Climate
Charleston has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with mild winters, hot, humid summers, and significant rainfall all year long. Summer is the wettest season; almost half of the annual rainfall occurs during the summer months in the form of thundershowers. Fall remains relatively warm through November. Winter is short and mild, and is characterized by occasional rain. Snow flurries seldom occur, although in 2010, 3.4 inches (8.6 cm) fell on the evening of February 12, the heaviest in 20 years. The highest temperature recorded (inside city limits at the Customs House on E. Bay St.) was 104 °F (40 °C), on June 2, 1985, and the lowest temperature recorded was 10 °F (−12 °C) on January 21, 1985. Hurricanes are a major threat to the area during the summer and early fall, with several severe hurricanes hitting the area – most notably Hurricane Hugo on September 21, 1989 (a Category 4 storm).
Charleston was hit by a large tornado in 1761, which temporarily emptied the Ashley River, and sank five offshore warships.
| Climate data for Charleston, South Carolina (Airport), 1981-2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 59.0 (15.0) |
62.8 (17.1) |
69.6 (20.9) |
76.5 (24.7) |
83.2 (28.4) |
88.4 (31.3) |
91.1 (32.8) |
89.6 (32.0) |
84.9 (29.4) |
77.1 (25.1) |
69.8 (21.0) |
61.6 (16.4) |
76.13 (24.52) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 38.1 (3.4) |
41.2 (5.1) |
47.2 (8.4) |
53.8 (12.1) |
62.4 (16.9) |
70.2 (21.2) |
73.6 (23.1) |
72.9 (22.7) |
67.8 (19.9) |
57.3 (14.1) |
48.1 (8.9) |
40.6 (4.8) |
56.10 (13.39) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 3.70 (94) |
2.96 (75.2) |
3.71 (94.2) |
2.91 (73.9) |
3.02 (76.7) |
5.64 (143.3) |
6.52 (165.6) |
7.15 (181.6) |
6.10 (154.9) |
3.75 (95.3) |
2.43 (61.7) |
3.11 (79) |
50.99 (1,295.1) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 0.1 (0.3) |
0.2 (0.5) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.3 (0.8) |
0.6 (1.5) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 9.5 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.2 | 10.0 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 8.7 | 112.6 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 179.8 | 189.3 | 244.9 | 276.0 | 294.5 | 279.0 | 288.3 | 257.3 | 219.0 | 223.2 | 189.0 | 170.5 | 2,810.8 |
| Source: NOAA HKO | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Charleston, South Carolina, Geography
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