Wilmington climate — normals and trends

Q: What is the climate of Wilmington?

Wilmington has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 12.8 °C and it receives 1,106 mm of precipitation per year.

Q: What is the hottest day ever recorded in Wilmington?

The hottest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 22 July 2011, reaching 39.4 °C.

Q: What is the coldest day in Wilmington?

The coldest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 22 January 1984, at -24.0 °C.

Q: Does it snow in Wilmington?

Yes. Wilmington gets on average 47.9 cm of snow per year and has around 74 frost days.

Q: Has the climate of Wilmington warmed?

Yes: Wilmington warmed by +1.6 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.

Q: What is the wettest day in Wilmington?

The wettest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 16 September 1999, with 130 mm of rain in 24 hours.

Q: What was the windiest day in Wilmington?

The windiest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 15 October 1954, with winds reaching 49.1 km/h.

Q: What is the warmest month in Wilmington?

The warmest month in Wilmington is July (24.9 °C on average); the coldest is January (0.5 °C).

Q: How much does it rain in Wilmington?

Wilmington receives on average 1,106 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 117 rainy days.

Q: Is it sunny in Wilmington?

Wilmington gets on average 9.0 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,285 hours per year over 1940-2025.

Wilmington (United States) has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 12.8 °C and it receives 1,106 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 (24.9 °C on average) and the coldest is January (0.5 °C). Rainfall peaks in July.

Wilmington averages 74 frost days, 36 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 117 rainy days per year.

Wilmington has warmed by +1.6 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.19 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.

The number of frost days there went from about 82 to 66 per year over the period.

The hottest day of the period reached 39.4 °C (on 22 July 2011) and the coldest -24.0 °C (on 22 January 1984).

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

WilmingtonDelaware

coords: 39.75°, -75.55°
period: 1940–2025 · 86 yrs

CfaHumid subtropicalWarmest monthJulyColdest monthJanuaryWettest monthJulyDriest monthFebruary

Mean daily temperature

12.8°C

Average daily high

17.4°C

Average daily low

8.7°C

Annual rainfall

1,106mm

Sunshine / day

9.0h

Mean relative humidity

68%

Average peak wind

16.5km/h

Seasonal range

24.4°C

Frost days (< 0 °C)

74 d/yr

Hot days (≥ 30 °C)

36 d/yr

Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)

117 d/yr

Annual snowfall

47.9 cm

Average feels-like high

16.2 °C

Average feels-like low

6.5 °C

Average peak gust

37.8 km/h

Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)

52 d/yr

Solar radiation

14.9 MJ/m²

Has the climate changed?

