Cape Hatteras, NC

North Carolina · Records since 1893–2026

☁️ 64°F Feels like 61°
Currently in Cape Hatteras
As of 10:15 PM EDT

Records for September 26

🔥 Record High

91°F

September 26, 1986

+10° from 81° normal

❄ Record Low

50°F

September 26, 1981

-18° from 68° normal
🌞 Normal high: 81°F 🌑 Normal low: 68°F 1991–2020 normals

All-Time Records — Cape Hatteras

🔥
97°F
Hottest Day Ever
Jun 27, 1952
❄
6°F
Coldest Day Ever
Jan 21, 1985
🌧
14.34"
Wettest Day Ever
Jun 30, 1949
☃
12.0"
Most Snow in One Day
Jan 23, 2003

First & Last Dates — Cape Hatteras

How early and how late each seasonal turning point has ever arrived, across the full period of record

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Range ever recorded Normal date (1991–2020)
352 days
Longest growing season
1915
214 days
Shortest growing season
1976
278 days
Normal growing season
1991–2020 average

Top 10 Record Highs — September 26

# Temp Date
🏆 91°F September 26, 1986
2 88°F September 26, 1993
3 87°F September 26, 2018
4 87°F September 26, 2007
5 87°F September 26, 1930
6 86°F September 26, 2010
7 86°F September 26, 1970
8 85°F September 26, 2024
9 85°F September 26, 2019
10 85°F September 26, 2005

Top 5 Record Lows — September 26

# Temp Date
🥶 50°F September 26, 1981
2 51°F September 26, 1928
3 52°F September 26, 1957
4 53°F September 26, 1974
5 56°F September 26, 1944
About this data — Records are sourced from the NOAA Threadex dataset via RCC ACIS, a quality-controlled record for long-term climate stations. Threadex adjusts for station relocations and observation-time changes, making records comparable across all years since 1893–2026. Climate normals represent the 1991–2020 average.

Heat Wave Summary — Cape Hatteras

threshold: 88°F (90th percentile of historical Jun–Aug highs)
4.8
Avg heat wave length
days (historical)
91°
Avg peak temp
during heat waves
107
Dangerous nights 2026
Overnights ≥ 70°F
6
Heat waves 2026
so far

Days ≥ 90°F Per Year

1895–2026
4
2026 so far
5
Avg/year 1970–2025
13
Avg/year (last 10 complete)
42
Most in a year (2020)

Average Daily High by Decade

Full year · complete decades only

Longest Heat Waves — Cape Hatteras

# Dates Days Peak Avg High Avg Overnight Low
🏆 Jul 9, 2020 – Jul 28, 2020 20 92°F (Jul 14) 91°F 80°F
2 Aug 28, 2018 – Sep 12, 2018 16 93°F (Sep 10) 90°F 77°F
3 Aug 9, 2021 – Aug 21, 2021 13 93°F (Aug 16) 89°F 77°F
4 Jul 21, 1999 – Aug 1, 1999 12 93°F (Jul 31) 90°F 78°F
5 Aug 2, 2011 – Aug 13, 2011 12 92°F (Aug 2) 90°F 79°F
6 Jul 11, 1977 – Jul 21, 1977 11 94°F (Jul 21) 90°F 76°F
7 Aug 9, 2016 – Aug 19, 2016 11 94°F (Aug 16) 91°F 79°F
8 Jul 5, 1993 – Jul 15, 1993 11 92°F (Jul 5) 90°F 76°F
9 Jul 6, 1994 – Jul 16, 1994 11 91°F (Jul 10) 89°F 75°F
10 Jun 13, 1994 – Jun 22, 1994 10 92°F (Jun 22) 90°F 70°F

Heat Waves Per Year

Warm Summer Nights (Jun–Aug)

Nights where the overnight low exceeded the 1991–2020 normal low

49
2026 total
above-normal nights
32.5
Avg / summer
1970–2020
66
Most in a summer
2020

Above-Normal Summer Nights Per Year

Average June–August Low by Decade

Overnight lows · complete decades only

Precipitation

Annual totals and trend across the full period of record · see this year's standing →

Monthly Precipitation — Last 24 Months

Blue = actual · dashed line = monthly normal

Annual Precipitation Per Year (1893–2026)

Blue = above average · tan = below average · gold = 2026 (partial)
Since 1893, annual totals have trended +1.18" per decade, about +15.6" across the record.

Heavy Rain Days Per Year (≥ 1.0")

Compare year-to-year changes in days with heavy rainfall (≥ 1.0")

This Year — 2026

How Cape Hatteras is tracking against normal, year to date

Daily High Temperature vs Normal

Above normal Below normal

126 of 267 days with data were above the 1991–2020 normal high for their date.

Precipitation, Year to Date

31.64"
2026 YTD
Normal: 44.69"
-13.05"
0.32"
September so far
September normal: 7.63"
-7.31"
11
2026 heavy rain days
Days with ≥ 1.0"

Accumulation vs. Normal

Running total since Jan 1 against the normal pace for the same date · Cape Hatteras is 13.05" behind the normal pace

Period Review — Sep 18 – Sep 25, 2026

Any window, evaluated against every other year on record — 8 days

Quick picks: Last 7 days Last 30 days Last 90 days This month
Seasons: Spring (Mar–May) Summer (Jun–Aug) Fall (Sep–Nov)
77.1°F
Average temperature
16th-warmest of 132
+2.8°
vs. average
Normal: 74.3°F (1991–2020)

Average Temperature by Year — Sep 18 – Sep 25

1893–2026 · 2026 highlighted

Precipitation by Year — Sep 18 – Sep 25

1893–2025 · 2026 highlighted · trend +0.05" per decade (wetter since 1893)

Warmest Sep 18 – Sep 25 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 1895 80.7°F
2 2018 80.0°F
3 1931 79.8°F
4 2005 79.5°F
5 1906 79.1°F
6 2016 78.7°F
7 1977 78.5°F
8 1975 78.3°F
9 1907 78.2°F
10 1905 78.1°F

Coolest Sep 18 – Sep 25 on Record

# Year Avg Temp
1 1967 67.3°F
2 1903 67.6°F
3 1981 67.7°F
4 1917 67.8°F
5 1963 67.8°F
6 1983 68.1°F
7 1918 68.2°F
8 1990 68.5°F
9 1962 68.8°F
10 1943 68.8°F
About this data. Pick any start and end date and this becomes the same kind of review as the Month and Fall tabs, just for exactly the window you asked for — the generalized version of the same engine, evaluated across every year on record. Average temperature is the mean of each day's (high + low) / 2; precipitation is the sum of daily totals. A year missing more than about a fifth of the window's days is excluded from the temperature ranking; any missing day excludes a year from the precipitation ranking, since an unreported day is unreported rain. Ranges that cross from December into January aren't supported yet. Normals are the 1991–2020 mean for the same window.
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