Climate and average weather in Meridian

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

Best: early March to mid May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Meridian typically varies from 38°F to 91°F, and is rarely below 24°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 Meridian for warm-weather activities are from early March to mid May and late September to late November.

Hottest
Jul
91°
Coldest
Jan
38°
Wettest
Mar
4.8 in
Driest
Sep
3.1 in
Rain / yr
48.5 in
122 wet days
Daylight
9.9–14.1 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
344 ft
32.4°N
Clearest
Oct
43% cloud

Meridian is city in and the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States.

Density
281/km²
people per km²
Founded
1854

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

Meridian 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 mid May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.7 months, from May 12 to October 1, with daily high temperatures above 82°F. The hottest month of the year in Meridian is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 73°F.

The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from November 27 to February 22, with daily high temperatures below 64°F. The coldest month of the year in Meridian is January, with an average low of 38°F and high of 57°F.

Days typically run about 20°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5738
Feb6242
Mar6948
Apr7655
May8363
Jun8970
Jul9173
Aug9172
Sep8767
Oct7756
Nov6746
Dec5940

How hot and cold Meridian 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, Meridian feels like about 98°F (around July 23). About 101 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan57573338
Feb62623742
Mar69694548
Apr76765555
May84836363
Jun93897070
Jul97917373
Aug96917272
Sep88876767
Oct77775656
Nov67674246
Dec59593640

Average hourly temperature in Meridian

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 91°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 38°F.

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

Meridian weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan57° / 38°4.49.410.14.2
Feb62° / 42°4.59.810.85.2
Mar69° / 48°4.810.111.86.4
Apr76° / 55°4.18.712.87.1
May83° / 63°4.01013.65.9
Jun89° / 70°3.712.114.14.0
Jul91° / 73°4.415.913.93.2
Aug91° / 72°4.112.913.23.5
Sep87° / 67°3.18.312.25.1
Oct77° / 56°3.36.911.27.5
Nov67° / 46°3.67.910.36.6
Dec59° / 40°4.69.89.94.6

Chance of rain

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

Meridian gets about 48.5 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 3.3 months, from around May 23 to Aug 30, peaking in July at about 52% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 6.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 4.8 in over about 10 wet days; September is the driest, with 3.1 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 19 · 52%Oct 6 · 21%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan319
Feb3410
Mar3210
Apr299
May3210
Jun4112
Jul5016
Aug4213
Sep288
Oct237
Nov268
Dec3110

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Meridian collects about 48.5 in of rain across 122 wet days — roughly 4.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 4.8 in, while September is the driest at just 3.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 29% of the year’s total.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.44.54.84.14.03.74.44.13.13.33.64.6
Rainfall (in)Rain days
Jan4.49
Feb4.510
Mar4.810
Apr4.19
May4.010
Jun3.712
Jul4.416
Aug4.113
Sep3.18
Oct3.37
Nov3.68
Dec4.610

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Meridian, 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 10 and lasts for 3.6 months, ending around November 26. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 64% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 27 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around April 17. The cloudiest month is February, 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 2 · 66%Mar 1 · 44%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb4654
Mar4654
Apr5248
May5545
Jun5446
Jul4951
Aug5446
Sep6238
Oct6436
Nov5842
Dec4654

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 06 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 54 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.17:015:07
Feb10.86:455:34
Mar11.86:125:57
Apr12.85:316:19
May13.65:016:41
Jun14.14:526:58
Jul13.95:026:58
Aug13.25:236:35
Sep12.25:435:55
Oct11.26:045:15
Nov10.36:314:49
Dec9.96:544:48

Sunny days

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

Meridian averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 16 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.1 months, from around Aug 31 to Dec 2. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 15 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 8 sunny days — about 49% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightOct 2216 daysJul 88 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul8Gloomy
Aug10Mixed
Sep13Mixed
Oct16Bright
Nov14Mixed
Dec11Mixed

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 Meridian, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.2 months, from around May 3 to October 6. 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 7 to May 2, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 94% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 23 · 96%Jul 30 · 1%humidmuggyoppressivecomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan8775100
Feb83107100
Mar701710200
Apr5019201000
May2117233180
Jun261432451
Jul02418714
Aug13824595
Sep11111930280
Oct4817161450
Nov76119500
Dec8397200

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 Meridian is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Oct 24 to May 10. The windiest month is February, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 11 to Oct 23, with August the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeFeb 28 · 7 mphAug 10 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Meridian

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 20 · 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
Jan4.2fair
Feb5.2fair
Mar6.4good
Apr7.1good
May5.9good
Jun4.0fair
Jul3.3poor
Aug3.6fair
Sep5.2fair
Oct7.4good
Nov6.6good
Dec4.7fair

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 Meridian for hot-weather activities run from mid April to late June and again from late August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 29 · 7.6

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 Meridian, 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 91°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 57°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Meridian sees daytime highs around 91°F and nights near 73°F. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Meridian 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 Meridian peaks around July 14 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 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 10Dec 19UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5High
Mar6High
Apr9Very high
May9Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov5Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Meridian

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 6 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)
Jan30
Feb50
Mar61.5
Apr7.54.5
May85
Jun85.5
Jul8.56
Aug7.55
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov40
Dec0.50

Air quality in Meridian 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 Meridian is worst in July — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.4× the cleanest month (January, 6 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1721 µg/m³Jan 146 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb8Good
Mar10Good
Apr10Good
May13Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov9Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Meridian is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 8 to November 16 (254 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 890%Nov 1690%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan7231
Feb8128
Mar947
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov9010
Dec7831

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. Meridian banks about 5,831 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
Feb50
Mar259
Apr460
May719
Jun886
Jul983
Aug966
Sep800
Oct513
Nov181
Dec13

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.

Meridian receives about 4.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.4 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 16 to Sep 29. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.5 kWh/m² — roughly 60% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 196.2 kWhDec 232.4 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.7Moderate
Feb3.5Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.2Intense
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.0Bright
Aug5.6Bright
Sep4.9Bright
Oct4.1Bright
Nov3.1Moderate
Dec2.5Moderate

Where is Meridian?

Meridian sits at 32.4°N, 88.7°W, 344 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Laurel, 53 mi away.

Topography around Meridian

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Meridian has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 ft around an average of 364 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 413 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 696 ft.

The land around Meridian is covered by trees (58%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 2 miles, trees (82%) within 10 miles, and trees (89%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
292 ft
10 miles
413 ft
50 miles
696 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Laurel 53 mi · Brandon 75 mi · Starkville 75 mi · Hattiesburg 80 mi · Columbus 80 mi · Madison 83 mi · Ridgeland 83 mi · Pearl 84 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 Meridian (32.3643°, -88.7037°, elevation 344 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).