How much has Winston-Salem warmed?
Each stripe below is one year of average temperature in Forsyth County, from 1895 on the left to 2025 on the right. Blue years were cooler than the 20th-century average of 57.1°F, and red years were warmer.
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- Last 10 years
- +2.3°F2016-2025 vs the 1901-2000 average
- Warmest year
- 2024then 2019, 2016, 1998
- Coldest year
- 1917in the 1895-2025 record
- 20th-century average
- 57.1°Fall months, Forsyth County
Decade by decade
Average difference from the 1901-2000 average, by decade. The 2020s cover 2020 to 2025.
Nearby cities
See which cities have warmed the most in our warming ranking, or today's normal weather month by month in Winston-Salem.
Frequently asked questions
How much warmer is Winston-Salem than it used to be?
In Forsyth County, the ten years from 2016 to 2025 averaged 2.3°F warmer than the 20th-century average of 57.1°F, according to NOAA's county temperature records.
What was the warmest year on record in Winston-Salem?
The warmest years in NOAA's county record are 2024, 2019, 2016, 1998 and 1990. The coldest was 1917.
What are climate stripes?
Each stripe is one year. Its color shows how that year's average temperature compares with the long-term average: blue for cooler, red for warmer, darker for bigger differences. The design comes from climate scientist Ed Hawkins.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, nClimDiv county average temperature (version 1.0.0, October 2026 release). Values are county averages built from adjusted weather station records on a 5 km grid, so they describe Forsyth County as a whole rather than downtown Winston-Salem, and they correct for changes in stations and instruments over time. Incomplete years are left out. Stripes design by Ed Hawkins (#ShowYourStripes).