Wilmington, North Carolina climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Wilmington's normal year runs from 36°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 60.1 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.9 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.0°C, January lows of 2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,528 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWilmington Int'l Airport
- Station IDUSW00013748
- Location34.27°N 77.90°W
- Elevation33 ft (10 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population125,284
On October 22, the normal high in Wilmington is 74°F and the normal low 53°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Wilmington.
- Jan 57° 36°
- Feb 60° 38°
- Mar 67° 44°
- Apr 75° 53°
- May 81° 61°
- Jun 87° 69°
- Jul 90° 73°
- Aug 88° 72°
- Sep 84° 67°
- Oct 76° 56°
- Nov 67° 45°
- Dec 60° 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 in Wilmington 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 (8.69 in), the least in April (3.07 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57°F | 36°F | 46.8°F | 3.81 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 60°F | 38°F | 49.3°F | 3.47 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 3.97 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 75°F | 53°F | 63.6°F | 3.07 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 81°F | 61°F | 71.1°F | 4.54 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 69°F | 78.2°F | 5.67 | 11 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 73°F | 81.5°F | 6.86 | 13 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 88°F | 72°F | 80.0°F | 8.16 | 14 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 67°F | 75.3°F | 8.69 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 56°F | 65.9°F | 4.66 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 67°F | 45°F | 56.1°F | 3.56 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 60°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 3.69 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 54°F | 64.4°F | 60.15 | 122 | 45 | 37 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 97 mm |
| February | 16°C | 4°C | 9.6°C | 88 mm |
| March | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 101 mm |
| April | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 78 mm |
| May | 27°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 115 mm |
| June | 31°C | 21°C | 25.7°C | 144 mm |
| July | 32°C | 23°C | 27.5°C | 174 mm |
| August | 31°C | 22°C | 26.7°C | 207 mm |
| September | 29°C | 19°C | 24.1°C | 221 mm |
| October | 24°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 118 mm |
| November | 20°C | 7°C | 13.4°C | 90 mm |
| December | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 94 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013748; 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 Wilmington?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September, October and November. Of those, April 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 USW00013748.
When is the last frost in Wilmington?
In Wilmington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 19 in half of years and after April 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before November 5 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 191 year in 10 after April 4; 9 in 10 after February 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before November 5; 9 in 10 before December 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 247 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 278 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 2 in half of springs and before December 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wilmington in zone 8b across its 5 ZIP code areas (8b in 28403, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Wilmington's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 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 USW00013748; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Wilmington ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Wilmington's 5 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Wilmington?
In a normal year in Wilmington, 45 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 37 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 122 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 45a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 37a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 122a normal year
The highest temperature in Wilmington's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1874) is 104°F, on June 27, 1952; the lowest is 0°F, on December 25, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 102.40 in; the snowiest season is 1989–90, with 15.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013748; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ILMthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Wilmington?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Wilmington, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (73%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 176th (with 33 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.7 |
| February | 74% | 3.4 |
| March | 76% | 4.5 |
| April | 81% | 5.8 |
| May | 82% | 6.3 |
| June | 82% | 6.5 |
| July | 83% | 6.3 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 77% | 4.7 |
| October | 79% | 3.9 |
| November | 78% | 3.0 |
| December | 73% | 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 much heating and cooling does Wilmington need?
A normal year in Wilmington brings 2,326 heating degree days, 57% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,133 cooling degree days, 2.4 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,793 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 568 | 3 |
| February | 443 | 5 |
| March | 320 | 19 |
| April | 118 | 76 |
| May | 21 | 210 |
| June | 1 | 396 |
| July | 0 | 511 |
| August | 0 | 465 |
| September | 3 | 312 |
| October | 82 | 108 |
| November | 289 | 22 |
| December | 481 | 7 |
| Year (annual) | 2,326 | 2,133 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013748. 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 Wilmington been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 64.3°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 64.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65.7°F | +1.3°F | 61.49 |
| 2022 | 65.8°F | +1.3°F | 41.34 |
| 2023 | 66.3°F | +1.9°F | 58.92 |
| 2024 | 66.0°F | +1.6°F | 52.64 |
| 2025 | 64.3°F | −0.2°F | 46.04 |
Over 70 complete years from 1953 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.6°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013748; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Wilmington's climate compare?
Wilmington is warmer than 128 of the other 130 places with their own NOAA record in North Carolina, and wetter than 115. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.4°F is warmer than 86%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Wilmington 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 Wilmington share this climate record?
16 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.
- Leland, NC34,451 people · 9 mi SW
- Murraysville, NC17,307 people · 4 mi NE
- Hampstead, NC9,129 people · 11 mi NE
- Kings Grant, NC9,061 people · 2 mi E
- Ogden, NC8,363 people · 6 mi E
- Porters Neck, NC7,102 people · 8 mi E
- Northchase, NC5,879 people · 3 mi NE
- Wrightsboro, NC5,434 people · 2 mi NW
- Skippers Corner, NC3,834 people · 4 mi N
- Belville, NC3,255 people · 7 mi SW
- Bayshore, NC2,870 people · 6 mi E
- Navassa, NC1,776 people · 8 mi W
- Rocky Point, NC1,045 people · 12 mi N
- Castle Hayne, NC978 people · 6 mi N
- Hightsville, NC707 people · 2 mi W
- Blue Clay Farms, NC179 people · 2 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.
What do Wilmington's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Wilmington. This page uses Wilmington Int'l Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington (7 mi N) USC00319467 | 8 mi N | 40 ft | 62.4°F | 33°F | 89°F | 63.5 | 0 | March 29 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Wilmington's climate
What is the coldest month in Wilmington?
January, with a normal high of 57°F and a normal low of 36°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 73°F at night).
Does it snow in Wilmington?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.9 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Wilmington?
September, with 8.69 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 3.07 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Wilmington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Wilmington in zone 8b across its 5 ZIP code areas (8b in 28403, the largest). By the same method at Wilmington's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Wilmington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 19; in one year in ten it comes after April 4. Waiting until April 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Wilmington in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- North Carolina climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Myrtle Grove, NC9 miles from this station, 64.1°F a year
- Moores Creek National Battlefield, NC18 miles from this station, 62.7°F a year
- Southport, NC20 miles from this station, 65.0°F a year
- Surf City, NC22 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made