One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025

+1.6 °C

since 1940

+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.38 · p = < 0.001

19402025

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

39.4 °C

22 July 2011

Coldest day

-24.0 °C

22 January 1984

Wettest day

130 mm

16 September 1999

Windiest day

49.1 km/h

15 October 1954

Strongest gust

128.5 km/h

25 November 1950

Hottest feels-like

45.3 °C

15 July 1995

Coldest feels-like

-29.3 °C

22 January 1984

Snowiest day

39.6 cm

20 March 1958

Sunniest day

14.1 h

4 July 2025

Year	Hottest day	Coldest day	Annual mean	Rainfall	Hot days	Frost days
2025	37.7 °C24 June 2025	-12.8 °C23 January 2025	13.4 °C	1,040 mm	36	77
2024	36.3 °C16 July 2024	-12.7 °C23 December 2024	14.3 °C	1,133 mm	40	57
2023	35.8 °C6 September 2023	-10.2 °C4 February 2023	14.5 °C	1,132 mm	41	34
2022	34.6 °C31 May 2022	-13.9 °C24 December 2022	13.7 °C	1,271 mm	49	83
2021	34.4 °C30 June 2021	-8.5 °C8 February 2021	14.2 °C	1,114 mm	50	59
2020	36.2 °C3 July 2020	-9.7 °C19 December 2020	14.4 °C	1,288 mm	52	50
2019	36.4 °C21 July 2019	-14.9 °C31 January 2019	13.9 °C	1,244 mm	50	69
2018	34.9 °C2 July 2018	-17.5 °C7 January 2018	13.7 °C	1,639 mm	47	69
2017	34.9 °C13 June 2017	-12.5 °C9 January 2017	14.2 °C	1,075 mm	41	59
2016	35.4 °C14 August 2016	-13.1 °C14 February 2016	14.0 °C	999 mm	56	60
2015	34.2 °C3 September 2015	-16.5 °C20 February 2015	13.6 °C	1,049 mm	38	77
2014	33.8 °C18 June 2014	-18.2 °C23 January 2014	12.2 °C	1,087 mm	24	84
2013	35.5 °C18 July 2013	-11.6 °C23 January 2013	13.0 °C	1,022 mm	35	80
2012	38.1 °C18 July 2012	-10.4 °C4 January 2012	14.5 °C	940 mm	49	45
2011	39.4 °C22 July 2011	-12.2 °C24 January 2011	14.0 °C	1,358 mm	45	72
2010	38.6 °C6 July 2010	-10.0 °C7 February 2010	13.9 °C	1,035 mm	69	77
2009	33.8 °C10 August 2009	-14.5 °C17 January 2009	12.8 °C	1,280 mm	19	78
2008	37.5 °C10 June 2008	-10.9 °C11 February 2008	13.4 °C	1,066 mm	42	71
2007	36.3 °C8 August 2007	-12.5 °C6 February 2007	13.4 °C	1,016 mm	48	73
2006	35.4 °C18 July 2006	-10.3 °C19 February 2006	14.0 °C	1,230 mm	41	50
2005	35.6 °C27 July 2005	-16.1 °C28 January 2005	13.0 °C	1,001 mm	44	77
2004	32.7 °C9 June 2004	-15.5 °C10 January 2004	12.9 °C	1,147 mm	21	76
2003	34.7 °C26 June 2003	-13.5 °C18 January 2003	12.3 °C	1,435 mm	23	85
2002	36.8 °C4 July 2002	-9.6 °C7 December 2002	13.7 °C	1,044 mm	53	67
2001	37.2 °C9 August 2001	-11.2 °C23 January 2001	13.5 °C	835 mm	29	69
2000	34.6 °C11 June 2000	-13.8 °C30 January 2000	12.5 °C	1,012 mm	21	84
1999	37.2 °C5 July 1999	-10.3 °C2 January 1999	13.6 °C	1,071 mm	45	66
1998	34.7 °C22 July 1998	-11.1 °C25 December 1998	14.2 °C	987 mm	37	39
1997	35.1 °C15 July 1997	-15.0 °C19 January 1997	12.7 °C	925 mm	38	64
1996	34.4 °C20 May 1996	-17.3 °C5 February 1996	12.2 °C	1,453 mm	12	74
1995	37.8 °C15 July 1995	-15.3 °C6 February 1995	13.1 °C	980 mm	47	78
1994	36.5 °C19 June 1994	-20.8 °C19 January 1994	13.2 °C	1,110 mm	48	71
1993	36.7 °C10 July 1993	-13.3 °C7 February 1993	12.9 °C	1,124 mm	47	73
1992	35.9 °C14 July 1992	-11.4 °C20 January 1992	12.3 °C	970 mm	25	75
1991	36.9 °C23 July 1991	-11.2 °C22 January 1991	13.9 °C	1,045 mm	59	69
1990	35.4 °C5 July 1990	-11.5 °C26 February 1990	14.0 °C	1,017 mm	36	51
1989	34.1 °C27 June 1989	-14.2 °C23 December 1989	12.3 °C	1,374 mm	27	89
1988	36.6 °C17 July 1988	-13.9 °C11 January 1988	12.4 °C	953 mm	54	85
1987	36.0 °C21 July 1987	-17.7 °C28 January 1987	12.8 °C	1,098 mm	41	70
