Highlands, North Carolina Weather
Cicadas claim the scorching afternoon. Day 15 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Highlands weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJul 5Heavy Rain43%0.34″80°64°—
- MondayJul 6Light Showers36%0.06″76°64°-4°
- TuesdayJul 7Drizzle54%—78°62°+2°
- WednesdayJul 8Light Drizzle18%—83°61°+5°
- ThursdayJul 9Drizzle15%—81°62°-2°
- FridayJul 10Light Drizzle20%—79°60°-2°
- SaturdayJul 11Light Drizzle34%—82°61°+3°
AQI 40 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI down 5 over the last 6 hours (gradual decline). Ozone at AQI 47 — peak already passed at 1 PM under clear skies. Levels should ease through evening.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 47 — peak already passed at 1 PM under clear skies. Levels should ease through evening.
- Present
- AQI 47
- UV peak
- 4.5 at earlier today
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 47
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 8.3 µg/m³ (AQI 46) with a 0.90 fine-to-coarse ratio and 3 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in calm air, not road dust.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.90
- Wind
- calm
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- stagnant smoke
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
If the first of July be rainy weather, 'twill rain more or less for four weeks together.
- Moonrise
- 11:47 PM
- Moonset
- 11:45 AM
- In sign
- ♓︎ Pisces
Cicadas claim the scorching afternoon
Highlands at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 79°F — typical for the season
- Last frost: March 17 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Jul 1–5
- Planting window: Harvest early potatoes. Begin drying onions on the surface.
ZIP code: 28741
16-Day Forecast — Highlands
- Sun80°64°43%
- Mon76°64°36%
- Tue78°62°54%
- Wed83°61°18%
- Thu81°62°15%
- Fri79°60°20%
- Sat82°61°34%
- Sun83°62°51%
- Mon85°63°29%
- Tue77°53°19%
- Wed78°48°17%
- Thu80°57°32%
- Fri82°61°35%
- Sat77°60°45%
- Sun78°60°44%
- Mon80°58°61%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of July 5, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Highlands
SPC has placed Highlands in the Marginal Risk category for severe thunderstorms today.
- TODAYMRGLMarginal Risk
- TOMORROWTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- DAY 3TSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
Isolated severe storms possible. Limited threat for hail or damaging wind.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook. Outlooks are re-issued multiple times per day; this page reflects the most recent SPC polygons covering the city’s coordinates.
ZIP codes in Highlands
- 28741