Climate and average weather in Florence

In Florence, the summers are muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: early March to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Florence typically varies from 37°F to 90°F, and is rarely below 23°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 Florence for warm-weather activities are from early March to late May and late September to late November.

Hottest
Jul
90°
Coldest
Jan
37°
Wettest
Aug
5.5 in
Driest
Nov
2.9 in
Rain / yr
47.0 in
124 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
138 ft
34.2°N
Clearest
Oct
46% cloud

Florence is county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States.

Density
679/km²
people per km²
Founded
1890

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

Florence 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 early March to late May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 15 to September 22, with daily high temperatures above 82°F. The hottest month of the year in Florence is July, with an average high of 90°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 29 to February 27, with daily high temperatures below 62°F. The coldest month of the year in Florence is January, with an average low of 37°F and high of 56°F.

Days typically run about 19°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5637
Feb5939
Mar6745
Apr7554
May8262
Jun8870
Jul9073
Aug8872
Sep8366
Oct7555
Nov6544
Dec5839

How hot and cold Florence 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, Florence feels like about 97°F (around July 19). About 85 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 29°F (around January 24), with roughly 35 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan56563137
Feb59593339
Mar67674145
Apr75755354
May82826262
Jun91887070
Jul96907373
Aug94887272
Sep85836666
Oct75755455
Nov65654044
Dec58583439

Average hourly temperature in Florence

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 90°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 37°F.

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

Florence 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
Jan56° / 37°3.59.20.7103.9
Feb59° / 39°3.38.50.310.74.7
Mar67° / 45°3.59.30.211.76.3
Apr75° / 54°3.38.1012.87.2
May82° / 62°3.410013.86.2
Jun88° / 70°4.513.4014.24.1
Jul90° / 73°5.316.30143.3
Aug88° / 72°5.515.2013.33.8
Sep83° / 66°4.710.5012.25.7
Oct75° / 55°3.47.5011.17.4
Nov65° / 44°2.97.30.110.26.5
Dec58° / 39°3.78.50.29.84.6

Chance of rain

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

Florence gets about 47.0 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 3.8 months, from around May 23 to Sep 14, peaking in July at about 54% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 27.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 5.5 in over about 15 wet days; November is the driest, with 2.9 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 25 · 54%Oct 27 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb309
Mar299
Apr288
May3210
Jun4513
Jul5216
Aug4915
Sep3511
Oct258
Nov247
Dec289

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Florence collects about 47.0 in of rain across 124 wet days — roughly 3.9 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 5.5 in, while November is the driest at just 2.9 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.53.33.53.33.44.55.35.54.73.42.93.7
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.591
Feb3.390
Mar3.590
Apr3.380
May3.4100
Jun4.5130
Jul5.3160
Aug5.5150
Sep4.7110
Oct3.480
Nov2.970
Dec3.790

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Florence, 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 August 25 and lasts for 3.3 months, ending around December 3. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around January 25 and lasts for 1.3 months, ending around March 4. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 53% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 22 · 64%Feb 18 · 46%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb4852
Mar5347
Apr5446
May5347
Jun5050
Jul4753
Aug5050
Sep5446
Oct6040
Nov5743
Dec4951

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 14, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 9 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.07:305:27
Feb10.77:125:56
Mar11.76:376:21
Apr12.85:546:45
May13.85:227:09
Jun14.25:117:27
Jul14.05:227:27
Aug13.35:457:02
Sep12.26:076:20
Oct11.16:305:38
Nov10.26:595:10
Dec9.87:235:07

Sunny days

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

Florence averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 15 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around Sep 11 to Feb 1. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 14 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 7 sunny days — about 48% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 2415 daysJul 247 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr12Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul8Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct14Mixed
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 Florence, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.1 months, from around May 9 to October 11. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 97% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 12 to May 8, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 98% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 25 · 99%Jul 22 · 1%comfortablehumidoppressivemuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9252100
Feb9262000
Mar83126000
Apr641912400
May3217252150
Jun591635350
Jul12721646
Aug13922596
Sep11121927291
Oct4817181250
Nov8098300
Dec8973100

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 Florence is typically calm, near 7 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Nov 9 to May 17. The windiest month is April, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 18 to Nov 8, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyApr 7 · 8 mphAug 13 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7light breeze
Feb8light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct7calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Florence

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid May, Florence 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 Florence for general outdoor tourist activities run from early March to late May and again from late September to late November, with a peak score in the third week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 19 · 7.6

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
Jan3.9fair
Feb4.7fair
Mar6.3good
Apr7.1good
May6.2good
Jun4.1fair
Jul3.3poor
Aug3.9fair
Sep5.7good
Oct7.3good
Nov6.5good
Dec4.6fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Florence for hot-weather activities run from early April to mid July and again from early August to late October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 14 · 6.9

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 Florence, 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 90°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 56°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Florence sees daytime highs around 90°F and nights near 73°F. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Florence 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 Florence peaks around July 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJul 14UV 9Dec 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7Very high
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Florence

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 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)
Jan20
Feb40
Mar61.5
Apr73.5
May84.5
Jun85
Jul85.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov3.50
Dec00

Air quality in Florence 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 Florence is worst in July — around 18 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.3× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1517 µg/m³Dec 168 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb11Good
Mar16Moderate
Apr13Moderate
May13Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct9Good
Nov8Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Florence is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 17 to November 11 (240 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 1790%Nov 1190%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan6631
Feb7528
Mar9016
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov8818
Dec7431

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. Florence banks about 5,441 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb10
Mar181
Apr437
May684
Jun866
Jul983
Aug935
Sep742
Oct456
Nov144
Dec4

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.

Florence receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 14 to Sep 18. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 236.2 kWhDec 222.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.4Moderate
Mar4.5Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.1Intense
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.0Intense
Aug5.3Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct3.8Moderate
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.4Moderate

Where is Florence?

Florence sits at 34.2°N, 79.8°W, 138 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Sumter, 38 mi away.

Topography around Florence

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Florence has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 151 ft around an average of 144 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 236 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 633 ft.

The land around Florence is covered by trees (62%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 2 miles, trees (70%) within 10 miles, and trees (74%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
151 ft
10 miles
236 ft
50 miles
633 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Sumter 38 mi · Laurinburg 43 mi · Conway 48 mi · Lumberton 52 mi · Socastee 57 mi · Myrtle Beach 61 mi · North Myrtle Beach 67 mi · Monroe 71 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 Florence (34.1954°, -79.7626°, elevation 138 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).