Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Greensboro United States

In Greensboro, the summers are warm, muggy, and wet; the winters are very cold, snowy, and windy; and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 27°F to 88°F and is rarely below 14°F or above 95°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Greensboro for warm-weather activities are for the entire month of June and from mid August to early October.

The hot season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 30 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Greensboro is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 2 to March 5, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F. The coldest month of the year in Greensboro is January, with an average low of 28°F and high of 43°F.

In Greensboro, 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 Greensboro begins around July 3 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around November 18.

The clearest month of the year in Greensboro is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 18 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around July 3.

The cloudiest month of the year in Greensboro is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 51% of the time.

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

The wetter season lasts 4.9 months, from March 31 to August 26, with a greater than 30% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Greensboro is July, with an average of 11.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.1 months, from August 26 to March 31. The month with the fewest wet days in Greensboro is October, with an average of 7.2 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 Greensboro is July, with an average of 11.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 38% on August 3.

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. Greensboro experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Greensboro. The month with the most rain in Greensboro is August, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches.

The month with the least rain in Greensboro is February, with an average rainfall of 2.3 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from November 24 to March 21, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Greensboro is February, with an average snowfall of 5.2 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.1 months, from March 21 to November 24. The least snow falls around July 30, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Greensboro varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 26 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 54 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:37 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 55 minutes later at 7:32 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:40 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 52 minutes later at 8:32 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Greensboro 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 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.

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.

Greensboro experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from May 18 to September 30, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 18% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Greensboro is July, with 21.1 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Greensboro 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 Greensboro experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from October 10 to May 10, with average wind speeds of more than 9.5 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Greensboro is March, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.0 months, from May 10 to October 10. The calmest month of the year in Greensboro is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.5 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 2.0 weeks, from March 7 to March 21, with a peak percentage of 31% on March 11. The wind is most often from the west for 1.0 months, from March 21 to April 21 and for 4.9 months, from October 10 to March 7, with a peak percentage of 30% on April 12. The wind is most often from the south for 5.6 months, from April 21 to October 10, with a peak percentage of 37% on August 1.

Greensboro 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.4 months, from June 20 to October 1, with an average temperature above 68°F. The month of the year in Greensboro with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 76°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.6 months, from December 17 to April 4, with an average temperature below 45°F. The month of the year in Greensboro with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 37°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Greensboro 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 Greensboro for general outdoor tourist activities are for the entire month of June and from mid August to early October, with a peak score in the first 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 Greensboro for hot-weather activities is from late June to early September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

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 Greensboro typically lasts for 7.1 months (217 days), from around March 31 to around November 3, rarely starting before March 15 or after April 17, and rarely ending before October 17 or after November 21.

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 Greensboro should appear around March 20, only rarely appearing before March 2 or after April 8.

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 3.8 months, from April 25 to August 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Greensboro is June, with an average of 6.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 5 to February 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Greensboro is December, with an average of 2.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Greensboro are 38.974 deg latitude, -75.805 deg longitude, and 16 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Greensboro is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 56 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 35 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (105 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (515 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Greensboro is covered by cropland (89%) and trees (10%), within 10 miles by cropland (73%) and trees (25%), and within 50 miles by cropland (35%) and water (29%).