Raleigh/Durham weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · city break · humid subtropical climate
The best time to visit Raleigh/Durham is October — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 78/100), with April and May close behind. Raleigh/Durham averages about 2,515 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 22°C / 72°F and roughly 87 mm of rain in October.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,515
- Sunniest month
- October
- Peak score
- 78/100
- Rain / year
- 1,187 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈42 cm
- Midday UV at peak
- 8 (very high)
- Population
- 1.2M
- Elevation
- 124 m
When is the best time to visit Raleigh/Durham?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Raleigh/Durham is October, then April and May. The dullest month is January (7/100, 72 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Raleigh/Durham?
Raleigh/Durham gets a lot of sun: around 2,515 hours a year. 71 Sunshine Score points separate October (78) from January (7), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #198 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,279 hours. The year's 1,187 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7 | 9° / 48°F | -2° / 28°F | 72 mm | 2 |
| February | 20 | 11° / 52°F | -1° / 30°F | 74 mm | 3 |
| March | 51 | 16° / 61°F | 3° / 37°F | 96 mm | 5 |
| April | 77 | 22° / 72°F | 9° / 48°F | 91 mm | 7 |
| May | 76 | 26° / 79°F | 14° / 57°F | 99 mm | 7 |
| June | 72 | 31° / 88°F | 19° / 66°F | 118 mm | 8 |
| July | 64 | 33° / 91°F | 21° / 70°F | 122 mm | 8 |
| August | 70 | 32° / 90°F | 20° / 68°F | 127 mm | 7 |
| September | 72 | 28° / 82°F | 16° / 61°F | 119 mm | 6 |
| October | 78 | 22° / 72°F | 10° / 50°F | 87 mm | 5 |
| November | 52 | 16° / 61°F | 4° / 39°F | 88 mm | 3 |
| December | 19 | 11° / 52°F | 0° / 32°F | 94 mm | 2 |
See Raleigh/Durham on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Fayetteville United States · 99 km · best in Oct · 2,515 h sun/yr
- Greensboro United States · 106 km · best in Oct · 2,429 h sun/yr
- Richlands United States · 158 km · best in Apr · 2,584 h sun/yr
- Concord United States · 182 km · best in Oct · 2,511 h sun/yr
- Roanoke United States · 193 km · best in Aug · 2,343 h sun/yr
- Wilmington United States · 196 km · best in Apr · 2,584 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Greenville United States · 129 km · 2,506 h sun/yr · best in Apr
- Lynchburg United States · 165 km · 2,343 h sun/yr · best in Apr
- New Bern United States · 182 km · 2,506 h sun/yr · best in Apr
Head-to-head
How Raleigh/Durham compares month by month: Raleigh/Durham vs Greensboro · Raleigh/Durham vs Fayetteville · Raleigh/Durham vs Roanoke · Raleigh/Durham vs Richlands · all comparisons
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