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Raleigh, Wake County

Raleigh: Third straight daily record high, 88 Friday after 89 Thursday and 90 Wednesday, weather service says

The National Weather Service said Raleigh reached 88 degrees on Oct. 16, breaking the daily record of 86 from 1897. That follows Thursday's record of 89 and Wednesday's record of 90. Rain and a sharp cooldown are forecast for Saturday.

UpdatedThis story has changed since it was first published.

By Triangle Local Newsroom · Published · Updated

Downtown Raleigh buildings under a blue sky

File photo: James Willamor (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • A daily record high of 88 degrees was set at Raleigh on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, the National Weather Service in Raleigh said. That broke the old record of 86 degrees, set in 1897.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh Record Event Report (RERRDU), 4:39 p.m. EDT Oct. 16
  • The office's afternoon climate summary for Oct. 16, valid as of 4 p.m., lists today's maximum at Raleigh as 88 degrees at 2:55 p.m., flagged as a record. The climate-normal high for the date is 73. The overnight low was 66 at 6:56 a.m. No rain had fallen as of that report. The climate product lists the previous record as 86 degrees in 1897 and 1925.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh climate report (CLIRDU), 4:39 p.m. EDT Oct. 16
  • A daily record high of 89 degrees was set at Raleigh on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, the National Weather Service in Raleigh said. That broke the old record of 88 degrees, set in 1985.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh Record Event Report (RERRDU), 4:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • A daily record high of 90 degrees was set at Raleigh on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. That broke the old record of 86 degrees, set in 1975 and 1985.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh Record Event Report (RERRDU), 4:58 p.m. EDT Oct. 14
  • The office's afternoon climate summary for Oct. 15, valid as of 4 p.m., lists today's maximum at Raleigh as 89 degrees, flagged as a record. The climate-normal high for the date is 73. The overnight low was 64 at 6:50 a.m. No rain had fallen as of that report.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh climate report (CLIRDU), 4:44 p.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • The same climate product also lists a maximum of 90 degrees at the National Weather Service forecast office on N.C. State's Centennial Campus, a different observation site. The official daily record is the 89-degree reading at Raleigh.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh climate report (CLIRDU), 4:44 p.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • The office's climate summary for Oct. 14 lists that day's maximum at Raleigh as 90 degrees at 3:22 p.m., flagged as a record. The climate-normal high for that date is 74. The overnight low was 63. No rain fell.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh climate report (CLIRDU), 3:48 a.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • The same Oct. 14 climate product listed a maximum of 91 degrees at the National Weather Service forecast office on N.C. State's Centennial Campus. That is a different observation site. The official daily record for Wednesday is the 90-degree reading at Raleigh.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh climate report (CLIRDU), 3:48 a.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • The weather service's Thursday afternoon forecast discussion said near-record heat will continue through Friday. A strong cold front is expected to move across central North Carolina Friday evening, with a significant cooldown for the weekend. The discussion said there is still some potential for patchy frost Sunday morning and again Monday morning.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh area forecast discussion, 2:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • The same discussion said a strong southwest wind on Friday could bring gusts of 20 to 30 mph, and that wind gusts with a narrow cold-frontal rainband Friday night or Saturday may exceed 40 mph.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh area forecast discussion, 2:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 15
  • The Raleigh point forecast, last updated at 8:14 p.m. Thursday, called for a high near 90 on Friday, a 40% chance of showers Friday night mainly after midnight with a low around 55, and a high near 63 on Saturday with showers likely, mainly before 10 a.m., and a 60% chance of precipitation.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh forecast for Raleigh, issued 8:14 p.m. Oct. 15
  • Thursday's climate report listed Friday's daily record high to beat at Raleigh as 86 degrees, set in 1897 and 1925. Friday later broke that record.Confirmed by National Weather Service Raleigh climate report (CLIRDU), 4:44 p.m. EDT Oct. 15

Still unknown

  • How much rain will fall with the Friday night and Saturday front
  • Whether patchy frost forms Sunday morning or Monday morning

What this means for you

Instructions from National Weather Service

This site is not the National Weather Service. For the latest forecast, warnings and climate data, use weather.gov. This site is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

Raleigh set a third straight daily record high on Friday, 88 degrees, the National Weather Service said. That follows Thursday's record of 89 and Wednesday's record of 90.

