Climate & Weather in Wilmington
Wilmington has a humid subtropical climate: hot, humid summers and mild-to-cool winters. Per climate-normal sources reviewed this session, the annual average high runs about 74.4°F with an annual average of 64.4°F, while July (the hottest month) averages an 90.0°F high with a mean of 81.5°F, and January (the coldest month) averages a 57.2°F high and 36.3°F low.
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Learn moreSummer: Hot, Humid, and Ocean-Moderated
Wilmington's warm season peaks in July, with an average high around 90.0°F and a daily mean around 81.5°F, per climate-data sources reviewed this session. Relative humidity holds in a fairly narrow 73-77% band year-round rather than swinging widely by season, so summer humidity is a consistent, not occasional, feature of daily life. Coastal proximity provides a real, if partial, moderating effect: sea breezes originating from the ocean bring cooler air onshore during most spring and summer afternoons, a genuine climate benefit of Wilmington's coastal location relative to inland Piedmont NC cities in this build wave, even though it doesn't eliminate the heat and humidity entirely.
Winter: Mild, With Real But Infrequent Cold
January, Wilmington's coldest month, averages a 57.2°F high and 36.3°F low -- genuinely mild by national standards, and milder than the inland Piedmont NC cities in this build wave given Wilmington's coastal, lower-latitude position. Freezing temperatures occur regularly between mid-November and mid-March, but severe or long-lasting cold is described as very rare in the sources reviewed -- a real winter exists here, just a mild one.
Hurricane Season Overlaps Most of the Warm Season
Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, overlapping most of Wilmington's warm season. Unlike the more diffuse, "watch the forecast generally" framing appropriate for an inland city, this window carries direct practical weight in Wilmington specifically -- see the flood-hurricane-risk topic page for Hurricane Florence (2018) and Hurricane Fran (1996), both genuine direct-landfall storms during this exact seasonal window, not a hypothetical risk described in the abstract.
Humidity as a Year-Round, Not Just Summer, Factor
The cited 73-77% relative humidity range holds essentially flat across the calendar rather than dropping sharply in cooler months, a genuine adjustment for anyone relocating from a drier climate -- this factors into daily comfort, air-conditioning costs during the warm season, and general outdoor-activity planning nearly year-round rather than being confined to the hottest months alone.
Key takeaways
- Wilmington's humid subtropical climate runs an annual average high around 74.4°F; July (hottest) averages a 90.0°F high and 81.5°F mean, while January (coldest) averages a 57.2°F high and 36.3°F low.
- Relative humidity holds in a consistent 73-77% band nearly year-round -- not just a summer feature.
- Ocean-driven sea breezes provide a real, if partial, summer-afternoon cooling effect relative to inland Piedmont NC cities, though they don't eliminate the region's characteristic heat and humidity.
- Freezing temperatures occur regularly mid-November through mid-March, but severe or prolonged cold is rare -- a real, if mild, winter season.
- Hurricane season (June 1-November 30) carries direct, concrete practical weight here, not abstract risk -- both Hurricane Florence (2018) and Hurricane Fran (1996) made landfall at or near Wilmington during this exact window.
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