Charlotte, NC climate: monthly averages and frost dates
Charlotte, NC has cool winters and hot summers by this site's scale, with wet annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00013881 (CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AP), 7 mi (11 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 90.3°F
- July
- Coldest month mean
- 42.1°F
- January
- Precipitation
- 43.6 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 3.5 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- March 30
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- November 3
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in Charlotte
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52.3 | 31.8 | 42.1 | 3.49 | 1.6 | 10.3 | 0.0 | 16.6 |
| February | 56.6 | 34.9 | 45.7 | 3.13 | 1.1 | 9.7 | 0.0 | 12.0 |
| March | 64.2 | 41.2 | 52.7 | 3.95 | 0.3 | 10.2 | 0.0 | 6.3 |
| April | 73.2 | 49.1 | 61.1 | 3.84 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| May | 80.1 | 58.0 | 69.0 | 3.36 | 0.0 | 9.5 | 2.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 86.9 | 66.2 | 76.6 | 3.99 | 0.0 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 0.0 |
| July | 90.3 | 69.9 | 80.1 | 3.74 | 0.0 | 10.5 | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 88.6 | 68.7 | 78.6 | 4.35 | 0.0 | 10.1 | 13.5 | 0.0 |
| September | 82.8 | 62.6 | 72.7 | 3.71 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 5.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 73.3 | 50.4 | 61.9 | 3.16 | 0.0 | 7.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
| November | 62.9 | 39.8 | 51.4 | 3.31 | 0.1 | 8.1 | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| December | 54.9 | 34.5 | 44.7 | 3.57 | 0.4 | 9.6 | 0.0 | 14.4 |
| Year | 72.2 | 50.6 | 61.4 | 43.60 | 3.5 | 112.4 | 49.2 | 58.3 |
How cold is winter in Charlotte?
Winters in Charlotte are cool by this site's scale (coldest-month mean 32 to under 45°F). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 42.1°F (5.6°C), a normal daily high of 52.3°F (11.3°C) and a normal daily low of 31.8°F (−0.1°C).
The station averages 58.3 nights a year at or below 32°F and 1.1 days when the high stays at or below 32°F.
The normal daily low is at or below freezing in January.
How hot is summer in Charlotte?
Summers in Charlotte are hot by this site's scale (hottest-month high 90 to under 100°F). July has the highest normal daily high, 90.3°F (32.4°C), with nights averaging 69.9°F (21.1°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 49.2 days in a normal year.
The normal daily high itself is 90°F or above in July.
What is the wettest month in Charlotte?
Charlotte gets 43.60 in (1107 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as wet (40 to under 60 in a year). The wettest month is August with 4.35 in (110 mm); the driest is February with 3.13 in (80 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 112.4 days a year.
Does it snow in Charlotte?
Normal annual snowfall in Charlotte is 3.5 in (9 cm), which this site classes as light (1 to under 12 in a year).
January is the snowiest month, with 1.6 in (4 cm).
A day with 1.0 in or more of snowfall comes 1.0 times a year on average.
Which months are mild in Charlotte?
4 months in Charlotte meet this site's comfort thresholds (normal high 65–85°F, low 45°F or higher, fewer than 10 days with 0.10 in or more of precipitation): April, May, September and October.
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in Charlotte
In Charlotte the median last spring night at or below 32°F is March 30, and the median first autumn one is November 3 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 221 days. NOAA takes that median over each year's own season, so it need not equal the 218 days between the two median dates.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after April 14, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by October 22.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after March 12 is 90%.
For a hard freeze (28°F or lower) the median dates are March 17 in spring and November 14 in autumn.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | April 14 | October 22 | 244 |
| 20% | April 9 | October 27 | 236 |
| 30% | April 5 | October 30 | 231 |
| 40% | April 2 | November 1 | 226 |
| 50% | March 30 | November 3 | 221 |
| 60% | March 27 | November 5 | 217 |
| 70% | March 23 | November 8 | 212 |
| 80% | March 18 | November 12 | 207 |
| 90% | March 12 | November 17 | 201 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | April 11 | October 27 | 200 |
| 32°F | March 30 | November 3 | 221 |
| 28°F | March 17 | November 14 | 245 |
| 24°F | March 2 | November 29 | 274 |
| 20°F | February 13 | December 20 | 306 |
| 16°F | January 28 | January 5 | 339 |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 99% | 95% | 44% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 36% | 99% | 99% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to Charlotte by station distance are Asheville, NC at 90 mi (145 km), Atlanta, GA at 227 mi (366 km) and Nashville, TN at 328 mi (527 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of Charlotte's (winter: cool, summer: hot, precipitation: wet), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA and Asheville, NC.
Compared with Asheville, NC, Charlotte's peak-month normal high is 5.0°F (2.8°C) higher, its coldest-month mean is 3.4°F (1.9°C) higher, and its annual precipitation is 5.99 in less.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte, NC | this page | – | 42.1 | 90.3 | 43.6 | 3.5 | March 30 |
| Asheville, NC | nearby, similar | 90 mi (145 km) | 38.7 | 85.3 | 49.6 | 10.3 | April 9 |
| Atlanta, GA | nearby | 227 mi (366 km) | 44.8 | 90.1 | 50.4 | 2.2 | March 15 |
| Nashville, TN | nearby | 328 mi (527 km) | 39.6 | 90.9 | 50.5 | 4.7 | March 31 |
| Washington, DC | similar | 331 mi (532 km) | 37.5 | 89.6 | 41.8 | 13.7 | March 24 |
| Philadelphia, PA | similar | 448 mi (722 km) | 33.7 | 87.8 | 44.1 | 23.1 | April 2 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for Charlotte come from NOAA station CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AP, NC US (USW00013881) at 35.2236, -80.9553, elevation 728 ft (222 m). It lies 7 mi (11 km) in a straight line from the center point of Charlotte city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 27 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- S: Standard: meets WMO standards for data availability for 24 or more years.
Cite the data as:
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00013881 (CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AP, NC US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00013881 (CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS AP, NC US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Files used: monthly normals CSV, annual/seasonal normals CSV (retrieved 2026-10-09). The values on this page as JSON: /us/nc/charlotte/data.json.