Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Half Moon North Carolina, United States

In Half Moon, the summers are muggy and hot; the winters are short, windy, and cold; and it is wet and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 35°F to 89°F and is rarely below 22°F or above 95°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Half Moon for warm-weather activities are from late April to early June and from early September to late October.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 26 to September 17, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year in Half Moon is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 72°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.9 months, from December 3 to March 1, with an average daily high temperature below 61°F. The coldest month of the year in Half Moon is January, with an average low of 35°F and high of 55°F.

In Half Moon, 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 in Half Moon begins around September 14 and lasts for 2.7 months, ending around December 6.

The clearest month of the year in Half Moon is October, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 64% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 6 and lasts for 9.3 months, ending around September 14.

The cloudiest month of the year in Half Moon is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 53% of the time.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Compare Half Moon to:

CompareMap

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Half Moon varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.5 months, from May 31 to September 15, with a greater than 37% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Half Moon is July, with an average of 15.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.5 months, from September 15 to May 31. The month with the fewest wet days in Half Moon is November, with an average of 6.7 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 in Half Moon is July, with an average of 15.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 53% on July 25.

Rainfall

To 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. Half Moon experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Half Moon. The month with the most rain in Half Moon is August, with an average rainfall of 5.7 inches.

The month with the least rain in Half Moon is November, with an average rainfall of 2.9 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Half Moon experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.8 months, from December 31 to February 21, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Half Moon is January, with an average snowfall of 1.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 10 months, from February 21 to December 31. The least snow falls around July 17, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Half Moon varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2026, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 49 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 30 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:55 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 34 minutes later at 7:29 AM on March 8. The earliest sunset is at 4:58 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 29 minutes later at 8:27 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Half Moon during 2026, starting in the spring on March 8, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 1.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2026. 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.

We 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.

Half Moon experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from May 16 to October 9, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 23% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Half Moon is July, with 27.5 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Half Moon is February, with 0.0 days that are muggy or worse.

This 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 in Half Moon experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from November 1 to May 15, with average wind speeds of more than 8.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Half Moon is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.6 months, from May 15 to November 1. The calmest month of the year in Half Moon is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Half Moon varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 5.2 months, from March 23 to August 29, with a peak percentage of 45% on July 12. The wind is most often from the east for 1.9 weeks, from August 29 to September 11, with a peak percentage of 31% on September 7. The wind is most often from the north for 6.4 months, from September 11 to March 23, with a peak percentage of 40% on January 1.

Half Moon is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.2 months, from June 18 to September 26, with an average temperature above 78°F. The month of the year in Half Moon with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 81°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.2 months, from December 14 to April 21, with an average temperature below 66°F. The month of the year in Half Moon with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 62°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Half Moon 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 Half Moon for general outdoor tourist activities are from late April to early June and from early September to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

The 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 Half Moon for hot-weather activities is from early June to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

Methodology

For 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.

Definitions 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 in Half Moon typically lasts for 7.6 months (232 days), from around March 24 to around November 11, rarely starting before March 5 or after April 14, and rarely ending before October 23 or after December 1.

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 in Half Moon should appear around February 3, only rarely appearing before January 19 or after February 21.

This 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 3.4 months, from April 9 to July 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.8 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Half Moon is May, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from November 11 to February 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Half Moon is December, with an average of 2.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Half Moon are 34.826 deg latitude, -77.459 deg longitude, and 26 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Half Moon is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 46 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 25 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (148 feet). Within 50 miles also contains only modest variations in elevation (190 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Half Moon is covered by cropland (43%) and trees (40%), within 10 miles by trees (52%) and cropland (20%), and within 50 miles by trees (36%) and water (24%).