Hickory climate — normals and trends
Hickory (United States) has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 14.6 °C and it receives 1,131 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (25.0 °C on average) and the coldest is January (3.8 °C). Rainfall peaks in March.
Hickory averages 62 frost days, 54 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 124 rainy days per year.
Hickory has warmed by +1.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.16 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 71 to 53 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 39.5 °C (on 18 August 1988) and the coldest -21.2 °C (on 21 January 1985).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
HickoryNorth Carolina
- coords
- 35.73°, -81.34°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
14.6°C
Average daily high
20.3°C
Average daily low
9.7°C
Annual rainfall
1,131mm
Sunshine / day
9.2h
Mean relative humidity
71%
Average peak wind
12.7km/h
Seasonal range
21.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
62 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
54 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
124 d/yr
Annual snowfall
22.1 cm
Average feels-like high
20.0 °C
Average feels-like low
8.4 °C
Average peak gust
31.0 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
54 d/yr
Solar radiation
15.8 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.4 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.33 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
39.5 °C
18 August 1988
Coldest day
-21.2 °C
21 January 1985
Wettest day
118 mm
17 August 1985
Windiest day
52.0 km/h
22 September 1989
Strongest gust
143.6 km/h
22 September 1989
Hottest feels-like
43.5 °C
21 August 1983
Coldest feels-like
-27.0 °C
21 January 1985
Snowiest day
29.5 cm
22 January 1987
Sunniest day
14.4 h
26 June 2012
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.6 °C | -1.3 °C | 42 mm | -55 mm |
| Feb | 13.5 °C | +2.4 °C | 92 mm | +0 mm |
| Mar | 19.1 °C | +3.6 °C | 48 mm | -62 mm |
| Apr | 22.9 °C | +2.0 °C | 87 mm | -5 mm |
| May | 24.4 °C | -0.7 °C | 161 mm | +68 mm |
| Jun | 30.8 °C | +1.9 °C | 106 mm | +17 mm |
| Jul | 33.1 °C | +2.7 °C | 69 mm | -31 mm |
| Aug | 26.7 °C | -2.8 °C | 182 mm | +76 mm |
| Sep | 26.5 °C | +0.2 °C | 81 mm | -18 mm |
| Oct | 20.6 °C | -0.5 °C | 70 mm | -13 mm |
| Nov | 16.8 °C | +1.6 °C | 18 mm | -63 mm |
| Dec | 10.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 50 mm | -40 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Hickory?
Hickory has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 14.6 °C and it receives 1,131 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Hickory?
The hottest day measured in Hickory between 1940 and 2025 was 18 August 1988, reaching 39.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Hickory?
The coldest day measured in Hickory between 1940 and 2025 was 21 January 1985, at -21.2 °C.
Does it snow in Hickory?
Yes. Hickory gets on average 22.1 cm of snow per year and has around 62 frost days.
Has the climate of Hickory warmed?
Yes: Hickory warmed by +1.4 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Hickory?
The wettest day measured in Hickory between 1940 and 2025 was 17 August 1985, with 118 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Hickory?
The windiest day measured in Hickory between 1940 and 2025 was 22 September 1989, with winds reaching 52.0 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Hickory?
The warmest month in Hickory is July (25.0 °C on average); the coldest is January (3.8 °C).
How much does it rain in Hickory?
Hickory receives on average 1,131 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 124 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Hickory?
Hickory gets on average 9.2 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,358 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Hickory?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Hickory between 1940 and 2025 was 22 January 1987, with 29.5 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Hickory?
Yes: Hickory has on average 54 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Hickory?
In Hickory, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 43.5 °C on 21 August 1983, and the lowest was -27.0 °C on 21 January 1985.
Compare Hickory with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Hickory