Weather in Raleigh in November

A good month. November works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 16.5 °C, lows 4.3 °C, and rain falls on 7 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

November ranks 4 of 12 in Raleigh: past the worst of the year but short of October, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 7 days, 3 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 16.5 °C days and 4.3 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 6 nights fall below freezing. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest November day reached 28.2 °C and the coldest night fell to -6.7 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 86 mm — roughly 98% of the month's rain in one day.

November is moderately variable: 13 mm in the driest year against 189 mm in the wettest, around an average of 88 mm. Roughly two Novembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 1.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 77%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How November sits in the year

The month is on the way down: 6.3 °C cooler than October, with December dropping another 4.9 °C. The first week and the last are not the same trip.

Daylight in November

November sits at the dark end of Raleigh's year — 10.3 hours of daylight against 14.6 at midsummer, losing 0.8 hours across the month. Sightseeing days are genuinely shorter, and an itinerary built for summer will not fit.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 34.6 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage.

How busy it gets

Busy. Popular without being frantic; book the things you care about, improvise the rest.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

November in Raleigh versus nearby

If Raleigh is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Charlotte is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain. Richmond is the weaker option in November — 7.9 °C cooler, 13 days more rain.

So: November works, with October the better month by 10 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Raleigh

See all twelve months in Raleigh, or where else to go in November.