Climate and Weather
Cape Hatteras displays a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with mild winters, and very warm and humid summers. Its location, jutting out into the Atlantic, helps moderate conditions throughout the year, producing small diurnal temperature ranges. The warmest days in July and August average 86 °F (30 °C), and there are only 6 days per summer above 90 °F (32 °C). The median freeze dates are March 11 and December 12. Snowfall is observed occasionally and most years do not see any accumulation. Rainfall is well-distributed throughout the years but is greatest in the latter half of summer, when hurricanes or their remnants can pass through.
Cape Hatteras is infamous for being frequently struck by hurricanes that move up the East Coast of the United States. The strike of Hurricane Isabel in 2003 was particularly devastating for the area. Isabel devastated the entire Outer Banks and also split Hatteras Island between the two small towns of Frisco and Hatteras. NC 12, which provides a direct route from Nags Head to Hatteras Island, was washed out when the hurricane created a new inlet. Students had to use a ferry to get to school. The inlet was filled in with sand by the Army Corps of Engineers which took nearly two months to complete. The road, electrical and water lines were quickly rebuilt when the inlet was filled.
| Climate data for Cape Hatteras, 1981-2010 Normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 53.2 (11.8) |
54.5 (12.5) |
59.6 (15.3) |
67.3 (19.6) |
74.7 (23.7) |
82.0 (27.8) |
85.4 (29.7) |
85.0 (29.4) |
80.8 (27.1) |
72.9 (22.7) |
64.9 (18.3) |
56.8 (13.8) |
69.8 (21.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 46.0 (7.8) |
47.2 (8.4) |
52.1 (11.2) |
60.0 (15.6) |
67.7 (19.8) |
75.6 (24.2) |
79.5 (26.4) |
79.0 (26.1) |
74.9 (23.8) |
66.4 (19.1) |
58.1 (14.5) |
49.9 (9.9) |
63.0 (17.2) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 38.8 (3.8) |
39.9 (4.4) |
44.6 (7.0) |
52.7 (11.5) |
60.6 (15.9) |
69.2 (20.7) |
73.6 (23.1) |
72.9 (22.7) |
68.9 (20.5) |
59.8 (15.4) |
51.3 (10.7) |
42.9 (6.1) |
56.3 (13.5) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 5.24 (133.1) |
4.03 (102.4) |
4.77 (121.2) |
3.65 (92.7) |
3.56 (90.4) |
4.02 (102.1) |
4.99 (126.7) |
6.92 (175.8) |
6.25 (158.8) |
5.38 (136.7) |
4.98 (126.5) |
4.24 (107.7) |
58.05 (1,474.5) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 0.4 (1) |
0.1 (0.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.8 (2) |
1.2 (3) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 10.6 | 10.5 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 10.1 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 10.4 | 120.2 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 153.7 | 162.8 | 224.8 | 261.3 | 278.3 | 272.4 | 282.9 | 267.1 | 233.0 | 207.2 | 170.8 | 142.8 | 2,657.1 |
| Source #1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: NOAA (sun only) | |||||||||||||
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