Climate averages 1991–2020
Durham weather
in March.
A mild, wet month: the 8th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
March is a mild month in Durham: daytime highs average 15.8°C and nights cool to about 4.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 8th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 108 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes March a wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 56 min on an average March day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Cary (25 km away). In March its highs average 15.7°C, about as warm as Durham, with 104 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Durham ranks 257th of 498 for the warmest March highs and joint 416th of 498 for the driest March (rainfall, lowest first). The mean March high of those 498 cities is 14.9°C; Durham is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From March to April, average highs rise by 5.4°C to 21.1°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 108 mm to 89 mm.
The annual picture
March in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Durham climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.5°C0.1°C | 0.1°C | 92 | 9.4 | 10.010 h |
| February | 11.6°C1.2°C | 1.2°C | 81 | 8.9 | 10.911 h |
| March, selected | 15.8°C4.6°C | 4.6°C | 108 | 10.5 | 11.912 h |
| April | 21.1°C9.7°C | 9.7°C | 89 | 9.3 | 13.113 h |
| May | 25.4°C14.7°C | 14.7°C | 88 | 10.6 | 14.114 h |
| June | 29.4°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 98 | 12.0 | 14.615 h |
| July | 31.4°C21.9°C | 21.9°C | 110 | 14.9 | 14.314 h |
| August | 30.2°C21.0°C | 21.0°C | 99 | 11.6 | 13.514 h |
| September | 26.9°C17.9°C | 17.9°C | 112 | 9.4 | 12.412 h |
| October | 21.4°C11.6°C | 11.6°C | 79 | 7.5 | 11.311 h |
| November | 15.5°C5.6°C | 5.6°C | 85 | 7.7 | 10.310 h |
| December | 11.1°C1.9°C | 1.9°C | 89 | 9.1 | 9.810 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
March in nearby cities
- Cary in MarchUnited States · 25 kmHigh 15.7°C · Low 5.3°C · 104 mm rain
- Raleigh in MarchUnited States · 34 kmHigh 16.0°C · Low 5.5°C · 104 mm rain
- Greensboro in MarchUnited States · 81 kmHigh 14.9°C · Low 4.0°C · 108 mm rain
- High Point in MarchUnited States · 100 kmHigh 14.9°C · Low 4.0°C · 110 mm rain
- Fayetteville in MarchUnited States · 105 kmHigh 17.3°C · Low 6.4°C · 94 mm rain
- Winston-Salem in MarchUnited States · 122 kmHigh 14.9°C · Low 3.8°C · 108 mm rain
- Greenville in MarchUnited States · 145 kmHigh 16.6°C · Low 6.0°C · 93 mm rain
- Lynchburg in MarchUnited States · 159 kmHigh 14.0°C · Low 3.2°C · 105 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Durham) is explained once on the Durham year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.