North Carolina · 254 m elevation

Barometric Pressure in Charlotte, NC

• 30.07Average pressure (inHg, sea level)
• 158.8Swing days a year · 29th of 50
• 72.2Big-swing days a year (≥10 hPa)
• 86.2Significant 24h drop days a year

Overview

Charlotte averages 30.07 inHg (1018.3 hPa) and 158.8 significant swing days a year — but 23.9 fall in January and just 1.8 in July.

Charlotte sits under one of the steadiest pressure regimes among large US cities. The 2015–2024 average sea-level pressure is 30.07 inHg (1018.3 hPa), the second highest of the 50 cities in this comparison, behind only Atlanta. That reflects the persistent subtropical ridge over the Southeast: the middle 90% of hourly readings fall between 29.78 inHg (1008.5 hPa) and 30.40 inHg (1029.3 hPa), and the median 24-hour change is just 0.09 inHg (2.9 hPa).

Charlotte sits at 254 m (833 ft), and that elevation matters if you own a barometer. Mean station pressure — the raw surface value, uncorrected for altitude — is 29.18 inHg (988.3 hPa), about 0.89 inHg below the sea-level figures quoted in forecasts and on this page. An instrument reading near 29.20 inHg in Charlotte is not a storm signal; it is a normal day rendered without the sea-level correction.

Nationally, Charlotte lands in the calm third. It records 158.8 significant swing days per year (24-hour change of 0.18 inHg / 6 hPa or more), ranking #29 of 50 against a national median of 180.7, and 72.2 big-swing days (0.30 inHg / 10 hPa or more), ranking #30 against a median of 86.1. A standard deviation of 0.19 inHg (6.35 hPa) ranks #31. One number breaks the pattern: Charlotte's largest single 24-hour fall, 1.11 inHg (37.7 hPa), ranks #18. This is a quiet city that is still fully capable of a violent day.

Migraine & pressure-sensitivity outlook

• Low — under 6 hPa (0.18 inHg)
• Elevated — 6 to 10 hPa
• High — 10 hPa (0.30 inHg) or more
• Dashed outline = forecast (after today)

Association only. This calendar shows days when pressure changed — or is forecast to change — sharply over 24 hours, conditions associated with pressure sensitivity in some people. It is not a prediction of symptoms, not a diagnosis, and not medical advice. The 30 days of history are there so you can compare the days you actually felt something against what the barometer did. Talk to a clinician about headache or migraine management.

For people who track barometric pressure, Charlotte's defining feature is seasonality rather than overall intensity. The city averages 86.2 drop days per year — significant 24-hour falls of 0.18 inHg (6 hPa) or more — but 13.4 of them land in January and only 1.1 in July. Roughly seven in ten fall between November and March. January is dense: 23.9 of its 31 days carry a significant swing in an average year, while an entire July typically passes with fewer than two.

In national terms, Charlotte offers relatively few of the conditions many pressure-sensitive people report as triggers. Denver, the most volatile city in this set, records 1.77 times Charlotte's swing days and 2.35 times its big-swing days. Atlanta runs quieter still — Charlotte has 1.37 times Atlanta's swing days. Raleigh, the nearest peer in the dataset, is modestly more active at 175.9 swing days, about 11% above Charlotte. At the far end, Miami logs 19.8 swing days a year; Charlotte has roughly eight times as many, and more than 22 times Miami's big-swing count.

The caveat is the tail. Charlotte's steepest 24-hour fall, 1.11 inHg (37.7 hPa), exactly matches the worst on record in Colorado Springs, a city ranked #2 nationally for swing frequency. Even here, 5% of 24-hour changes exceed 0.35 inHg (11.8 hPa) in absolute size, and those events cluster in the December-to-February window. A logging barometer or pressure-tracking app is most informative during the cold season, when day-to-day movement is real; from late June into September, there is usually very little to record.

Seasonal patterns

The annual averages hide a nearly bimodal calendar. January delivers 23.9 swing days and a monthly standard deviation of 0.24 inHg (8.17 hPa); July delivers 1.8 swing days and 0.10 inHg (3.35 hPa) — roughly a thirteen-fold difference between the most and least active months. Every month from November through March logs at least 18 swing days; every month from June through September logs 5.4 or fewer. In winter, Charlotte's Piedmont location keeps it within reach of frontal passages and coastal cyclogenesis off the Carolinas. In summer, the Bermuda High parks over the Southeast and the gradient goes flat.

Mean pressure follows the same shape at smaller amplitude: 30.15 inHg (1021.1 hPa) in November and December, easing to a low of 29.98 inHg (1015.4 hPa) in June before the ridge reasserts itself. April, at 30.02 inHg (1016.5 hPa), is the transition month — mean pressure is already summer-like while the swing count, 17.0 days, is still winter-like.

The extremes are concentrated almost entirely in the cold season. All five of the largest 24-hour drops on record occurred between December and February: 1.11 inHg (37.7 hPa) ending 9 January 2024, 0.85 inHg (28.7 hPa) ending 24 January 2019, 0.77 inHg (26.1 hPa) ending 17 December 2023, 0.75 inHg (25.5 hPa) ending 14 December 2019, and 0.73 inHg (24.7 hPa) ending 16 February 2016. The steepest six-hour fall was 0.52 inHg (17.6 hPa). January 2017 produced both ends of the record: a high of 30.84 inHg (1044.5 hPa) on 9 January and a low of 29.20 inHg (988.9 hPa) on 23 January — 1.64 inHg (55.6 hPa) of range in fourteen days.

Month by month

Swing days: 24-hour change of at least 6 hPa (0.18 inHg). Drop days: 24-hour fall of at least 6 hPa. Averages per year, 2015–2024.

Records and extremes

Sharpest 24-hour drops, 2015–2024

Nearby cities

• Raleigh, NC
• Atlanta, GA
• Virginia Beach, VA
• Washington, DC
• Nashville, TN
• Jacksonville, FL

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