Climate and average weather in Lexington

In Lexington, the summers are muggy, hot, showery, 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 Lexington typically varies from 38°F to 89°F, and is rarely below 26°F or above 95°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 Lexington for warm-weather activities are from mid March to late May and mid September to late November.

Hottest
Jul
89°
Coldest
Jan
38°
Wettest
Jul
4.4 in
Driest
Nov
2.8 in
Rain / yr
42.6 in
116 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
394 ft
34.0°N
Clearest
Oct
46% cloud

Lexington is town in Lexington County, South Carolina, United States.

Density
774/km²
people per km²
Founded
1820

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

Lexington 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 Lexington, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from May 19 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 81°F. The hottest month of the year in Lexington is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 74°F.

The cool season lasts 3.2 months, from November 27 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below 61°F. The coldest month of the year in Lexington is January, with an average low of 38°F and high of 55°F.

Days typically run about 17°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5538
Feb5840
Mar6546
Apr7354
May8063
Jun8671
Jul8974
Aug8873
Sep8367
Oct7456
Nov6446
Dec5741

How hot and cold Lexington 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, Lexington feels like about 96°F (around July 23). About 76 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 32°F (around January 25), with roughly 11 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)
Jan55553338
Feb58583540
Mar65654246
Apr73735454
May81806363
Jun89867171
Jul95897474
Aug93887373
Sep84836767
Oct74745656
Nov64644346
Dec57573641

Average hourly temperature in Lexington

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 89°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 38°F.

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

Lexington 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° / 38°3.59.10.6103.6
Feb58° / 40°3.58.20.310.74.4
Mar65° / 46°3.69.10.111.76.1
Apr73° / 54°3.38012.87.2
May80° / 63°2.98.9013.76.7
Jun86° / 71°4.113.5014.24.5
Jul89° / 74°4.414.90143.7
Aug88° / 73°4.013.4013.34.2
Sep83° / 67°3.58.6012.26.1
Oct74° / 56°3.36.9011.17.5
Nov64° / 46°2.86.9010.26.3
Dec57° / 41°3.78.90.19.84.3

Chance of rain

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

Lexington gets about 42.6 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 3.5 months, from around May 24 to Sep 6, peaking in July at about 50% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 24.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 4.4 in over about 15 wet days; November is the driest, with 2.8 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 26 · 50%Oct 24 · 21%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb308
Mar299
Apr278
May299
Jun4414
Jul4815
Aug4313
Sep299
Oct237
Nov237
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Lexington collects about 42.6 in of rain across 116 wet days — roughly 3.5 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 4.4 in, while November is the driest at just 2.8 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 29% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.53.53.63.32.94.14.44.03.53.32.83.7
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.591
Feb3.580
Mar3.690
Apr3.380
May2.990
Jun4.1140
Jul4.4150
Aug4.0130
Sep3.590
Oct3.370
Nov2.870
Dec3.790

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Lexington, 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 29 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around December 3. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 61% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 4 and lasts for 3.1 months, ending around March 7. The cloudiest month is February, 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 23 · 63%Dec 30 · 46%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4951
Feb4753
Mar5248
Apr5347
May5545
Jun5347
Jul5050
Aug5149
Sep5545
Oct6139
Nov5842
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 17, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, 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)
Jan10.07:355:33
Feb10.77:176:02
Mar11.76:426:27
Apr12.86:006:51
May13.75:287:14
Jun14.25:187:33
Jul14.05:297:32
Aug13.35:517:07
Sep12.26:136:26
Oct11.16:365:44
Nov10.27:045:16
Dec9.87:295:14

Sunny days

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

Lexington 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 3.6 months, from around Sep 5 to Dec 24. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 14 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 8 sunny days — about 45% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 2415 daysJul 277 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar12Mixed
Apr12Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul8Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep11Mixed
Oct15Mixed
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 Lexington, 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 98% 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 27 · 99%Jul 21 · 1%comfortableoppressivehumiddrymuggycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9352000
Feb9361000
Mar86122000
Apr662011300
May2919272050
Jun371838340
Jul02627623
Aug02828584
Sep10122033250
Oct4719191230
Nov81107200
Dec9072100

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 Lexington 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 15. The windiest month is March, averaging about 8 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 16 to Nov 8, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 5 · 8 mphAug 13 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7light breeze
Mar8light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep6calm
Oct6calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Hazard calendar for Lexington

In seasonPeak

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

Lexington 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 Lexington

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid May, Lexington 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 Lexington 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 18 · 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
Jan3.7fair
Feb4.4fair
Mar6.1good
Apr7.1good
May6.6good
Jun4.6fair
Jul3.7fair
Aug4.2fair
Sep6.1good
Oct7.4good
Nov6.3good
Dec4.3fair

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 Lexington for hot-weather activities run from mid April to late July and again from late July to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 13 · 7.1

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 Lexington, 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 89°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, Lexington sees daytime highs around 89°F and nights near 74°F. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Lexington 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 Lexington peaks around June 23 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 highHighModerateJun 23UV 9Dec 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5Moderate
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Lexington

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 June 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
Apr6.53
May7.54.5
Jun85.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53
Oct50
Nov3.50
Dec00

Air quality in Lexington 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 Lexington 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).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodJul 1617 µg/m³Dec 218 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb10Good
Mar15Moderate
Apr12Good
May13Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul18Moderate
Aug16Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct8Good
Nov8Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Lexington is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 5 to December 1 (272 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 590%Dec 190%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan7531
Feb8327
Mar940
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov950
Dec8426

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. Lexington banks about 5,403 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
Feb9
Mar170
Apr413
May671
Jun851
Jul977
Aug939
Sep747
Oct467
Nov154
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.

Lexington 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 15 to Sep 19. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

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

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 226.2 kWhDec 232.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.4Moderate
Mar4.5Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.1Intense
Jun6.1Intense
Jul6.0Intense
Aug5.4Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct3.8Moderate
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.4Moderate

Where is Lexington?

Lexington sits at 34.0°N, 81.2°W, 394 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Seven Oaks, 6.8 mi away.

Topography around Lexington

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Lexington has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 285 ft around an average of 394 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 535 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,175 ft.

The land around Lexington is covered by trees (63%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, trees (61%) within 10 miles, and trees (80%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
285 ft
10 miles
535 ft
50 miles
1,175 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Seven Oaks 6.8 mi · Saint Andrews 8.7 mi · West Columbia 9.3 mi · Columbia 12 mi · Aiken 40 mi · Sumter 52 mi · North Augusta 53 mi · Greenwood 55 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 Lexington (33.9815°, -81.2362°, elevation 394 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). 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).