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Best time to visit Memphis

The best time to visit Memphis is April, judged on twenty years of weather records and the events worth going for.

Memphis, Tennessee, United States

°C

mm

−10°0°10°20°30°40°
0100200300400500
  • Average daily high and low
  • Precipitation
  • Good month
  • Best month
  • Made good or best by an event
Average daily high and low temperature, average precipitation and each month's verdict
MonthAverage daily highAverage daily lowPrecipitationVerdict
January9.6 °C / 49 °F0.6 °C / 33 °F103 mm / 4.1 inneither best nor good
February11.8 °C / 53 °F2.3 °C / 36 °F115 mm / 4.5 inneither best nor good
March17.7 °C / 64 °F7.6 °C / 46 °F131 mm / 5.1 ingood month
April22.1 °C / 72 °F11.9 °C / 53 °F132 mm / 5.2 inbest month
May26.6 °C / 80 °F17.4 °C / 63 °F124 mm / 4.9 ingood month
June31.1 °C / 88 °F22 °C / 72 °F77 mm / 3 inneither best nor good
July32 °C / 90 °F23.5 °C / 74 °F97 mm / 3.8 inneither best nor good
August31.8 °C / 89 °F22.6 °C / 73 °F68 mm / 2.7 inneither best nor good
September29.1 °C / 84 °F18.8 °C / 66 °F77 mm / 3 inneither best nor good
October23.3 °C / 74 °F12.1 °C / 54 °F101 mm / 4 ingood month
November16.5 °C / 62 °F6.2 °C / 43 °F92 mm / 3.6 ingood month
December12 °C / 54 °F3.2 °C / 38 °F130 mm / 5.1 inneither best nor good
Good and best months depend on more than temperature, rain and events. How they are chosen

Each activity on this page has its own good and best months, rated on twenty years of daily weather records. Which measures count, and how much, depends on the activity: humidity for exploring outdoors, wind for the beach, hiking and skiing, snow for skiing alone. Between them, the activities are rated on:

  • Daytime highs
  • Night-time lows
  • How warm it feels
  • Humidity
  • How much of the day is sunny
  • Hours of daylight
  • Monthly rainfall
  • How many days it rains
  • Days of heavy rain
  • Wind
  • Snowfall and days with snow
  • Major events, such as festivals

The chart shows the good and best months for exploring outdoors.

The event icon marks a month that an event lifts to good or best, such as a festival or a natural spectacle. Choose “Weather only” in the toolbar to rate the months on weather alone.

Best months by activity

Exploring outdoors

Mild days and nights, mostly dry and bright. The default for 'when should I go'.

  1. JJanuary: neither
  2. FFebruary: neither
  3. MMarch: good
  4. AApril: best
  5. MMay: good
  6. JJune: neither
  7. JJuly: neither
  8. AAugust: neither
  9. SSeptember: neither
  10. OOctober: good
  11. NNovember: good
  12. DDecember: neither
Best
April
Good
March, May, October–November

Memphis swings between a cold, grey winter and a hot, humid summer, leaving only brief windows for comfortable exploring: April is the best month, March, May, October and November are good shoulder months, December-February are too cold and dull, and June-September turn hot and humid enough - feels-like highs into the mid-30s C - to make walking around unpleasant.

Why these months

  • March · good

    In its favour: feels like (high) 15.7 °C / 60 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 69%, average daily high 17.7 °C / 64 °F, relative humidity 65%, average daily low 7.6 °C / 46 °F.

    Against: precipitation 131 mm / 5.1 in, days with heavy rain 4.4 days, wet days 11.1 days.

    Also on: Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival.

    Watch out for: Easter school holiday price surge, Spring Break and St Patrick's Day crowds.

  • April · best

    In its favour: feels like (high) 21.3 °C / 70 °F, average daily high 22.1 °C / 72 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 73%, average daily low 11.9 °C / 53 °F, relative humidity 64%.

    Against: precipitation 132 mm / 5.2 in, days with heavy rain 4.5 days, wet days 10.2 days.

    Also on: Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival.

    Watch out for: Easter school holiday price surge.

  • May · good

    In its favour: share of daylight that is sunny 79%, average daily high 26.6 °C / 80 °F, average daily low 17.4 °C / 63 °F.

    Against: precipitation 124 mm / 4.9 in, days with heavy rain 4.4 days, wet days 11.1 days, feels like (high) 28.1 °C / 83 °F, relative humidity 69%.

    Also on: Memphis in May Festival, Overton Park Shell Amphitheater free concerts.

    Watch out for: Memorial Day closures, Memphis in May price surge.

  • October · good

    In its favour: feels like (high) 22.7 °C / 73 °F, average daily high 23.3 °C / 74 °F, share of daylight that is sunny 78%, average daily low 12.1 °C / 54 °F, relative humidity 68%.

    Against: days with heavy rain 3.7 days, precipitation 101 mm / 4 in, wet days 7.6 days, share of rain falling in the daytime 44%.

    Also on: Halloween events and pumpkin patches, River Arts Festival.

