Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Gastonia Municipal Airport North Carolina, United StatesAt Gastonia Municipal Airport, the summers are hot and muggy, the winters are very cold and wet, and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 33°F to 89°F and is rarely below 20°F or above 96°F. Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Gastonia Municipal Airport for warm-weather activities are from early May to early June and from late August to early October. Average Temperature at Gastonia Municipal AirportThe hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 24 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 70°F. The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 27 to February 26, with an average daily high temperature below 59°F. The coldest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is January, with an average low of 34°F and high of 52°F.
The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day. Bir el Ater, Algeria (4,860 miles away); Kafr Takhārīm, Syria (6,093 miles); and Yangzhong, China (7,963 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Gastonia Municipal Airport (view comparison). CloudsAt Gastonia Municipal Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The clearer part of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport begins around August 1 and lasts for 3.7 months, ending around November 22. The clearest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is October, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around November 22 and lasts for 8.3 months, ending around August 1. The cloudiest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 49% of the time.
PrecipitationA wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Gastonia Municipal Airport varies throughout the year. The wetter season lasts 3.6 months, from May 11 to August 29, with a greater than 31% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Gastonia Municipal Airport is July, with an average of 12.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. The drier season lasts 8.4 months, from August 29 to May 11. The month with the fewest wet days at Gastonia Municipal Airport is October, with an average of 6.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation. Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Gastonia Municipal Airport is July, with an average of 12.9 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on July 13.
RainfallTo show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Gastonia Municipal Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. Rain falls throughout the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport. The month with the most rain at Gastonia Municipal Airport is March, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches. The month with the least rain at Gastonia Municipal Airport is May, with an average rainfall of 3.0 inches.
SnowfallAs with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Gastonia Municipal Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall. The snowy period of the year lasts for 2.8 months, from December 10 to March 3, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Gastonia Municipal Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 2.6 inches. The snowless period of the year lasts for 9.2 months, from March 3 to December 10. The least snow falls around July 24, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.
SunThe length of the day at Gastonia Municipal Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 47 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 32 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunrise is at 6:09 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 38 minutes later at 7:47 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 5:12 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 31 minutes later at 8:43 PM on June 28. Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Gastonia Municipal Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3. The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation. MoonThe figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. HumidityWe base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night. Gastonia Municipal Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity. The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from May 20 to September 29, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 20% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Gastonia Municipal Airport is July, with 24.2 days that are muggy or worse. The month with the fewest muggy days at Gastonia Municipal Airport is February, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.
WindThis section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages. The average hourly wind speed at Gastonia Municipal Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from October 31 to May 17, with average wind speeds of more than 5.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.1 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 5.4 months, from May 17 to October 31. The calmest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.7 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction at Gastonia Municipal Airport varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the north for 1.3 months, from February 6 to March 14 and for 3.5 months, from September 11 to December 26, with a peak percentage of 36% on October 14. The wind is most often from the south for 1.6 months, from March 14 to May 1 and for 1.6 weeks, from May 6 to May 17, with a peak percentage of 33% on April 17. The wind is most often from the west for 5.0 days, from May 1 to May 6; for 2.7 months, from May 17 to August 9; and for 1.3 months, from December 26 to February 6, with a peak percentage of 35% on July 4. Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is at Gastonia Municipal Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores. The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Gastonia Municipal Airport for general outdoor tourist activities are from early May to early June and from late August to early October, with a peak score in the third week of September. Tourism Score at Gastonia Municipal AirportThe beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gastonia Municipal Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the second week of August. Beach/Pool Score at Gastonia Municipal AirportMethodologyFor each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed. Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies. Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more. Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter. Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter. Growing SeasonDefinitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere). The growing season at Gastonia Municipal Airport typically lasts for 7.6 months (233 days), from around March 21 to around November 9, rarely starting before February 29 or after April 11, and rarely ending before October 20 or after November 29. Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F. Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Gastonia Municipal Airport should appear around February 16, only rarely appearing before January 29 or after March 5. Solar EnergyThis section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation. The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from April 14 to August 24, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is June, with an average of 6.8 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 9 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Gastonia Municipal Airport is December, with an average of 2.6 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Gastonia Municipal Airport are 35.198 deg latitude, -81.146 deg longitude, and 774 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Gastonia Municipal Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 440 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 751 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,079 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,746 feet). The area within 2 miles of Gastonia Municipal Airport is covered by trees (45%), artificial surfaces (43%), and cropland (11%), within 10 miles by trees (55%) and artificial surfaces (28%), and within 50 miles by trees (56%) and cropland (29%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather at Gastonia Municipal Airport, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointGastonia Municipal Airport has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required. In the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on records from nearby stations, adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal intra-station differences. For a given day of the year and hour of the day, the fallback station is selected to minimize the prediction error over the years for which there are measurements for both stations. The stations on which we may fall back include but are not limited to Charlotte Douglas International Airport; Rock Hill, Rock Hill - York County Airport; Lincolnton, Lincolnton-Lincoln County Regional Airport; Chester Catawba Regional Airport; Shelby Municipal Airport; Concord Regional Airport; Lancaster County Airport-Mc Whirter Field; and Charlotte–Monroe Executive Airport. Other DataAll data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus. All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid. Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database . Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com . Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors. DisclaimerThe information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site. We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands. We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |