Chapel Hill (NC) Sunshine Hours by Month

Sunshine plays a big role in understanding the climate of a city. This page shows the total number of hours of direct sunlight per month and the average hours per day in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America. Long-term data from 1990 to 2020 was used to calculate these averages.

Monthly hours of sunshine

Seasonal sunshine in Chapel Hill varies. It peaks at 267 hours in June and drops to 157 hours in December. The total annual amount of sun is 2600 hours.

Daily hours of sunshine

This means the city can be enjoyed more throughout the sunniest month of June under a blue sky, with approximately 8.9 hours of sunshine daily. In contrast, the city experiences much darker days in December, with only 5.2 hours of sunlight per day.

Average percent of sunshine

On average the sun shines 64% of the time during the day in April, the highest percentage of any month. December has the lowest percentage at 52%.

Chapel Hill enjoys an average of 2600 hours of sunshine annually. Let’s compare this with some popular tourist destinations:

In Lisbon, Portugal, there are approximately 2801 hours of sunshine annually, highlighting its warm and sunny Mediterranean climate.

Manchester, UK, experiences just around 1420 hours of sunshine annually.

In Chicago, USA, the annual sunshine averages 2520 hours, contributing to its humid continental climate.

Adelaide, Australia, enjoys 2770 hours of sunshine annually, with long, sunny summers.

September, Chapel Hill’s wettest month, receives 129 mm (5.1 in) of rainfall and has a maximum daytime temperature of 28°C (82°F). During the driest month January you can expect a temperature of 10°C (50°F).

For more detailed insights into the city’s temperatures, check out our Temperature page. To explore more about precipitation patterns, visit our Chapel Hill Precipitation page.