When is the last frost at Wateree Dam?
In Wateree Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 23 in half of years and after April 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 14 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 231 year in 10 after April 7; 9 in 10 after March 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 141 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 237 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 263 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 11 in half of springs and before December 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wateree Dam in zone 8a in ZIP code 29020, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in South Carolina · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00388979; 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 Wateree Dam?
In a normal year in Wateree Dam, 86 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 59 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 90 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 86a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 59a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 90a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00388979.
How sunny is it at Wateree Dam?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Wateree Dam, 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 Wateree Dam record?
A normal year at Wateree Dam brings 2,759 heating degree days, 49% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,024 cooling degree days, 2.2 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 5,421 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 656 | 0 |
| February | 528 | 1 |
| March | 380 | 11 |
| April | 136 | 53 |
| May | 27 | 195 |
| June | 0 | 402 |
| July | 0 | 507 |
| August | 0 | 466 |
| September | 5 | 300 |
| October | 101 | 79 |
| November | 353 | 10 |
| December | 573 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,759 | 2,024 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00388979. 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 Wateree Dam been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 64.0°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 62.9°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63.9°F | +1.0°F | – |
| 2022 | 63.5°F | +0.6°F | 38.35 |
| 2023 | 64.0°F | +1.1°F | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00388979. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wateree Dam's climate compare?
Wateree Dam is warmer than 36 of the 73 places with their own NOAA record in South Carolina, and wetter than 0. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.9°F is warmer than 82%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wateree Dam 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 Wateree Dam 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.
- Kershaw, SC2,014 people · 16 mi NE
- Heath Springs, SC852 people · 18 mi N
- Abney Crossroads, SC209 people · 16 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 Wateree Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Wateree Dam?
January, with a normal high of 56°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow at Wateree Dam?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month at Wateree Dam?
June, with 4.11 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 2.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wateree Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wateree Dam in zone 8a in ZIP code 29020, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Wateree Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 23; 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
- South Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lugoff, SC6 miles from this station, 62.0°F a year
- Camden, SC7 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Sandhill Research - Elgin, SC17 miles from this station, 63.5°F a year
- Winnsboro, SC22 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