Carolina climate
Carolina is warmest in August, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 21 °C. September is the wettest month (169 mm) and February the driest (40 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Carolina averages 1,200 mm of rain and 364 days above 25 °C.
Puerto Rico · 16 m elevation · population 170,404 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month August 31 °C
- Coldest month February 21 °C
- Driest month February 40 mm
- Wettest month September 169 mm
- Least cloud February 40 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 35 °C
- Coldest on record January 17 °C
- Warmest sea September 29 °C
What to expectCarolina through the year
Carolina has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 28 °C in February to 31 °C in August, a swing of 3.3 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 364 days a year reach 25 °C, 159 of them reach 30 °C. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C, in July.
Rain is strongly seasonal. September averages 169 mm against 40 mm in February — 4.3 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
The sea off Carolina is warmest in September at 29 °C and coldest in February at 26 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.7 °C | 51 mm | 42 % |
| February | 28.2 °C | 40 mm | 40 % |
| March | 28.9 °C | 55 mm | 43 % |
| April | 29.6 °C | 87 mm | 49 % |
| May | 30.0 °C | 140 mm | 65 % |
| June | 30.9 °C | 95 mm | 63 % |
| July | 31.0 °C | 106 mm | 59 % |
| August | 31.1 °C | 124 mm | 61 % |
| September | 30.9 °C | 169 mm | 67 % |
| October | 30.2 °C | 151 mm | 63 % |
| November | 28.8 °C | 124 mm | 56 % |
| December | 27.9 °C | 60 mm | 45 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.7 °C | 21.6 °C | 24.1 °C | 31.1 °C | 17.1 °C | 30 | 1 | 0 |
| February | 28.2 °C | 21.5 °C | 24.3 °C | 32.3 °C | 17.2 °C | 28 | 2 | 0 |
| March | 28.9 °C | 21.6 °C | 24.7 °C | 33.0 °C | 18.0 °C | 31 | 7 | 0 |
| April | 29.6 °C | 22.3 °C | 25.4 °C | 33.4 °C | 18.9 °C | 30 | 11 | 0 |
| May | 30.0 °C | 23.4 °C | 26.2 °C | 34.2 °C | 19.3 °C | 31 | 16 | 0 |
| June | 30.9 °C | 24.4 °C | 27.1 °C | 33.9 °C | 21.5 °C | 30 | 23 | 0 |
| July | 31.0 °C | 24.6 °C | 27.3 °C | 34.8 °C | 22.1 °C | 31 | 25 | 0 |
| August | 31.1 °C | 24.7 °C | 27.4 °C | 34.5 °C | 22.1 °C | 31 | 27 | 0 |
| September | 30.9 °C | 24.5 °C | 27.1 °C | 34.3 °C | 22.0 °C | 30 | 24 | 0 |
| October | 30.2 °C | 24.0 °C | 26.5 °C | 34.3 °C | 20.6 °C | 31 | 18 | 0 |
| November | 28.8 °C | 23.1 °C | 25.4 °C | 32.1 °C | 19.7 °C | 30 | 4 | 0 |
| December | 27.9 °C | 22.3 °C | 24.6 °C | 31.5 °C | 17.6 °C | 31 | 1 | 0 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51 mm | 15 | 11 h/day | 42 % | 79 % | 16 km/h | 26.5 °C |
| February | 40 mm | 12 | 12 h/day | 40 % | 76 % | 17 km/h | 26.1 °C |
| March | 55 mm | 14 | 12 h/day | 43 % | 74 % | 16 km/h | 26.1 °C |
| April | 87 mm | 17 | 13 h/day | 49 % | 76 % | 15 km/h | 26.6 °C |
| May | 140 mm | 21 | 13 h/day | 65 % | 79 % | 15 km/h | 27.2 °C |
| June | 95 mm | 20 | 13 h/day | 63 % | 78 % | 17 km/h | 27.9 °C |
| July | 106 mm | 21 | 13 h/day | 59 % | 78 % | 18 km/h | 28.1 °C |
| August | 124 mm | 23 | 13 h/day | 61 % | 80 % | 16 km/h | 28.6 °C |
| September | 169 mm | 24 | 12 h/day | 67 % | 82 % | 14 km/h | 28.9 °C |
| October | 151 mm | 24 | 12 h/day | 63 % | 83 % | 13 km/h | 28.9 °C |
| November | 124 mm | 21 | 11 h/day | 56 % | 84 % | 14 km/h | 28.3 °C |
| December | 60 mm | 16 | 11 h/day | 45 % | 81 % | 16 km/h | 27.3 °C |
How Carolina compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina | 31 °C | 21 °C | 1,200 mm | 364 |
| San Juan · Puerto Rico | 31 °C | 21 °C | 903 mm | 364 |
| Charlotte Amalie · U.S. Virgin Islands | 28 °C | 24 °C | 858 mm | 338 |
| Road Town · British Virgin Islands | 28 °C | 24 °C | 825 mm | 336 |
| La Romana · Dominican Republic | 32 °C | 22 °C | 673 mm | 365 |
| Gustavia · Saint Barthelemy | 28 °C | 24 °C | 757 mm | 342 |
| San Pedro de Macorís · Dominican Republic | 31 °C | 22 °C | 737 mm | 364 |
Where Carolina ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The warmest places in North America in November | 23rdof 50 | 29 °C |
| The warmest places in North America in October | 26thof 50 | 30 °C |
| The warmest places in North America in December | 32ndof 50 | 28 °C |
| The warmest places in North America in January | 34thof 50 | 28 °C |
| The warmest places in North America in February | 38thof 50 | 28 °C |
| The warmest places in North America year-round | 39thof 50 | 30 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Carolina.
QuestionsCommon questions about Carolina’s climate
When is the best time to visit Carolina?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Carolina get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 159 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average 21 °C in February, the coldest month. Freezing nights are not part of a normal year here.
Which month is wettest in Carolina?
September, averaging 169 mm over 24 days with rain. The driest month is February with 40 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,200 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Carolina rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.