Climate and average weather in Fayetteville

In Fayetteville, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid September to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Fayetteville typically varies from 29°F to 88°F, and is rarely below 14°F or above 97°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Fayetteville for warm-weather activities are from early May to late May and mid September to late October.

Hottest
Jul
88°
Coldest
Jan
29°
Wettest
May
5.6 in
Driest
Jan
2.7 in
Rain / yr
45.9 in
113 wet days
Daylight
9.5–14.5 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
1,401 ft
36.1°N
Clearest
Sep
43% cloud

Fayetteville is county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, United States.

Density
579/km²
people per km²
Founded
1828

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Fayetteville weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid September to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Fayetteville, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.9 months, from May 26 to September 22, with daily high temperatures above 78°F. The hottest month of the year in Fayetteville is July, with an average high of 88°F and low of 70°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 27 to February 26, with daily high temperatures below 54°F. The coldest month of the year in Fayetteville is January, with an average low of 29°F and high of 46°F.

Days typically run about 18°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4629
Feb5133
Mar6040
Apr6849
May7558
Jun8367
Jul8870
Aug8769
Sep8161
Oct7050
Nov5840
Dec4832

How hot and cold Fayetteville really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Fayetteville feels like about 93°F (around July 22). About 47 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 21°F (around January 13), with roughly 107 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan46462229
Feb51512633
Mar60603540
Apr68684649
May75755858
Jun85836767
Jul92887070
Aug90876969
Sep81816161
Oct70704950
Nov58583440
Dec48482532

Average hourly temperature in Fayetteville

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 88°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 29°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Fayetteville weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan46° / 29°2.77.61.79.81.4
Feb51° / 33°2.77.61.510.62.6
Mar60° / 40°4.410.6111.74.7
Apr68° / 49°5.511.1012.96.1
May75° / 58°5.612.9013.96.4
Jun83° / 67°4.110.9014.45.6
Jul88° / 70°3.310.4014.24.5
Aug87° / 69°3.09.6013.44.8
Sep81° / 61°3.87.8012.26.8
Oct70° / 50°4.19011.16.9
Nov58° / 40°3.77.90.410.14.5
Dec48° / 32°3.07.61.49.62.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Fayetteville gets about 45.9 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.3 months, from around Mar 9 to Jul 18, peaking in May at about 42% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 29.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 5.6 in over about 13 wet days; January is the driest, with 2.7 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 23 · 42%Sep 29 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan248
Feb278
Mar3411
Apr3711
May4113
Jun3711
Jul3310
Aug3110
Sep278
Oct289
Nov278
Dec258

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Fayetteville collects about 45.9 in of rain across 113 wet days — roughly 3.8 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 5.6 in, while January is the driest at just 2.7 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.72.74.45.55.64.13.33.03.84.13.73.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2.782
Feb2.782
Mar4.4111
Apr5.5110
May5.6130
Jun4.1110
Jul3.3100
Aug3.0100
Sep3.880
Oct4.190
Nov3.780
Dec3.081

Snow in Fayetteville

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Fayetteville averages about 6 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 22 to Mar 25 — about 4.1 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 1.7 days of snow and an estimated 3 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 12 in of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonJan 8
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan23
Feb23
Mar12
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec13

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Fayetteville, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 14 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around October 29. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 68% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 23 and lasts for 6.7 months, ending around June 13. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 54% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 24 · 69%Feb 18 · 45%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5050
Feb4654
Mar4753
Apr4852
May4654
Jun5644
Jul6634
Aug6832
Sep6634
Oct6238
Nov5545
Dec5050

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 20, brings about 14 h 30 min of light; the shortest, around December 19, only 9 h 30 min — a swing of roughly 5 hours.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.87:325:20
Feb10.67:125:50
Mar11.76:356:18
Apr12.95:496:44
May13.95:167:10
Jun14.45:047:30
Jul14.25:157:29
Aug13.45:397:02
Sep12.26:046:18
Oct11.16:305:34
Nov10.17:005:04
Dec9.67:265:00

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Fayetteville averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 17 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.6 months, from around Jun 23 to Dec 9. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 15 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 10 sunny days — about 38% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 117 daysMay 279 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun11Mixed
Jul14Mixed
Aug14Mixed
Sep15Mixed
Oct16Bright
Nov13Mixed
Dec12Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Fayetteville, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.7 months, from around May 9 to September 28. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 93% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 29 to May 8, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 5 · 100%Jul 13 · 6%oppressivecomfortablemuggyhumiddrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9820000
Feb9820000
Mar9351000
Apr75159100
May3619261910
Jun5112446140
Jul151442361
Aug492240250
Sep2917222750
Oct701411500
Nov9162000
Dec9730000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Fayetteville is typically calm, near 7 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.3 months, from around Oct 14 to May 22. The windiest month is April, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 23 to Oct 13, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyApr 9 · 8 mphAug 1 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov8light breeze
Dec8light breeze

Best time to visit Fayetteville

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Fayetteville throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid October, Fayetteville is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Fayetteville for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to late May and again from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 30 · 7.8

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan1.5poor
Feb2.6poor
Mar4.7fair
Apr6.1good
May6.4good
Jun5.6good
Jul4.5fair
Aug4.8fair
Sep6.8good
Oct6.9good
Nov4.5fair
Dec2.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Fayetteville for hot-weather activities is from late May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 5 · 7.3

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Fayetteville, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 88°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 46°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Fayetteville sees daytime highs around 88°F and nights near 70°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Fayetteville by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fayetteville peaks around July 12 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highVery highHighModerateJul 12UV 10Dec 22UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Fayetteville

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb40
Mar5.50
Apr7.54.5
May85
Jun8.56
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.55
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov3.50
Dec00

Air quality in Fayetteville by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Fayetteville is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (November, 6 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodGoodModerateGoodJul 1518 µg/m³Nov 236 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar12Moderate
Apr11Good
May13Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov6Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Fayetteville typically lasts about 306 days, from around February 12 to December 14 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 1 to October 31.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 1250%Apr 190%Oct 3190%Dec 1450%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4031
Feb5328
Mar7929
Apr960
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct970
Nov7830
Dec5031

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Fayetteville banks about 4,282 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar38
Apr250
May517
Jun752
Jul904
Aug868
Sep628
Oct306
Nov20
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Fayetteville receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.2 and 6.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 23 to Oct 1. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.5 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 66% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 136.6 kWhDec 182.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.5Intense
Jul6.5Intense
Aug6.0Bright
Sep4.9Bright
Oct3.8Moderate
Nov2.7Moderate
Dec2.2Moderate

Where is Fayetteville?

Fayetteville sits at 36.1°N, 94.2°W, 1,401 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Springdale, 8.7 mi away.

Topography around Fayetteville

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Fayetteville.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Fayetteville has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 564 ft around an average of 1,355 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,135 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,218 ft.

The land around Fayetteville is covered by trees (58%) and artificial surfaces (29%) within 2 miles, trees (52%) and grassland (35%) within 10 miles, and trees (67%) and grassland (28%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
564 ft
10 miles
1,135 ft
50 miles
2,218 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Springdale 8.7 mi · Rogers 19 mi · Bentonville 22 mi · Siloam Springs 23 mi · Bella Vista 30 mi · Van Buren 45 mi · Tahlequah 47 mi · Fort Smith 48 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fayetteville (36.0626°, -94.1574°, elevation 1,401 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).