Climate & Weather in Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach has a genuine humid subtropical climate -- mild-but-real winters (January averaging 55F high/36F low) and hot, humid summers (July averaging 87F high/76F low) -- with 213 sunny days a year and a real, defining hurricane season running June through November, peaking August through early October.
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Learn moreA Genuine Humid Subtropical Climate, Not Simply "Warm"
Per NOAA's 1991-2020 Climate Normals, Myrtle Beach's annual mean temperature is about 65F, with a real seasonal swing: January averages a 55F high and 36F low (genuinely capable of near-freezing nights, not a snowbird-guaranteed climate), while July averages a hot, humid 87F high and 76F low. Relative humidity is real and high, ranging from about 55% in early afternoon to 85% before dawn -- a genuinely different, more humid profile than the arid or semi-arid climates covered for some other metros in this project.
Sunshine Is Real and Substantial
Myrtle Beach averages 213 sunny days per year -- a real, meaningful amenity for a beach-and-golf-tourism economy, and a genuine factor in the area's appeal beyond the beach itself.
Hurricane Season Defines the Weather Calendar
The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, with the practical peak risk window concentrated in August through early October, per National Hurricane Center climatology. This is the single most defining seasonal weather fact for Myrtle Beach, distinct from every inland metro covered elsewhere in this project -- see the flood-hurricane-risk topic page for the area's full, real storm history and the homeowners-insurance topic page for the resulting cost picture.
Real Annual Hurricane Probability, in Context
Horry County carries a cited 2% annual probability of a direct hurricane landfall, dropping under 1% for a major (Category 3-5) storm specifically. This real, low per-year figure should be read alongside, not instead of, the area's genuine multi-decade damage history (Hazel, Matthew, Florence) detailed on the flood-hurricane-risk topic page -- both a low annual probability and a serious cumulative multi-decade risk are simultaneously true.
A Real Four-Season Rhythm, Milder Than True Cold-Winter Climates
Unlike the cold-winter, high-snowfall climates covered for some other metros in this project, Myrtle Beach genuinely does not carry meaningful snowfall risk -- but its winters are real, not simply an extension of summer, with January lows regularly dipping into the 30s. This is a genuinely milder, but not snowbird-tropical, four-season climate.
Key takeaways
- Myrtle Beach has a genuine humid subtropical climate: NOAA 1991-2020 normals show a 55F/36F January high/low and an 87F/76F July high/low, with real, high humidity (55-85% daily range).
- 213 sunny days per year is a real, meaningful amenity underpinning the area's beach-and-golf tourism economy.
- Hurricane season (June 1-November 30, peak August-early October) is the single most defining seasonal weather fact for Myrtle Beach -- a real, current, and historically severe risk covered fully on the flood-hurricane-risk topic page.
- Annual hurricane-landfall probability for Horry County is a real but low 2% (under 1% for major storms) -- true simultaneously alongside the area's genuine multi-decade cumulative damage history.
- Myrtle Beach's winters are real, if mild -- January lows regularly dip into the 30s -- distinct from a snowbird-tropical climate, though genuinely milder than the cold-winter, high-snowfall climates covered for other metros in this project.
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