July’s heat set a new record for Raleigh. Plus, the fall forecast for North Carolina
July 2025 was the hottest on record at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, with an average temperature for the month of 84 degrees, the National Weather Service said Friday.
That’s 3.5 degrees above the normal daily average temperature for July, meteorologist Aaron Swiggett said.
The average high temperature through the month was 93.5 degrees, weather service data show. The average low for the month was 74.5 degrees.
“That’s pretty significant,” Swiggett said. “Not too surprising but, yeah, that’s quite warm.”
It wasn’t just Raleigh and central North Carolina that sweated through the month; Swiggett said weather service data show July was one of the five or 10 warmest on record nearly everywhere across the state.
In addition, Swiggett said, Raleigh saw the second-highest number of 90-degree July days on record this year with 27.
There also were five new record-high minimum temperatures for the month set in July, National Weather Service records show — including a record low of 80 degrees on July 18..
The highest temperature recorded at RDU in July was 99 degrees on July 27. The lowest temperature was 68 degrees on July 23.
Is this the new normal?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have said 2024 was the hottest year on the planet so far, followed by 2023.
Swiggett said it’s too early to tell how 2025 will compare.
NOAA says the Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of .11 degrees per decade, about 2 degrees total, since 1850, largely because of the burning of fossil fuels that creates heat-trapping emissions.
What’s the forecast for August in central North Carolina?
Most of the state will see comparatively cooler weather for the next week, the result of a strong cold front that will keep high temperatures in the low- to mid-80s.
But NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says temperatures across the state are leaning toward being higher than average from August all the way through December.
It’s still hurricane season in NC
North Carolina is heading into what has historically been the busiest part of hurricane season: from mid-August through September.
As of Friday, Swiggett said meteorologists were watching an area in the western Atlantic for possible development later in August, but the National Hurricane Center showed nothing expected to develop on its tropical forecast map over the next week.
This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. If you would like to help support local journalism, please consider signing up for a digital subscription, which you can do here.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 5:12 PM with the headline "July’s heat set a new record for Raleigh. Plus, the fall forecast for North Carolina."