1986	36.3 °C7 July 1986	-12.8 °C28 January 1986	12.8 °C	1,045 mm	39	81
1985	34.5 °C14 August 1985	-21.8 °C21 January 1985	12.9 °C	901 mm	18	81
1984	35.0 °C9 June 1984	-24.0 °C22 January 1984	12.6 °C	1,267 mm	29	72
1983	36.4 °C20 August 1983	-17.5 °C25 December 1983	12.9 °C	1,480 mm	50	63
1982	33.9 °C19 July 1982	-20.2 °C17 January 1982	12.2 °C	1,005 mm	17	75
1981	34.4 °C9 July 1981	-16.6 °C12 January 1981	12.1 °C	990 mm	23	84
1980	36.7 °C16 July 1980	-15.3 °C25 December 1980	12.4 °C	830 mm	52	87
1979	34.1 °C10 August 1979	-21.4 °C18 February 1979	12.6 °C	1,289 mm	23	73
1978	35.2 °C23 July 1978	-17.2 °C20 February 1978	11.6 °C	1,370 mm	27	88
1977	35.9 °C19 July 1977	-19.8 °C17 January 1977	12.5 °C	1,172 mm	40	82
1976	32.8 °C22 August 1976	-14.3 °C23 January 1976	12.1 °C	1,018 mm	29	90
1975	35.2 °C2 August 1975	-9.4 °C4 February 1975	13.1 °C	1,363 mm	26	75
1974	35.1 °C10 July 1974	-10.3 °C5 February 1974	12.9 °C	998 mm	30	66
1973	36.2 °C28 August 1973	-13.5 °C17 February 1973	13.3 °C	1,276 mm	38	59
1972	35.2 °C23 July 1972	-15.0 °C16 January 1972	12.2 °C	1,363 mm	27	76
1971	35.3 °C8 July 1971	-13.4 °C2 February 1971	12.9 °C	1,273 mm	32	67
1970	33.4 °C23 September 1970	-16.3 °C9 January 1970	12.5 °C	960 mm	40	76
1969	34.9 °C29 May 1969	-10.6 °C28 January 1969	12.3 °C	1,173 mm	31	93
1968	37.0 °C1 July 1968	-19.1 °C2 January 1968	12.4 °C	915 mm	41	82
1967	32.6 °C16 June 1967	-19.3 °C13 February 1967	11.6 °C	1,026 mm	20	86
1966	39.2 °C3 July 1966	-15.7 °C29 January 1966	12.0 °C	924 mm	45	88
1965	34.3 °C29 June 1965	-16.6 °C15 January 1965	12.0 °C	688 mm	38	87
1964	35.4 °C10 June 1964	-15.8 °C15 January 1964	12.3 °C	1,018 mm	40	85
1963	34.8 °C27 June 1963	-19.6 °C29 January 1963	11.7 °C	923 mm	24	88
1962	34.9 °C19 May 1962	-18.1 °C11 February 1962	11.7 °C	1,019 mm	30	88
1961	33.6 °C13 June 1961	-20.1 °C2 February 1961	12.2 °C	1,152 mm	39	78
1960	32.7 °C30 August 1960	-17.0 °C23 December 1960	12.0 °C	1,129 mm	23	98
1959	37.3 °C29 June 1959	-12.6 °C23 December 1959	13.2 °C	1,016 mm	52	79
1958	33.3 °C2 July 1958	-15.4 °C17 February 1958	11.7 °C	1,298 mm	29	77
1957	37.2 °C22 July 1957	-15.8 °C18 January 1957	13.0 °C	948 mm	46	62
1956	36.1 °C2 July 1956	-10.8 °C28 January 1956	12.4 °C	1,164 mm	32	63
1955	36.6 °C22 July 1955	-17.3 °C3 February 1955	12.8 °C	966 mm	46	87
1954	36.9 °C31 July 1954	-18.8 °C18 January 1954	12.9 °C	925 mm	34	75
1953	37.5 °C31 August 1953	-8.5 °C18 December 1953	13.7 °C	1,043 mm	48	56
1952	38.0 °C26 June 1952	-12.4 °C30 January 1952	13.0 °C	1,301 mm	40	56
1951	33.5 °C27 July 1951	-12.3 °C17 December 1951	12.8 °C	1,085 mm	35	71
1950	33.5 °C26 June 1950	-12.7 °C27 December 1950	12.4 °C	1,068 mm	23	84
1949	37.3 °C5 July 1949	-9.3 °C12 February 1949	13.8 °C	867 mm	47	56
1948	36.5 °C26 August 1948	-19.7 °C19 January 1948	12.1 °C	1,290 mm	27	79
1947	33.4 °C14 August 1947	-13.6 °C5 February 1947	12.3 °C	1,070 mm	22	89
1946	31.9 °C8 June 1946	-10.3 °C23 January 1946	13.1 °C	1,024 mm	16	61
1945	35.4 °C1 July 1945	-17.0 °C25 January 1945	12.4 °C	1,335 mm	20	75
1944	34.6 °C5 August 1944	-11.1 °C17 January 1944	12.5 °C	1,157 mm	42	85
1943	33.9 °C25 June 1943	-15.8 °C15 February 1943	12.1 °C	920 mm	46	91
1942	35.0 °C19 July 1942	-15.9 °C21 December 1942	12.4 °C	1,274 mm	25	80
1941	35.7 °C28 July 1941	-9.6 °C18 March 1941	12.6 °C	955 mm	37	91
1940	34.9 °C26 July 1940	-14.6 °C20 January 1940	11.4 °C	1,226 mm	15	83

