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Has the climate in Charleston changed?

Charleston has warmed about 2.6°F since 1971.

About 0.5°F per decade, measured from Charleston's official daily weather records, 1971–2025. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Charleston's warming is broadly in line with other cities in United States — neither unusually fast nor unusually slow.

What has actually changed

Each card compares the 1970s (the first ten years of the record) with recent years (the last ten) — the same span the headline and the chart use.

Freezing nights
8 fewer nights
1970s
100 / yr
Recent
92 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+1.7°F
1970s
55.1°F
Recent
56.7°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
7 more days
1970s
21 / yr
Recent
28 / yr
More days of serious heat
Rainy days
6 fewer days
1970s
156 / yr
Recent
150 / yr
Drier on average

Charleston's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2025.

52°54°56°58°60°1971: 55.2°F1972: 54.5°F1973: 56.1°F1974: 55.4°F1975: 55.3°F1976: 53.5°F1977: 54.6°F1978: 53.8°F1979: 54.1°F1980: 54.0°F1981: 54.1°F1982: 55.7°F1983: 55.4°F1984: 56.1°F1985: 56.7°F1986: 56.4°F1987: 56.1°F1988: 54.8°F1989: 54.5°F1990: 58.4°F1991: 58.2°F1992: 55.2°F1993: 55.8°F1994: 55.6°F1995: 54.6°F1996: 53.8°F1997: 54.2°F1998: 57.0°F1999: 56.3°F2000: 54.8°F2001: 55.9°F2002: 56.6°F2003: 54.6°F2004: 56.3°F2005: 56.4°F2006: 56.7°F2007: 57.5°F2008: 55.5°F2009: 55.3°F2010: 55.8°F2011: 57.4°F2012: 57.9°F2013: 55.4°F2014: 54.4°F2015: 56.8°F2016: 57.7°F2017: 57.5°F2018: 56.9°F2019: 57.9°F2020: 57.4°F2021: 56.8°F2022: 55.8°F2023: 57.3°F2024: 59.0°F2025: 56.7°Flong-term trend1971198019902000201020202025
a warmer-than-average year a cooler-than-average year

Each bar is one year. Most recent years sit above the older ones. Some recent years still came in cool — warming is a slope, not a straight climb.

In day-to-day terms, that long-term shift shows up as about 3 fewer freezing nights a year and about 4 more days above 90°F compared with the 1970s.

When in the year the change shows up

How much warmer each month is now than in the 1970s. Useful if you garden or care about a particular season — otherwise the headline above already has the answer.

0.0°+0.5°+1.0°+1.5°+2.0°January: +1.6°F+1.6JFebruary: +1.1°F+1.1FMarch: +0.2°F+0.2MApril: +1.7°F+1.7AMay: +1.1°F+1.1MJune: +1.1°F+1.1JJuly: +0.5°F+0.5JAugust: +0.7°F+0.7ASeptember: +1.1°F+1.1SOctober: +1.1°F+1.1ONovember: +0.0°F+0.0NDecember: +1.0°F+1.0D

April has warmed the most — about 1.7°F. The warming runs across the whole year, not just one season.

Methodology & sources

Temperature — 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 →