Durham, North Carolina Weather
Camellia Blooms Break Through. Day 50 of autumn. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Durham weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 4:29 PM EST · Open-Meteo
- TodayNov 10Clear——74°37°—
- WednesdayNov 11Clear——73°45°-1°
- ThursdayNov 12Overcast——69°50°-4°
- FridayNov 13Overcast——56°42°-13°
- SaturdayNov 14Partly Cloudy——53°38°-3°
- SundayNov 15Overcast——53°37°0°
- MondayNov 16Overcast——51°39°-2°
Air quality now AQI 35 · Good
AQI 35 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points). Ozone at AQI 43 — peak already passed at 1 PM under clear skies. Levels should ease through evening.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 43 — peak already passed at 1 PM under clear skies. Levels should ease through evening.
- Present
- AQI 43
- UV peak
- 0.3 at earlier today
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 43
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
When the wind is in the west, the weather is at its best.
- Moonrise
- 8:20 AM
- Moonset
- 5:55 PM
- In sign
- ♐︎ Sagittarius
Camellia Blooms Break Through
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Durham at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 56°F (high 74°F, low 37°F), 6°F above the 50°F normal for Nov 10
- Last frost: April 2 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 9 km away)
- Microseason: Nov 6–10
- Planting calendar: November — harvest fall brassicas, carrots
16-Day Forecast — Durham
- Tue74°38°0%
- Wed73°45°1%
- Thu69°50°4%
- Fri56°42°1%
- Sat53°38°1%
- Sun53°37°1%
- Mon51°39°5%
- Tue45°43°9%
- Wed56°42°4%
- Thu59°39°3%
- Fri59°44°3%
- Sat63°47°13%
- Sun73°54°28%
- Mon67°39°29%
- Tue44°32°27%
- Wed45°30°16%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Durham
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Durham — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Post-frost dormancy
As of November 10, the season's first frost (typically November 4) is due or past. Bring frost-tender plants indoors, mulch overwintering beds, and turn spent plantings under. This city's planting calendar for November: harvest fall brassicas and carrots.
Sun & seasons in Durham
Durham sits in Durham County, where the year’s longest day runs 14h 36m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 43m — a swing of +4h 54m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Charlotte, the state’s largest city, lies about 121 miles to the WSW. The nearest town Durham tracks is Cary, roughly 14 miles to the SSE.
Air quality in Durham
Air quality in Durham’s county has trended dirtier since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2020 (median AQI 40). See the full air-quality history for Durham.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| May | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| June | beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| August | beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| November | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
The year in Durham tops out in July (~78°F) and dips lowest in January (~38°F), with June wettest at 5.2 inches and February driest at 2.9 inches.
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 4.0″ | 6 |
| February | 41° | 2.9″ | 6 |
| March | 49° | 4.5″ | 8 |
| April | 58° | 3.7″ | 7 |
| May | 66° | 3.8″ | 7 |
| June | 74° | 5.2″ | 7 |
| July | 78° | 4.2″ | 7 |
| August | 76° | 5.2″ | 7 |
| September | 70° | 4.7″ | 5 |
| October | 59° | 3.4″ | 5 |
| November | 49° | 3.6″ | 5 |
| December | 42° | 3.3″ | 6 |
Regional context
Similar climates Gorman, NC, Chapel Hill, NC, Carolina Meadows, NC
By the nearest station's NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Durham sees 38°F Januarys and 78°F Julys, a 40°F range, plus around 48.6 inches of precipitation across 77 days.
Rainfall in Durham splits evenly between the seasons: June tops out at 5.2 inches over 7.4 rainy days, and February logs 2.9 inches across 6.2 — neither half of Durham's year dominates. That even rhythm groups Durham with places like Gorman, NC, Chapel Hill, NC and Carolina Meadows, NC.
The cool-season window in Durham starts at April 2, when nights stop freezing — think peas, lettuce, spinach, and radishes. In Durham, warm-season transplants — tomatoes, peppers, basil — wait two weeks past Durham's frost date. It shuts near November 4, when freezes return to Durham and tender plants need cover. In about half of years, Durham's last freeze comes after April 2.
Similar climates: Gorman, NC, Chapel Hill, NC, Carolina Meadows, NC, Morrisville, NC, Carrboro, NC.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Durham?
- Durham's last spring frost lands near April 2, and in Durham the first fall frost follows around November 4.
- What is the rainy season in Durham?
- Rainfall in Durham peaks in June near 5.2 inches, out of about 49 inches annually.
- What is the warmest month in Durham?
- The warmest stretch in Durham comes in July, around 78°F on average.
- What is the coldest month in Durham?
- On average January is the chilliest month in Durham, about 38°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Durham?
- Durham's last frost (April 2) cues hardy greens; in Durham, hold heat-lovers two weeks past.
- How many rainy days does Durham get?
- Durham records around 77 days of measurable precipitation annually.
- What hardiness zone is Durham?
- Durham sits in the USDA zone set by January lows near 38°F; the USDA ZIP tool gives the band.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Durham?
- Durham's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Durham?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Durham in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Durham?
- Current conditions for Durham and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Durham forecast updated?
- The Durham forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Durham?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Durham are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Durham?
- The next few days in Durham's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Durham sits at 36.0°N; its climate zone is humid subtropical (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Durham
- 27701
- 27703
- 27704
- 27705
- 27706
- 27707
- 27708
- 27709
- 27710
- 27712
- 27713
- 27715
- 27717
- 27722