Climateby Month

Wilmington, NC climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 37 ft elevation

Summers in Wilmington are hot and oppressively humid; winters are cool. Highs peak at 90°F in July and fall to 57°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 14 a month. Snow is rare. The most comfortable time to visit is April.

Warmest month
90°F
July normal high
Coldest month
36°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
122
60.1 in of precipitation
Muggy days a year
117
dew point 65°F or higher

How warm is Wilmington?

Normal highs range from 57°F in January to 90°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 57°F (14°C), low 36°F (2°C) 57° 36° February: normal high 60°F (16°C), low 38°F (3°C) March: normal high 67°F (19°C), low 44°F (7°C) April: normal high 75°F (24°C), low 53°F (12°C) May: normal high 81°F (27°C), low 61°F (16°C) June: normal high 87°F (31°C), low 69°F (21°C) July: normal high 90°F (32°C), low 73°F (23°C) 90° 73° August: normal high 88°F (31°C), low 72°F (22°C) September: normal high 84°F (29°C), low 67°F (19°C) October: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 56°F (13°C) November: normal high 67°F (19°C), low 45°F (7°C) December: normal high 60°F (16°C), low 39°F (4°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Wilmington?

August has the most wet days (about 14); the year brings about 60 in of precipitation.

January: 10 wet days February: 9 wet days March: 10 wet days April: 8 wet days 8 May: 10 wet days June: 11 wet days July: 13 wet days August: 14 wet days 14 September: 11 wet days October: 8 wet days November: 9 wet days December: 10 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How humid is Wilmington?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 29 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 1 muggy days May: 10 muggy days June: 23 muggy days July: 29 muggy days 29 August: 28 muggy days September: 19 muggy days October: 6 muggy days November: 1 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Jacksonville, 44 mi NE of the city center (the nearest airport with complete hourly records).

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.9 hours in December to 14.4 hours in June.

January: 10.2 hours of daylight February: 11.0 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.1 hours of daylight May: 13.9 hours of daylight June: 14.4 hours of daylight 14.4 July: 14.2 hours of daylight August: 13.4 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.3 hours of daylight November: 10.4 hours of daylight December: 9.9 hours of daylight 9.9 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Wilmington, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 57°F36°F 3.8 in10 0.7 in 0 10.2 h
February 60°F38°F 3.5 in9 0.2 in 0 11.0 h
March 67°F44°F 4.0 in10 0.0 in 0 12.0 h
April 75°F53°F 3.1 in8 0.0 in 1 13.1 h
May 81°F61°F 4.5 in10 0.0 in 10 13.9 h
June 87°F69°F 5.7 in11 0.0 in 23 14.4 h
July 90°F73°F 6.9 in13 0.0 in 29 14.2 h
August 88°F72°F 8.2 in14 0.0 in 28 13.4 h
September 84°F67°F 8.7 in11 0.0 in 19 12.4 h
October 76°F56°F 4.7 in8 0.0 in 6 11.3 h
November 67°F45°F 3.6 in9 0.0 in 1 10.4 h
December 60°F39°F 3.7 in10 0.0 in 0 9.9 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Wilmington

By our comfort score, the best month is April.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 52863
Feb 571061
Mar 661560
Apr 741750
May 641063
Jun 481710
Jul 400917
Aug 4101012
Sep 50374
Oct 661550
Nov 641550
Dec 53961

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Wilmington

The last spring frost typically comes around Mar 19, and the first fall frost around Nov 20, leaving 247 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Wilmington
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Mar 19after Apr 4
First fall frost (32°F)Nov 20before Nov 5
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 2after Mar 23
First hard freeze (28°F)Dec 3before Nov 14
Frost-free season247 daysunder 223 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Wilmington Intl Airport (USW00013748), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in North Carolina.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 103°F (June 30, 2012); the lowest was 10°F (January 16, 1994).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Wilmington

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth and frost dates: Wilmington Intl Airport (USW00013748), 3.9 mi NE of the city center, 33 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: New River Mcaf (USW00093727), 46 mi NE of the city center, 26 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Jacksonville (723096-93727), 44 mi NE of the city center, 26 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error