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Climate in North Carolina: Average Weather by City
North Carolina spans more climate variety than most states, and its city normals prove it. The warmest city we track, Charlotte, averages 61.4°F across the year, while the coolest, Asheville, averages 57.3°F — a gap of 4.1°F inside one state. Rainfall runs from 40.6 in a year in Asheville to 46.1 in in Raleigh. This page compares every North Carolina city in our dataset side by side using the same yardstick — the official NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals from each city's representative weather station — so you can pick the corner of the state that fits the weather you actually want, and the month to go see it.
North Carolina cities compared
Every North Carolina city in the dataset, ranked by yearly mean temperature. Click a city for its full month-by-month normals, season-by-season analysis, and best months to visit.
| City | Yearly Mean (°F) | Avg High | Avg Low | Rain (in/yr) | Snow (in/yr) | Warmest | Coldest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 64.4 | 74.4 | 54.4 | 60.15 | 0.9 | Jul | Jan |
| Charlotte | 61.4 | 72.2 | 50.6 | 43.60 | 3.5 | Jul | Jan |
| Raleigh | 61.2 | 72.0 | 50.4 | 46.07 | 5.2 | Jul | Jan |
| Greensboro | 59.6 | 69.8 | 49.4 | 43.95 | 7.1 | Jul | Jan |
| Asheville | 57.3 | 67.8 | 46.8 | 40.61 | 11.5 | Jul | Jan |
Charlotte is North Carolina's warm pole. Its year-round mean of 61.4°F peaks in July at 80.1°F and never drops below a 42.1°F mean in January. It collects 43.6 in of precipitation a year and 3.5 in of snow. For the full month-by-month profile, see the Charlotte climate page.
Asheville anchors the cool end. With a yearly mean of 57.3°F, a coldest month (January) averaging 38.2°F, and a warmest month that reaches only 75.3°F, it offers the state's most pronounced seasons — a swing of 37.1°F between its coldest and warmest months. Its profile is on the Asheville climate page.
Rain, snow, and when to visit
Rain is its own map. Raleigh is North Carolina's wettest tracked city at 46.1 in a year — 1.1 times the 40.6 in that Asheville, the driest, receives. For snow, Asheville leads the state at 11.5 in a year. Anyone choosing where in North Carolina to live should weigh those totals as heavily as temperature: they decide everything from flood exposure to how many grey weeks a winter holds.
When to go where: Charlotte peaks in May; Raleigh peaks in May; Asheville peaks in June. Each city's own page ranks all twelve of its months by the same comfort score — mild mean temperatures rewarded, heavy rain and snow penalized — so the recommendation is always traceable to the normals table rather than to anyone's opinion, ours included.
North Carolina climate FAQ
What is the warmest city in North Carolina?
Of the North Carolina cities in our dataset, Charlotte is warmest with a yearly mean of 61.4°F (1991–2020 normals); Asheville is coolest at 57.3°F.
What is the wettest city in North Carolina?
Raleigh averages the most precipitation, 46.07 in a year; the driest is Asheville at 40.61 in.
Where in North Carolina has the mildest climate?
By annual temperature swing, Asheville is the most even-keeled, varying just 37.1°F between its coldest and warmest months, while Raleigh swings 38.6°F.
Source: 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) — ncei.noaa.gov. One representative station per city; station names and IDs are listed on each city page. Figures checked October 2026.