Chapel Hill, NC

Climate overview — based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals from CHAPEL HILL WILLIAMS AP, NC US.

Cfa Humid subtropical climate 8b USDA hardiness Zone 8b

Year-round temperatures (°F)

30° 50° 70° 90° J F M A M J J A S O N D
Avg high Avg low

Climate summary

Chapel Hill has an annual average temperature of 60.6°F with about 43.6 inches of precipitation per year. The warmest month is July (average high 89.6°F), and the coldest is January (average low 31.7°F). September is typically the wettest month (4.41 in) and February the driest (2.75 in).

Pleasant months
1 / 12
avg high 65–80°F, low ≥ 50°F
Annual swing
38°F
warmest to coldest month
Heating need
3,039
Cooling need
1,449

Best time to visit Chapel Hill

Full guide →

Climate change signal

All-time records →

60 of 366 (16.4%) of Chapel Hill's all-time daily heat records have been set since 2015. If records were spread evenly across the station's history, only about 5% would fall in any given decade.

1990s
5
2000s
197
2010s
164

Bars: number of all-time daily heat records still standing that were set in each decade.

Monthly averages

Month Avg High Avg Low Avg Temp Precipitation Snow Rainy days
January 51.2°F 31.7°F 41.5°F 3.39 in 10
February 54.8°F 33.8°F 44.3°F 2.75 in 9
March 62.7°F 40.1°F 51.4°F 3.94 in 11
April 72.2°F 48.1°F 60.2°F 3.56 in 10
May 79.1°F 57.0°F 68.1°F 3.46 in 12
June 86.3°F 65.3°F 75.8°F 4.36 in 12
July 89.6°F 69.3°F 79.5°F 4.13 in 13
August 87.8°F 67.9°F 77.9°F 3.81 in 12
September 81.9°F 62.2°F 72.0°F 4.41 in 12
October 72.3°F 49.6°F 61.0°F 3.20 in 11
November 62.4°F 39.5°F 50.9°F 3.20 in 9
December 54.2°F 34.5°F 44.4°F 3.35 in 10

Climate twins of Chapel Hill

Why these? →

The most climatically similar US cities at least 140 miles away (by monthly temperature + precipitation pattern).

Frost dates
Last spring / first fall frost
All-time records
Hottest, coldest, wettest
Planting calendar
What to plant, and when

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