How extreme does Charleston's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Charleston has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Charleston - Yeager Ap station 5 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Charleston has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

104°F Jul 16, 1988

That is about 18°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Charleston (typical high near 86°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 104°F Jul 16, 1988

2 104°F Aug 16, 2007

3 103°F Jul 15, 1988

❄️ Coldest night

-16°F Jan 19, 1994

About 42°F colder than a normal January night in Charleston (typical low near 26°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -16°F Jan 19, 1994

2 -15°F Jan 20, 1985

3 -15°F Jan 21, 1985

🌧️ Most rain in one day

4.15 in Sep 17, 2004

More rain in a single day than Charleston usually gets in the whole month of September (typical September total about 3.5 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 4.15 in Sep 17, 2004

2 3.61 in Nov 12, 2003

3 3.54 in Aug 15, 2022

⛄ Most snow in one day

17.1 in Mar 13, 1993

Close to a whole typical March's snow in one day (Charleston averages about 6 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 17.1 in Mar 13, 1993

2 15.5 in Jan 4, 1994

3 15.0 in Jan 22, 2016

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Charleston's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 104°F is about 18°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Charleston's warmest days reach the mid-80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the mid-20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 104°F and as low as −16°F. A single day has delivered over 4 inches of rain or close to 17 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Charleston - Yeager AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00013866), about 5 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

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