Climate and average weather in Jacksonville

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

Best: mid March to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Jacksonville typically varies from 37°F to 87°F, and is rarely below 24°F or above 93°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 Jacksonville for warm-weather activities are from mid March to late May and mid September to late November.

Hottest
Jul
87°
Coldest
Jan
37°
Wettest
Aug
6.8 in
Driest
Feb
3.3 in
Rain / yr
54.8 in
139 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
13 ft
34.8°N
Clearest
Nov
47% cloud

Jacksonville is city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States.

Density
513/km²
people per km²
Founded
1757

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

Jacksonville 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 March to late May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Jacksonville, 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 18 to September 26, with daily high temperatures above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Jacksonville is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from December 2 to March 1, with daily high temperatures below 61°F. The coldest month of the year in Jacksonville is January, with an average low of 37°F and high of 55°F.

Days typically run about 18°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 20°F) in March.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5537
Feb5839
Mar6444
Apr7353
May7961
Jun8569
Jul8773
Aug8672
Sep8266
Oct7456
Nov6545
Dec5840

How hot and cold Jacksonville 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, Jacksonville feels like about 96°F (around July 24). About 72 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 30°F (around January 23), with roughly 30 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)
Jan55553137
Feb58583339
Mar64644044
Apr72735253
May79796161
Jun89856969
Jul95877373
Aug92867272
Sep84826666
Oct74745656
Nov65654245
Dec58583540

Average hourly temperature in Jacksonville

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 87°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 37°F.

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

Jacksonville 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
Jan55° / 37°3.690.69.93.7
Feb58° / 39°3.38.90.510.74.4
Mar64° / 44°3.69.40.111.76.0
Apr73° / 53°3.38.8012.87.0
May79° / 61°4.111013.86.5
Jun85° / 69°5.615.5014.34.5
Jul87° / 73°6.719.8014.13.6
Aug86° / 72°6.817.3013.34.1
Sep82° / 66°6.513.3012.25.7
Oct74° / 56°4.08.5011.17.1
Nov65° / 45°3.67.9010.26.4
Dec58° / 40°3.69.40.19.74.5

Chance of rain

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

Jacksonville gets about 54.8 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 May 21 to Sep 29, peaking in July at about 66% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 26.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 6.8 in over about 17 wet days; February is the driest, with 3.3 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 20 · 66%Oct 26 · 25%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb319
Mar309
Apr309
May3611
Jun5116
Jul6320
Aug5617
Sep4313
Oct299
Nov268
Dec309

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Jacksonville collects about 54.8 in of rain across 139 wet days — roughly 4.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 6.8 in, while February is the driest at just 3.3 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.63.33.63.34.15.66.76.86.54.03.63.6
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.691
Feb3.391
Mar3.690
Apr3.390
May4.1110
Jun5.6160
Jul6.7200
Aug6.8170
Sep6.5130
Oct4.090
Nov3.680
Dec3.690

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Jacksonville, 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 September 28 and lasts for 2.4 months, ending around December 8. The clearest month is November, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 57% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 22 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around September 27. The cloudiest month is July, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 58% 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 24 · 60%Jul 26 · 39%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb4951
Mar5248
Apr5545
May5149
Jun4555
Jul4258
Aug4555
Sep4951
Oct5644
Nov5743
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 8, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, 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)
Jan9.97:225:16
Feb10.77:035:45
Mar11.76:276:11
Apr12.85:446:36
May13.85:127:00
Jun14.35:007:19
Jul14.15:127:19
Aug13.35:346:53
Sep12.25:586:10
Oct11.16:215:28
Nov10.26:514:59
Dec9.77:154:56

Sunny days

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

Jacksonville averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 15 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 7.5 months, from around Sep 25 to May 10. The sunniest month is November, with roughly 14 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 7 sunny days — about 54% fewer than the November peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightNov 1215 daysJul 256 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun7Gloomy
Jul7Gloomy
Aug7Gloomy
Sep10Mixed
Oct14Mixed
Nov14Mixed
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 Jacksonville, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.2 months, from around May 8 to October 12. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 13 to May 7, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 97% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 28 · 98%Jul 19 · 0%miserablecomfortablemuggyhumidoppressivedrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9063100
Feb9173000
Mar82126000
Apr592015600
May2618232580
Jun371328454
Jul016106221
Aug027195417
Sep891827344
Oct4316201370
Nov751110400
Dec8595100

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

The windier part of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Nov 5 to May 18. The windiest month is April, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 19 to Nov 4, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeApr 8 · 8 mphAug 13 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct6calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Jacksonville

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Jacksonville sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Jacksonville

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late March, Jacksonville is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 19 · 7.3

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
Jan3.7fair
Feb4.4fair
Mar6.0good
Apr6.9good
May6.5good
Jun4.6fair
Jul3.6fair
Aug4.1fair
Sep5.7good
Oct7.1good
Nov6.3good
Dec4.5fair

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 Jacksonville for hot-weather activities is from mid April to late October, with a peak score in the last week of May.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 22 · 6.3

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 Jacksonville, 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 87°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 55°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Jacksonville sees daytime highs around 87°F and nights near 73°F. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 20 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Jacksonville

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 19 mi away) is warmest in August at about 82°F and coldest in February near 58°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 6 to Nov 13 — about 6.3 months when the water holds above 68°F.

60°70°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan60Cool
Feb58Bracing
Mar60Cool
Apr64Cool
May70Refreshing
Jun77Warm
Jul81Warm
Aug82Warm
Sep80Warm
Oct74Refreshing
Nov67Cool
Dec63Cool

UV index (midday) in Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville peaks around July 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highModerateJul 14UV 9Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7Very high
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Jacksonville

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)
Jan10
Feb3.50
Mar60
Apr73.5
May7.54.5
Jun85
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53.5
Oct4.50
Nov2.50
Dec00

Air quality in Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville is worst in March — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.3× the cleanest month (December, 6 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodMar 1720 µg/m³Dec 136 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar21Moderate
Apr14Moderate
May13Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul17Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep10Good
Oct8Good
Nov7Good
Dec6Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Jacksonville 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 16 (245 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 1790%Nov 1690%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan6731
Feb7528
Mar8914
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov9011
Dec7731

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. Jacksonville banks about 5,110 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb2
Mar134
Apr378
May625
Jun811
Jul933
Aug893
Sep719
Oct457
Nov153
Dec6

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.

Jacksonville receives about 4.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 6.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 11 to Sep 13. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.0 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 60% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 216.1 kWhDec 212.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.4Moderate
Mar4.5Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.0Intense
Jun6.0Intense
Jul5.8Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.7Moderate
Nov2.9Moderate
Dec2.4Moderate

Where is Jacksonville?

Jacksonville sits at 34.8°N, 77.4°W, 13 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Havelock, 31 mi away.

Topography around Jacksonville

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Jacksonville has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 85 ft around an average of 26 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 246 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 289 ft.

The land around Jacksonville is covered by trees (55%) within 2 miles, trees (69%) within 10 miles, and trees (56%) and water (25%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
85 ft
10 miles
246 ft
50 miles
289 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Havelock 31 mi · New Bern 33 mi · Kinston 36 mi · Wilmington 47 mi · Leland 49 mi · Goldsboro 54 mi · Greenville 60 mi · Wilson 72 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 Jacksonville (34.754°, -77.4302°, elevation 13 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).