Memphis climate
Memphis is warmest in July, with average highs of 32 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 1.2 °C. December is the wettest month (129 mm) and August the driest (72 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Memphis averages 1,232 mm of rain, 160 days above 25 °C and 41 days below freezing.
United States · 78 m elevation · population 633,104 · 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 32 °C
- Coldest month January 1.2 °C
- Driest month August 72 mm
- Wettest month December 129 mm
- Least cloud September 41 % cloud
- Hottest on record August 41 °C
- Coldest on record January -18 °C
What to expectMemphis through the year
Memphis has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 9.9 °C in January to 32 °C in July, a swing of 23 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 160 days a year reach 25 °C, 85 of them reach 30 °C, 41 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in August.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 72 mm in August to 129 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.9 °C | 98 mm | 58 % |
| February | 12.5 °C | 105 mm | 61 % |
| March | 17.0 °C | 129 mm | 59 % |
| April | 22.1 °C | 123 mm | 53 % |
| May | 26.5 °C | 118 mm | 56 % |
| June | 30.6 °C | 89 mm | 50 % |
| July | 32.2 °C | 88 mm | 50 % |
| August | 32.0 °C | 72 mm | 45 % |
| September | 29.0 °C | 75 mm | 41 % |
| October | 23.0 °C | 103 mm | 43 % |
| November | 16.1 °C | 100 mm | 51 % |
| December | 11.3 °C | 129 mm | 58 % |
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 | 1.2 °C | 4.8 °C | 23.3 °C | -18.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| February | 12.5 °C | 2.7 °C | 6.9 °C | 24.3 °C | -14.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| March | 17.0 °C | 6.8 °C | 11.3 °C | 27.7 °C | -9.3 °C | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| April | 22.1 °C | 11.7 °C | 16.4 °C | 32.6 °C | -1.3 °C | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 26.5 °C | 16.6 °C | 21.3 °C | 35.0 °C | 2.2 °C | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| June | 30.6 °C | 21.0 °C | 25.6 °C | 39.7 °C | 11.4 °C | 29 | 18 | 0 |
| July | 32.2 °C | 23.2 °C | 27.5 °C | 39.6 °C | 15.5 °C | 31 | 25 | 0 |
| August | 32.0 °C | 22.7 °C | 27.1 °C | 40.9 °C | 13.1 °C | 31 | 23 | 0 |
| September | 29.0 °C | 19.0 °C | 23.7 °C | 36.7 °C | 8.5 °C | 26 | 12 | 0 |
| October | 23.0 °C | 13.0 °C | 17.5 °C | 34.2 °C | -0.1 °C | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| November | 16.1 °C | 7.0 °C | 11.0 °C | 28.8 °C | -7.5 °C | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| December | 11.3 °C | 2.9 °C | 6.4 °C | 24.7 °C | -11.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 11 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 98 mm | 9 | 10 h/day | 58 % | 71 % | 18 km/h |
| February | 105 mm | 10 | 11 h/day | 61 % | 71 % | 18 km/h |
| March | 129 mm | 11 | 12 h/day | 59 % | 70 % | 19 km/h |
| April | 123 mm | 10 | 13 h/day | 53 % | 69 % | 19 km/h |
| May | 118 mm | 11 | 14 h/day | 56 % | 72 % | 17 km/h |
| June | 89 mm | 10 | 15 h/day | 50 % | 71 % | 14 km/h |
| July | 88 mm | 11 | 14 h/day | 50 % | 72 % | 13 km/h |
| August | 72 mm | 9 | 13 h/day | 45 % | 69 % | 12 km/h |
| September | 75 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 41 % | 67 % | 13 km/h |
| October | 103 mm | 8 | 11 h/day | 43 % | 67 % | 15 km/h |
| November | 100 mm | 9 | 10 h/day | 51 % | 71 % | 17 km/h |
| December | 129 mm | 10 | 9.8 h/day | 58 % | 74 % | 17 km/h |
Where Memphis ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in North America in October | 33rd of 50 | 93/100 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Memphis.
QuestionsCommon questions about Memphis’s climate
When is the best time to visit Memphis?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. April, May, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and August the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Memphis get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 32 °C. About 85 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 1.2 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 41 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Memphis?
December, averaging 129 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is August with 72 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,232 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 Memphis 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
- 35.150°, -90.049° , 78 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- 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.