Kinston climate — normals and trends
Kinston (United States) has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 16.5 °C and it receives 1,211 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 (26.1 °C on average) and the coldest is January (6.4 °C). Rainfall peaks in July.
Kinston averages 40 frost days, 68 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 129 rainy days per year.
Kinston has warmed by +0.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.11 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 39.5 °C (on 9 July 1977) and the coldest -19.7 °C (on 13 February 1973).
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
KinstonNorth Carolina
- coords
- 35.26°, -77.58°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
16.5°C
Average daily high
22.0°C
Average daily low
11.8°C
Annual rainfall
1,211mm
Sunshine / day
9.2h
Mean relative humidity
72%
Average peak wind
15.7km/h
Seasonal range
19.7°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
40 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
68 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
129 d/yr
Annual snowfall
7.9 cm
Average feels-like high
22.3 °C
Average feels-like low
10.7 °C
Average peak gust
35.7 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
85 d/yr
Solar radiation
15.9 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+0.9 °C
since 1940
+0.1 °C per decade · r² = 0.18 · 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
9 July 1977
Coldest day
-19.7 °C
13 February 1973
Wettest day
179 mm
14 September 2018
Windiest day
64.2 km/h
6 September 1996
Strongest gust
161.6 km/h
18 September 2003
Hottest feels-like
44.8 °C
9 July 1977
Coldest feels-like
-24.6 °C
21 January 1985
Snowiest day
27.5 cm
11 December 1958
Sunniest day
14.0 h
6 June 1940
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 | 9.1 °C | -2.6 °C | 50 mm | -40 mm |
| Feb | 14.6 °C | +1.2 °C | 61 mm | -23 mm |
| Mar | 21.0 °C | +3.6 °C | 76 mm | -20 mm |
| Apr | 25.5 °C | +3.1 °C | 58 mm | -21 mm |
| May | 26.8 °C | +0.6 °C | 194 mm | +96 mm |
| Jun | 31.2 °C | +1.6 °C | 130 mm | +19 mm |
| Jul | 32.8 °C | +1.8 °C | 98 mm | -49 mm |
| Aug | 28.7 °C | -1.5 °C | 163 mm | +17 mm |
| Sep | 27.7 °C | 0.0 °C | 40 mm | -79 mm |
| Oct | 22.0 °C | -0.8 °C | 86 mm | +6 mm |
| Nov | 19.1 °C | +1.2 °C | 29 mm | -48 mm |
| Dec | 12.6 °C | -0.7 °C | 94 mm | +11 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 Kinston?
Kinston has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 16.5 °C and it receives 1,211 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Kinston?
The hottest day measured in Kinston between 1940 and 2025 was 9 July 1977, reaching 39.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Kinston?
The coldest day measured in Kinston between 1940 and 2025 was 13 February 1973, at -19.7 °C.
Does it snow in Kinston?
Yes. Kinston gets on average 7.9 cm of snow per year and has around 40 frost days.
Has the climate of Kinston warmed?
Yes: Kinston warmed by +0.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Kinston?
The wettest day measured in Kinston between 1940 and 2025 was 14 September 2018, with 179 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Kinston?
The windiest day measured in Kinston between 1940 and 2025 was 6 September 1996, with winds reaching 64.2 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Kinston?
The warmest month in Kinston is July (26.1 °C on average); the coldest is January (6.4 °C).
How much does it rain in Kinston?
Kinston receives on average 1,211 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 129 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Kinston?
Kinston 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 Kinston?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Kinston between 1940 and 2025 was 11 December 1958, with 27.5 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Kinston?
Yes: Kinston has on average 85 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Kinston?
In Kinston, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 44.8 °C on 9 July 1977, and the lowest was -24.6 °C on 21 January 1985.
Compare Kinston with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Kinston