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Durham, North Carolina climate

Cfa Humid subtropical

Durham has a seasonal mild-temperate climate (Humid subtropical, Köppen Cfa). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 91°F, while the coldest is January averaging around 32°F at night. Precipitation is fairly even year-round, totalling about 49 inches. Snow is occasional (4 inches of snow per year on average).

☀️ Summers

Hot

Highs near 91°F in July.

About 47 days a year above 90 °F

❄️ Winters

Cold

Lows near 32°F in January.

About 55 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain & snow

Wet

About 49 in of rain a year, plus 4 in of snow.

Snow falls through the winter months

⛅ Sky & trend

Partly cloudy

A roughly even mix of sun and cloud.

+1.2 °F vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Clear vs cloudy days

Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day counts

Durham climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	52	55	63	72	80	87	91	89	82	73	62	55
Avg temp (°F)	42	44	51	61	69	77	80	79	73	62	52	45
Avg low (°F)	32	33	40	49	58	66	70	69	63	51	41	35
Precipitation (in)	3.7	2.9	4.2	3.6	4.0	4.9	4.7	4.7	5.7	3.9	3.5	3.7
Snowfall (in)	2.5	0.8	0.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.1	1.0

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°F)	52	55	63	72	80	87
Avg temp (°F)	42	44	51	61	69	77
Avg low (°F)	32	33	40	49	58	66
Precipitation (in)	3.7	2.9	4.2	3.6	4.0	4.9
Snowfall (in)	2.5	0.8	0.1	—	—	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	91	89	82	73	62	55
Avg temp (°F)	80	79	73	62	52	45
Avg low (°F)	70	69	63	51	41	35
Precipitation (in)	4.7	4.7	5.7	3.9	3.5	3.7
Snowfall (in)	—	—	—	—	0.1	1.0

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	8	7	8	7	8	8	9	8	7	6	6	8
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	—	—	0.4	3	10	18	13	3	0.1	—	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	17	13	7	0.6	0.0	—	0.0	—	—	0.2	5	12
Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days)	0.7	0.3	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0	0.2

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	8	7	8	7	8	8
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	—	—	0.4	3	10
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	17	13	7	0.6	0.0	—
Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days)	0.7	0.3	0.0	—	—	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	9	8	7	6	6	8
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	18	13	3	0.1	—	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	0.0	—	—	0.2	5	12
Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days)	—	—	—	—	0.0	0.2

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	57	59	57	54	56	57	57	56	53	46	50	56
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	9	7	8	9	8	6	6	7	9	13	11	8
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	9	10	10	10	11	12	14	13	10	8	8	10
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	14	12	13	11	12	12	12	11	11	10	11	13
Relative humidity (%)	82	80	78	76	75	72	70	73	75	76	77	81
Wind speed (mph)	1.2	1.3	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.9

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	57	59	57	54	56	57
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	9	7	8	9	8	6
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	9	10	10	10	11	12
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	14	12	13	11	12	12
Relative humidity (%)	82	80	78	76	75	72
Wind speed (mph)	1.2	1.3	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.6

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	57	56	53	46	50	56
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	6	7	9	13	11	8
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	14	13	10	8	8	10
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	12	11	11	10	11	13
Relative humidity (%)	70	73	75	76	77	81
Wind speed (mph)	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.7	0.8	0.9

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Raleigh State Univ (NOAA GHCN station USC00317079), about 29 km from the city centre.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →