Original analysis of NOAA and Census data
Greenville heat data: what summer does to an air conditioner
Greenville's hot days have held fairly steady for decades. Its nights have not: the city now averages 53.2 nights a year when the low stays at 72°F or above, up from 42.1 over 1991-2020, based on 83 complete years of daily readings at the Greenville NOAA cooperative station.
Nights per year when the low stayed at 72°F or above
Days per year at 90°F or hotter, Greenville, NC
What we found
- Muggy nights are up by about a quarter. Nights with a low of 72°F or more went from 42.1 a year in 1991-2020 to 53.2 in 2016-2025. Nights at 75°F or more went from 10.8 to 17.6. The 1970s averaged about 10.2.
- Hot days, roughly flat. 52.7 days a year at 90°F or hotter in 1991-2020, 56.4 in 2016-2025. Days at 95°F or more: 12.7 and 11.3.
- 2026 ran hot. 83 days at 90°F or more through October 24, 2026, against a 1991-2020 average of 52.7 by that date, and 31 days at 95°F or more. 71 nights stayed at 72°F or above. The high for the year was 100°F on June 12, 2026, and the low on July 18, 2026 was 82°F, the second-warmest night in the station's record.
- The season: over 2016-2025 the first 90°F day came around May 25 on average and the last around September 23. July is the peak, with about 21 days at 90°F or more and 21 muggy nights.
- Fewer freezing nights. 54.4 nights a year at or below 32°F in 1991-2020, 45.9 in 2016-2025. Those are the nights a heat pump leans on its backup heat strips.
- Records: the hottest reading since 1914 was 104°F, first on September 1, 1932. The longest run of 90°F days was 25 in a row, ending August 6, 1995.
- Rain: June through September bring 44% of the station's average yearly rain (1991-2020). September is the wettest month at 7.3 inches, which is also the peak of hurricane season.
Average days at 90°F or hotter, by month
Average daily high and low by month, Greenville, NC
Nights per year at or below freezing (32°F)
By decade
| Decade | Days at 90°F+ per year | Days at 95°F+ per year | Nights at 72°F+ per year | Nights at 32°F or below |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52.9 | 11.2 | 18.0 | 73.6 |
| 1970s | 47.6 | 9.3 | 10.2 | 67.3 |
| 1980s | 53.2 | 16.0 | 24.8 | 71.0 |
| 1990s | 47.9 | 11.8 | 35.9 | 53.4 |
| 2000s | 49.9 | 10.6 | 38.2 | 55.9 |
| 2010s | 60.9 | 16.2 | 49.0 | 54.6 |
| 2020 to 2025 | 49.7 | 10.0 | 49.7 | 45.0 |
Decades with fewer than seven complete years in the record (the 1910s through the 1950s) are left out of this table.
Homes by ZIP code
Why these columns: the year a house was built hints at how old its ducts are and whether cooling was bolted on later. The electric heat share is close to a heat pump count in this part of the state. And the renter share tells you how often the call goes through a landlord instead of the person who is hot.
| ZIP | Area | Housing units | Median year built | Built before 1980 | Built 2000 or later | Renter occupied | Electric heat | Mobile homes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27834 | Greenville (north and west) | 27,711 | 1996 | 27% | 43% | 63% | 88% | 12% |
| 27858 | Greenville (south and east, ECU) | 26,947 | 1992 | 30% | 36% | 57% | 77% | 4% |
| 28590 | Winterville | 11,794 | 2000 | 17% | 50% | 25% | 77% | 5% |
| 28513 | Ayden | 4,941 | 1990 | 43% | 32% | 25% | 71% | 18% |
| 27828 | Farmville | 3,881 | 1983 | 45% | 22% | 30% | 70% | 18% |
| 28530 | Grifton | 3,529 | 1984 | 47% | 30% | 36% | 76% | 35% |
| 27837 | Grimesland | 2,725 | 1996 | 20% | 42% | 19% | 73% | 27% |
| 27812 | Bethel | 1,293 | 1969 | 67% | 12% | 30% | 70% | 16% |
| 27829 | Fountain | 1,049 | 1973 | 60% | 13% | 16% | 71% | 25% |
| 27888 | Walstonburg | 862 | 1980 | 51% | 21% | 26% | 64% | 28% |
| 27884 | Stokes | 589 | 1991 | 30% | 16% | 18% | 70% | 31% |
| 27879 | Simpson | 164 | 1980 | 49% | 11% | 15% | 80% | 27% |
| 27827 | Falkland | 64 | 1945 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 92% | 0% |
Area names are our shorthand for the main town or side of the city in each ZIP. ZIPs that mostly lie in neighboring counties (Tarboro, Washington, Vanceboro, Robersonville, Macclesfield) are left out. Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25035, B25003, B25040, B25024). Click a column to sort.
How we built this
Temperature. NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network daily summaries for the Greenville, NC cooperative observer station (USC00313638, about 32 feet above sea level, roughly 3.3 miles from the city's Census center point), March 1, 1900 to October 24, 2026. A year counts only if it has a high and low on at least 355 days, which leaves 83 complete years between 1914 and 2025. Throughout, "normal" is the 1991-2020 average and "recent" is 2016-2025. We counted these ourselves from the daily readings; they are not NOAA's published climate normals.
Why 72°F nights. The station doesn't record humidity. On a summer night the low temperature sits close to the dew point, so a night that stays at 72°F or warmer is a reasonable stand-in for a humid one. Treat it as a proxy, not a humidity measurement.
Homes. Housing figures are Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas and for incorporated places, pulled through Census Reporter.
Limits. A single thermometer can't speak for all of Pitt County. Downtown pavement holds heat overnight, and open farm fields outside town can cool off faster. These numbers describe the climate a system lives in; they can't tell you what's wrong with yours.
Using this data. You may reuse or republish these figures under CC BY 4.0 as long as you link back here.