North Carolina

Hatteras, North Carolina Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Cape Hatteras AP, 6.4 km from Hatteras

The warmest month is July, with an average high of 87°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of 41°F. A normal year brings 61.2 in of precipitation and 1.7 in of snow.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Hatteras_(Asos) (HSE), since 1957. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Hatteras through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.020406080100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 25

Normal high
81°F
Normal low
69°F
Record high
91°Fin 1986
Record low
47°Fin 1990
Chance of a wet day
36%
Daylight
12 h 02 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysSnowfallFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January55°F41°F75°F (1985)6°F (1985)4.91 in10.91.4 in7.15281
February57°F42°F76°F (1971)12°F (2015)4.34 in10.50.2 in4.74471
March61°F46°F81°F (1990)19°F (1967)4.43 in10.70.0 in1.73547
April69°F54°F89°F (1985)26°F (1964)3.92 in8.90.0 in0.014345
May77°F63°F91°F (1991)39°F (1971)4.37 in9.10.0 in0.026172
June84°F71°F95°F (2025)44°F (1966)4.41 in10.10.0 in0.01375
July87°F75°F96°F (1992)54°F (1972)5.39 in11.50.0 in0.00505
August87°F74°F94°F (1968)56°F (1979)6.73 in11.80.0 in0.00487
September83°F71°F93°F (2018)45°F (1970)7.63 in11.20.0 in0.01358
October75°F61°F92°F (2018)32°F (1979)5.59 in9.50.0 in0.046144
November66°F52°F81°F (1971)22°F (1967)4.76 in9.80.0 in0.421626
December59°F45°F78°F (1991)12°F (1983)4.73 in11.20.1 in2.84066
Year72°F58°F61.21 in1251.7 in172,1682,127

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

61.2 in in a normal year, most in September.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Hatteras, in percent, and of at least 0.1 inch of snowfall.010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day
  • Chance of snowfall

Snow

NOAA 1991-2020 snowfall normals for Ocracoke, 29.7 km away; Cape Hatteras AP keeps no snowfall normals.

1.7 in of snow in a normal year.

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Cape Hatteras AP. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

The last spring freeze typically comes around March 4 and the first fall freeze around December 22, a growing season of about 290 days.

Median at 36°F
last March 19, first December 2
Median at 32°F
last March 4, first December 22
Median at 28°F
last February 12, first January 8

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Hatteras.

The muggiest month is July, when 97 percent of days are muggy or worse, with a mean dew point of 65°F or more.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January49°F80%73%15%10%2%0%0%
February49°F79%76%14%8%2%0%0%
March52°F77%63%18%15%3%0%0%
April57°F78%38%21%27%14%1%0%
May64°F80%9%18%23%32%16%0%
June71°F81%0%3%9%24%45%18%
July74°F81%0%0%3%9%37%51%
August73°F79%0%0%3%15%43%39%
September70°F78%0%4%12%27%44%13%
October63°F75%16%20%24%26%13%1%
November56°F76%46%20%20%12%2%0%
December53°F79%62%18%15%5%1%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is October, with the sky 54 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is January, at 77 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is January, averaging 18.3 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is Jun 20, with 14 h 33 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 16, with 9 h 47 min.

Hours of daylight at Hatteras through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How Dare County is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in Dare County: 81.0°F (+2.2 °F against 1991-2020), the 5th warmest in 132 years on record.

August 2026 in Dare County: 3.74 in (-2.13 in against 1991-2020), the 32nd driest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Dare County: 63.2°F (+0.3 °F against 1991-2020), the 32nd warmest in 132 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Dare County: 31.57 in (-2.80 in against 1991-2020), the 36th driest in 132 years on record.

Warmest August
83.3°F in 1900
Coolest August
75.2°F in 1927
Wettest August
16.18 in in 1986
Driest August
1.14 in in 1930

Every year since 1895

Each year's average temperature in Dare County against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1895 to 2025.-4-20+2+41900192019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

North Carolina climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Hatteras in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1957. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Nearby

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USW00093729 (Cape Hatteras AP), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USW00093729, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-25. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.