Cary climate

Name: Cary
Address: US

Cary is warmest in July, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 1.3 °C. September is the wettest month (123 mm) and February the driest (78 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Cary averages 1,166 mm of rain, 140 days above 25 °C and 39 days below freezing.

United States · 152 m elevation · population 159,769 · 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 July 31 °C
Coldest month January 1.3 °C
Driest month February 78 mm
Wettest month September 123 mm
Least cloud October 46 % cloud
Hottest on record July 41 °C
Coldest on record January -15 °C

What to expectCary through the year

Cary has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 9.9 °C in January to 31 °C in July, a swing of 21 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 140 days a year reach 25 °C, 58 of them reach 30 °C, 39 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 78 mm in February to 123 mm in September. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	9.9 °C	92 mm	54 %
February	12.0 °C	78 mm	57 %
March	16.1 °C	104 mm	54 %
April	21.4 °C	90 mm	52 %
May	25.5 °C	90 mm	56 %
June	29.4 °C	106 mm	58 %
July	31.1 °C	113 mm	58 %
August	29.9 °C	111 mm	56 %
September	26.7 °C	123 mm	54 %
October	21.4 °C	81 mm	46 %
November	15.8 °C	88 mm	48 %
December	11.4 °C	89 mm	55 %

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	9.9 °C	1.3 °C	4.9 °C	23.4 °C	-15.4 °C	0	0	14
February	12.0 °C	2.3 °C	6.5 °C	26.0 °C	-13.8 °C	0	0	9
March	16.1 °C	5.7 °C	10.3 °C	29.2 °C	-8.4 °C	1	0	4
April	21.4 °C	10.6 °C	15.5 °C	31.5 °C	-1.4 °C	7	0	0
May	25.5 °C	15.3 °C	20.0 °C	36.0 °C	4.4 °C	18	4	0
June	29.4 °C	19.8 °C	24.2 °C	40.3 °C	10.0 °C	27	13	0
July	31.1 °C	22.0 °C	26.1 °C	40.6 °C	16.1 °C	30	20	0
August	29.9 °C	21.2 °C	25.1 °C	38.9 °C	14.3 °C	30	14	0
September	26.7 °C	18.3 °C	22.1 °C	35.8 °C	8.8 °C	21	6	0
October	21.4 °C	12.3 °C	16.4 °C	35.5 °C	1.3 °C	6	0	0
November	15.8 °C	6.7 °C	10.7 °C	26.7 °C	-5.6 °C	0	0	2
December	11.4 °C	3.2 °C	6.7 °C	24.1 °C	-8.8 °C	0	0	9

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	92 mm	9	10 h/day	54 %	69 %	16 km/h
February	78 mm	9	11 h/day	57 %	68 %	17 km/h
March	104 mm	10	12 h/day	54 %	66 %	18 km/h
April	90 mm	9	13 h/day	52 %	64 %	18 km/h
May	90 mm	11	14 h/day	56 %	68 %	15 km/h
June	106 mm	12	15 h/day	58 %	71 %	13 km/h
July	113 mm	16	14 h/day	58 %	73 %	12 km/h
August	111 mm	13	14 h/day	56 %	75 %	12 km/h
September	123 mm	10	12 h/day	54 %	74 %	13 km/h
October	81 mm	7	11 h/day	46 %	72 %	14 km/h
November	88 mm	8	10 h/day	48 %	70 %	15 km/h
December	89 mm	9	9.8 h/day	55 %	72 %	16 km/h

How Cary 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
Cary	31 °C	1.3 °C	1,166 mm	140
Raleigh · United States	31 °C	1.5 °C	1,163 mm	144
Durham · United States	32 °C	0.6 °C	1,130 mm	143
Fayetteville · United States	32 °C	2.5 °C	1,177 mm	157
Greensboro · United States	31 °C	-0.08 °C	1,112 mm	134
Charlotte · United States	32 °C	1.0 °C	1,087 mm	146

Where Cary ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in North America in April	40th of 50	89/100
Places with the best weather in North America in October	47th of 50	92/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Cary.

QuestionsCommon questions about Cary’s climate

When is the best time to visit Cary?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, September, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Cary get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 58 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 1.3 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 39 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Cary?

September, averaging 123 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is February with 78 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,166 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 Cary 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
Data point: 35.792°, -78.781° , 152 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

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.