Memphis climate — normals and trends
Memphis (United States) has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 16.4 °C and it receives 1,168 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 (27.3 °C on average) and the coldest is January (4.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in March.
Memphis averages 47 frost days, 84 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 111 rainy days per year.
Memphis has warmed by +1.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.14 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 53 to 41 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 40.6 °C (on 3 August 2011) and the coldest -22.8 °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
MemphisTennessee
- coords
- 35.15°, -90.05°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
16.4°C
Average daily high
21.3°C
Average daily low
11.8°C
Annual rainfall
1,168mm
Sunshine / day
9.4h
Mean relative humidity
69%
Average peak wind
16.1km/h
Seasonal range
23.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
47 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
84 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
111 d/yr
Annual snowfall
11.6 cm
Average feels-like high
21.3 °C
Average feels-like low
10.5 °C
Average peak gust
34.9 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
96 d/yr
Solar radiation
16.3 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.2 °C
since 1940
+0.1 °C per decade · r² = 0.23 · 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
40.6 °C
3 August 2011
Coldest day
-22.8 °C
21 January 1985
Wettest day
116 mm
25 December 1987
Windiest day
48.7 km/h
12 July 1945
Strongest gust
122.4 km/h
11 January 2020
Hottest feels-like
45.1 °C
2 July 1980
Coldest feels-like
-28.7 °C
20 January 1985
Snowiest day
14.4 cm
29 January 2010
Sunniest day
14.0 h
20 May 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 | 7.3 °C | -1.5 °C | 91 mm | -9 mm |
| Feb | 12.1 °C | +0.8 °C | 126 mm | +21 mm |
| Mar | 20.3 °C | +4.1 °C | 98 mm | -34 mm |
| Apr | 23.6 °C | +1.9 °C | 325 mm | +198 mm |
| May | 25.0 °C | -1.2 °C | 177 mm | +64 mm |
| Jun | 31.1 °C | +0.7 °C | 184 mm | +106 mm |
| Jul | 32.8 °C | +0.8 °C | 28 mm | -51 mm |
| Aug | 31.3 °C | -0.3 °C | 11 mm | -56 mm |
| Sep | 30.2 °C | +1.8 °C | 63 mm | -11 mm |
| Oct | 24.0 °C | +1.1 °C | 135 mm | +56 mm |
| Nov | 18.0 °C | +2.1 °C | 53 mm | -47 mm |
| Dec | 11.8 °C | +1.0 °C | 41 mm | -73 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 Memphis?
Memphis has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 16.4 °C and it receives 1,168 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Memphis?
The hottest day measured in Memphis between 1940 and 2025 was 3 August 2011, reaching 40.6 °C.
What is the coldest day in Memphis?
The coldest day measured in Memphis between 1940 and 2025 was 21 January 1985, at -22.8 °C.
Does it snow in Memphis?
Yes. Memphis gets on average 11.6 cm of snow per year and has around 47 frost days.
Has the climate of Memphis warmed?
Yes: Memphis warmed by +1.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Memphis?
The wettest day measured in Memphis between 1940 and 2025 was 25 December 1987, with 116 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Memphis?
The windiest day measured in Memphis between 1940 and 2025 was 12 July 1945, with winds reaching 48.7 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Memphis?
The warmest month in Memphis is July (27.3 °C on average); the coldest is January (4.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Memphis?
Memphis receives on average 1,168 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 111 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Memphis?
Memphis gets on average 9.4 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,431 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Memphis?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Memphis between 1940 and 2025 was 29 January 2010, with 14.4 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Memphis?
Yes: Memphis has on average 96 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Memphis?
In Memphis, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 45.1 °C on 2 July 1980, and the lowest was -28.7 °C on 20 January 1985.
Compare Memphis with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Memphis