#11 of 35 US cities · 2024
How pleasant is the weather in Charlotte, NC?
In 2024, 54% of daytime hours in Charlotte were enjoyable outdoors: 2,586 of 4,758 hours between 8 AM and 9 PM. That's #11 of 35 major US cities. October was the best month and July the worst.
- Enjoyable
- 54%
- Comfortable temp
- 60%
- Too cold
- 16%
- Too hot
- 23%
- Lost to rain
- 2.8%
- Lost to gusts
- 3.3%
Month by month
Share of each month's daytime hours (8 AM to 9 PM). Avg temp is the plain air temperature over those hours, not feels-like.
| Month | Enjoyable | Comfortable | Too cold | Too hot | Rain | Avg temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36% | 42% | 58% | 0% | 4.0% | 47°F |
| February | 55% | 65% | 35% | 0% | 3.7% | 52°F |
| March | 73% | 82% | 18% | 0% | 3.0% | 59°F |
| April | 73% | 86% | 9% | 5% | 3.3% | 67°F |
| May | 64% | 74% | 0% | 26% | 6.2% | 75°F |
| June | 31% | 32% | 0% | 68% | 0.3% | 83°F |
| July | 16% | 17% | 0% | 83% | 1.0% | 84°F |
| August | 36% | 40% | 0% | 60% | 3.2% | 81°F |
| September | 65% | 76% | 1% | 23% | 4.9% | 75°F |
| October | 85% | 85% | 5% | 10% | 0.0% | 67°F |
| November | 76% | 80% | 19% | 1% | 1.0% | 59°F |
| December | 43% | 48% | 52% | 0% | 2.7% | 47°F |
What limits outdoor time
Charlotte loses hours at both ends of the year: December and January are often too cold, and June through August are often too hot. Rain matters more here than in most cities, knocking out 2.8% of daytime hours against a median of 1.3%. Wind matters too: gusts took 3.3% of daytime hours.
Where you stand matters here. Of the comfortable hours, 17% were only comfortable in the sun and 28% only in the shade.
Weather escapes within driving distance
Within an hour's drive (about 45 miles) there's nowhere meaningfully cooler in summer or warmer in winter. Stretch it to two hours (about 90 miles) and you can find places 15°F cooler in summer and 5°F warmer in winter. Distances are straight-line; temperatures are PRISM 1991–2020 averages.
How Charlotte, NC compares
- Seattle, WA · #8 · 61%
- Denver, CO · #9 · 59%
- Albuquerque, NM · #10 · 57%
- Honolulu, HI · #12 · 54%
- New York, NY · #13 · 53%
- Salt Lake City, UT · #14 · 52%
Questions
How many pleasant outdoor hours does Charlotte, NC get?
2,586 hours in 2024, counting only 8 AM to 9 PM. That's 54% of daytime hours, about 199 days' worth of daytime, and ranks #11 of 35 major US cities.
What is the best month to be outside in Charlotte, NC?
October, when 85% of daytime hours were enjoyable. November (76%) and March (73%) came next. July was the worst month, at 16%.
What makes outdoor time less pleasant in Charlotte, NC?
Mostly temperature. 16% of daytime hours were too cold and 23% too hot. Rain took another 2.8%, and gusty wind 3.3%.
Scored with the default rule: 48–79°F feels-like in sun or shade, under 1 mm/h of rain, gusts under 27 mph, 8 AM to 9 PM. If you run hotter or colder than that, set your own range on the map. How the score works.