    Watch out for: Columbus Day closures, Halloween business closures.

  • November · good

    In its favour: share of daylight that is sunny 73%, feels like (high) 14.3 °C / 58 °F, average daily high 16.5 °C / 62 °F, precipitation 92 mm / 3.6 in, wet days 7.9 days, days with heavy rain 3.1 days, relative humidity 68%, average daily low 6.2 °C / 43 °F.

    Against: sunshine per day 7.5 h.

    Watch out for: Holiday season travel congestion, Thanksgiving Day crowds and closures, Veterans Day closures.

An activity is listed only where it applies: skiing at ski destinations, beach and swimming at beach destinations. The nearest ski area is Sugar Mountain Resort, 746 km away.

Weather averages

Monthly averages over twenty years, 2006–2025. Highs, lows and precipitation are in the chart at the top.

  JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels like (high) 6.2 °C8.7 °C15.7 °C21.3 °C28.1 °C34.7 °C36.7 °C35.9 °C31.2 °C22.7 °C14.3 °C9.3 °C
Days with heavy rain 3.9 days3.8 days4.4 days4.5 days4.4 days2.8 days2.8 days2.1 days2.4 days3.7 days3.1 days4.5 days
Time rain usually falls 6 am6 am7 am8 pm5 am6 pm4 am5 pm2 pm10 am11 pm4 am
Sunshine per day 6.7 h6.9 h8.3 h9.6 h11 h12.6 h12.6 h11.6 h10.4 h8.8 h7.5 h6.4 h
Relative humidity 69%68%65%64%69%69%71%70%69%68%68%72%

Air quality

Averaged over a shorter period (2022–2025) than the twenty-year averages above, and not counted towards good or best months.

  JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Air pollution (PM2.5) 2022–20257.9 µg/m³8.7 µg/m³7.4 µg/m³7.5 µg/m³11.4 µg/m³14.1 µg/m³13.6 µg/m³11.9 µg/m³10.1 µg/m³7.1 µg/m³7.5 µg/m³6.6 µg/m³
Air pollution (PM2.5, daily peak) 2022–202514.1 µg/m³15.1 µg/m³12.3 µg/m³12.4 µg/m³17.9 µg/m³20.5 µg/m³20.5 µg/m³17.8 µg/m³15.6 µg/m³11.4 µg/m³12.5 µg/m³12 µg/m³
  • Good 15 µg/m³ or less
  • Fair 15 to 25 µg/m³
  • Moderate 25 to 37.5 µg/m³
  • Poor 37.5 to 50 µg/m³
  • Very poor 50 to 75 µg/m³
  • Extremely poor over 75 µg/m³

Each figure is compared with the World Health Organization's guideline for a day's air, 15 µg/m³ or less, and with its interim targets above that. The words are ours: the WHO does not name its steps. The figures are modelled monthly averages, so single days can be well above them. The daily peak is the average of each day's highest hour, shaded on the same scale.

Events and seasons

What the weather records cannot show. A major event can lift a month to good or best. The warnings are there to help you plan, and never count against a month.

Reasons to go

  • Winter holiday lights and parade

    January and December

  • Elvis birthday celebration

    1–8 January

  • Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration

    15 January

  • Memphis Zoo Lantern Festival

    January, February and December

  • Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival

    March and April, dates vary from year to year

  • Memphis in May Festival

    1–31 May

  • Overton Park Shell Amphitheater free concerts

    May, June, July, August and September

  • 4th of July celebrations

    4 July

  • Elvis Week

    1–10 August

  • Cooper-Young Festival

    September

  • Halloween events and pumpkin patches

    October

  • River Arts Festival

    October

Worth knowing before you go

  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day closures

    January, dates vary from year to year

  • New Year's Day business closures

    1 January

  • Presidents' Day closures

    February, dates vary from year to year

  • Spring Break and St Patrick's Day crowds

    March

  • Easter school holiday price surge

    March and April, dates vary from year to year

  • Memphis in May price surge

    1–31 May

  • Memorial Day closures

    May, dates vary from year to year

  • Juneteenth closures

    19 June

  • Independence Day business closures

    4 July

  • Labor Day closures

    September, dates vary from year to year

  • Halloween business closures

    31 October

  • Columbus Day closures

    October, dates vary from year to year

  • Veterans Day closures

    11 November

  • Thanksgiving Day crowds and closures

    November, dates vary from year to year

  • Holiday season travel congestion

    November and December, dates vary from year to year

  • Christmas closures

    24–25 December

Other places in United States

Compare places month by month on the travel calendar

Monthly averages over 2006–2025, unless stated otherwise.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC-BY 4.0), generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information (ERA5). City data from GeoNames (CC-BY 4.0). Air quality from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and sea temperature from Météo-France / Copernicus Marine, both via Open-Meteo.com. Coastline from Natural Earth. Ski areas from OpenSkiMap.org, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Skimap.org. World Heritage sites from Wikidata (CC0), from the World Heritage List © UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Readership from Wikimedia pageview data (CC0). Destination classification derived from English Wikivoyage, © Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0).