Lowest temperatures during the winter? (Raleigh, Durham: how much, calculating, office)

[Grass Is Greener]

I am calculating heating requirements for my hobby greenhouse.

I looked at Weather.com averages and it says the low temperature in the winter is 25 degrees (Wake Forest)

Average Weather for Wake Forest, NC - Temperature and Precipitation

Is this correct? How much lower can it get usually (not including the rare once-in-a-twenty-years low)?

[CAKD]

Well this past winter we had some lows that reached the teens. 15 degrees one morning here in Holly Springs.

Here is a link that may help you.

State Climate Office of North Carolina

[KCfromNC]

Originally Posted by Grass Is Greener

I am calculating heating requirements for my hobby greenhouse.

I looked at Weather.com averages and it says the low temperature in the winter is 25 degrees (Wake Forest)

Average Weather for Wake Forest, NC - Temperature and Precipitation

Is this correct? How much lower can it get usually (not including the rare once-in-a-twenty-years low)?

I don't have hard data to back this up, but we tend to have a few nights in the mid to upper teens each year. Every few years we dip lower, say low teens. Anything lower than that starts to be more towards all time record lows.

WRAL's weather web site has an "Ask the Meteorologists" section. You might get some good info from them.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by Grass Is Greener

I am calculating heating requirements for my hobby greenhouse.

I looked at Weather.com averages and it says the low temperature in the winter is 25 degrees (Wake Forest)

Average Weather for Wake Forest, NC - Temperature and Precipitation

Is this correct? How much lower can it get usually (not including the rare once-in-a-twenty-years low)?

Another source for various NC locations.

Historical Climate Data for North Carolina

Southeast Regional Climate Center

[urbywan]

We did hit 8 degrees on two nights this past winter. No wind great radiational cooling. More than a few outdoor pipes froze in the niehborhood. It has gotten below zero in the raleigh area but it does not stay that cold for any period of time. two days below 32 for a high temp for the day is rare, but it will go into the low 20s many nights in winter.

[mm34b]

According to the National Weather Service, the lowest official temperature recorded between 1948-2005 at their Raleigh-Durham montoiring station was minus 9. The record low for the state is minus 34 degrees set in 1985.

[CAKD]

Originally Posted by mm34b

According to the National Weather Service, the lowest official temperature recorded between 1948-2005 at their Raleigh-Durham montoiring station was minus 9. The record low for the state is minus 34 degrees set in 1985.

MINUS 34? yikes. That must have been with a wind chill no?

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by CAKD

MINUS 34? yikes. That must have been with a wind chill no?

No, that was the air temperature on Mount Mitchell in Yancey County on January 21, 1985.

[KCfromNC]

I just found this - Trip Planner : Weather Underground - enter a location and a date range and get historical data for the last 30 years. So you look at temps from Dec through Feb and drop it in excel, or just eyeball it.

[CAKD]

Originally Posted by mm34b

No, that was the air temperature on Mount Mitchell in Yancey County on January 21, 1985.

Okay so up in the mountains then. Not in the Raleigh area. Whew!