Climate & Weather in Wilmington
Wilmington has a humid subtropical climate: hot, humid summers and cold, snowy-but-genuinely-mild-by-northern-standards winters. Sources reviewed this pass carried a real, disclosed spread on winter severity -- one source described winters as 'very cold and snowy,' while another put average winter temperatures around the low 40s -- disclosed directly rather than resolved to one framing.
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Learn moreSummer: Hot, Humid, and Wet
Wilmington summers are cited as "warm, humid, and wet," with average temperatures ranging from the mid-70s to low-80s Fahrenheit, and the annual temperature range typically running 26°F to 86°F, rarely dropping below 13°F or exceeding 93°F.
Winter: A Real, Disclosed Spread on Severity
One source described Wilmington winters as "very cold and snowy," while a separate source characterized winters as "cold but relatively mild compared to other locations farther north," with typical temperatures hovering around the low 40s -- a real, disclosed disagreement in framing (though not necessarily in the underlying numbers) this record does not resolve to one characterization.
Snowfall: Genuinely Low by Regional Standards
Wilmington averages approximately 13-16 inches of snow per year across the sources reviewed (a real, modest cross-source range), with snowfall peaking in January at a cited 3.03 inches -- genuinely low relative to national and broader Mid-Atlantic/Northeast norms.
Precipitation and Hurricane-Season Overlap
Wilmington receives a cited average of 42 inches of precipitation per year. Atlantic hurricane season (June 1-November 30) is the period during which remnant tropical systems like Hurricane Ida have historically driven Wilmington's most significant flood events -- see the flood-hurricane-risk topic page for the specific, documented 2021 example.
Key takeaways
- Wilmington has a humid subtropical climate: summers run mid-70s to low-80s°F on average (rarely above 93°F); the annual range typically spans 26°F-86°F.
- Sources disclose a real spread on winter-severity framing -- "very cold and snowy" per one source, "relatively mild ... low 40s" per another.
- Snowfall averages a genuinely low 13-16 inches per year, peaking in January (~3.03 inches).
- Hurricane season (June 1-November 30) is when remnant tropical systems have historically driven Wilmington's most significant flood events, as with Hurricane Ida in 2021.
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