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?

Year

Across the whole year

Average daily high

17.8 °C

+0.4 °C

Hot days (≥ 30 °C)

36 d/yr

Frost days (< 0 °C)

77 d/yr

Annual rainfall

1040 mm

-66 mm

Month by month

	High	vs. normal	Precipitation	vs. normal
Jan	2.5 °C	-1.7 °C	32 mm	-50 mm
Feb	6.1 °C	+0.3 °C	64 mm	-14 mm
Mar	15.2 °C	+4.4 °C	96 mm	-5 mm
Apr	18.6 °C	+1.5 °C	83 mm	-13 mm
May	22.3 °C	-0.2 °C	162 mm	+67 mm
Jun	28.3 °C	+1.1 °C	80 mm	-12 mm
Jul	30.9 °C	+1.4 °C	229 mm	+122 mm
Aug	27.1 °C	-1.3 °C	26 mm	-77 mm
Sep	25.8 °C	+1.0 °C	98 mm	+6 mm
Oct	19.2 °C	+0.4 °C	66 mm	-17 mm
Nov	12.6 °C	+0.1 °C	44 mm	-42 mm
Dec	4.4 °C	-2.2 °C	61 mm	-32 mm

The year's extremes

Hottest day

37.7 °C

24 Jun 2025

Coldest day

-12.8 °C

23 Jan 2025

Wettest day

58.6 mm

31 Jul 2025

Windiest day

34.1 km/h

11 Nov 2025

Strongest gust

84.2 km/h

16 Feb 2025

Hottest feels-like

42.7 °C

24 Jun 2025

Coldest feels-like

-17.0 °C

22 Jan 2025

Snowiest day

8.2 cm

14 Dec 2025

Sunniest day

14.1 h

4 Jul 2025

What was the weather like that day?

Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.

Date

Frequently asked questions

What is the climate of Wilmington?

Wilmington has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 12.8 °C and it receives 1,106 mm of precipitation per year.

What is the hottest day ever recorded in Wilmington?

The hottest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 22 July 2011, reaching 39.4 °C.

What is the coldest day in Wilmington?

The coldest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 22 January 1984, at -24.0 °C.

Does it snow in Wilmington?

Yes. Wilmington gets on average 47.9 cm of snow per year and has around 74 frost days.

Has the climate of Wilmington warmed?

Yes: Wilmington warmed by +1.6 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.

What is the wettest day in Wilmington?

The wettest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 16 September 1999, with 130 mm of rain in 24 hours.

What was the windiest day in Wilmington?

The windiest day measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 15 October 1954, with winds reaching 49.1 km/h.

What is the warmest month in Wilmington?

The warmest month in Wilmington is July (24.9 °C on average); the coldest is January (0.5 °C).

How much does it rain in Wilmington?

Wilmington receives on average 1,106 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 117 rainy days.

Is it sunny in Wilmington?

Wilmington gets on average 9.0 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,285 hours per year over 1940-2025.

What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Wilmington?

The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Wilmington between 1940 and 2025 was 20 March 1958, with 39.6 cm.

Are there tropical nights in Wilmington?

Yes: Wilmington has on average 52 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.

What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Wilmington?

In Wilmington, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 45.3 °C on 15 July 1995, and the lowest was -29.3 °C on 22 January 1984.

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