The Raleigh office's Record Event Report, issued at 4:39 p.m. Friday, said a record high of 88 degrees was set at Raleigh. That broke the old record of 86 degrees, set in 1897.

The office's afternoon climate summary for Oct. 16, issued at 4:39 p.m. and valid as of 4 p.m., lists today's maximum at Raleigh as 88 degrees at 2:55 p.m. The report flags that high as a record. The normal high for the date is 73. The overnight low was 66 at 6:56 a.m. No rain had fallen as of that report. The climate product lists the previous record as 86 degrees in 1897 and 1925.

Thursday's record

A Record Event Report issued at 4:45 p.m. Thursday put that day's record high at 89 degrees, topping the 88 degrees set in 1985.

Wednesday's record

The same office said Wednesday's daily record high was 90 degrees, issued in a Record Event Report at 4:58 p.m. Wednesday. The previous mark was 86 degrees, set in 1975 and 1985.

Some television reports listed 89 degrees for Wednesday. The official National Weather Service figure for Oct. 14 is 90.

What the climate reports show

Thursday's afternoon summary for Oct. 15, issued at 4:44 p.m. and also valid as of 4 p.m., shows a record 89 degrees at Raleigh against a normal high of 73. The morning low was 64, at 6:50 a.m., and no rain had been recorded by the time of the report.

The same climate product also lists a maximum of 90 degrees at the National Weather Service forecast office on N.C. State's Centennial Campus. That is a different observation site. The daily record applies to the official 89-degree reading at Raleigh.

The summary for Oct. 14, issued at 3:48 a.m. Thursday, records that day's Raleigh high as 90 degrees at 3:22 p.m., also flagged as a record; the normal for that date is 74. The low was 63, and no rain fell. That product listed a separate 91-degree maximum at the Centennial Campus office.

After the heat, a cooler weekend

The weather service's 2:30 p.m. Thursday forecast discussion said near-record heat would continue through Friday, then a strong cold front would bring a significant cooldown for the weekend. Friday did set the third straight daily record. The latest Saturday rain and cooldown forecast is in a separate Friday evening story.

This site is not the National Weather Service. The latest forecast is on weather.gov.

Why it matters

Three mid-October record highs in a row are well above normal for Raleigh. A cold front is now expected to bring rain and a sharp drop for Saturday, including the first weekend of the N.C. State Fair.

Updates

  1. Oct 16, 2026, 8:03 PM

    The National Weather Service in Raleigh issues a Record Event Report saying a daily record high of 88 degrees was set at Raleigh on Friday, breaking 86 degrees from 1897. That is the third straight daily record, after Thursday's 89 and Wednesday's 90.

  2. Oct 15, 2026, 4:45 PM

    The National Weather Service in Raleigh issues a Record Event Report saying a daily record high of 89 degrees was set at Raleigh on Thursday, breaking 88 degrees from 1985. That is the second straight daily record, after Wednesday's 90.

  3. Oct 14, 2026, 4:58 PM

    The National Weather Service in Raleigh issues a Record Event Report saying a daily record high of 90 degrees was set at Raleigh, breaking 86 degrees from 1975 and 1985.

Sources

  1. Record Event Report, National Weather Service Raleigh (RERRDU), 4:39 p.m. EDT Oct. 16, 2026 (daily record high of 88 at Raleigh; old record 86 in 1897)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 16, 2026, 8:20 PM

  2. Archived Record Event Report, National Weather Service Raleigh, 4:39 p.m. EDT Oct. 16, 2026

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet · Checked Oct 16, 2026, 8:20 PM

  3. Climate Report, National Weather Service Raleigh (CLIRDU), 4:39 p.m. EDT Oct. 16, 2026 (Oct. 16 maximum 88 at 2:55 p.m., record flag; overnight low 66 at 6:56 a.m.; 0.00 inches of rain; previous record 86 in 1897 and 1925)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 16, 2026, 8:20 PM

  4. Archived Climate Report, National Weather Service Raleigh, 4:39 p.m. EDT Oct. 16, 2026

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet · Checked Oct 16, 2026, 8:20 PM

  5. Record Event Report, National Weather Service Raleigh (RERRDU), 4:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026 (daily record high of 89 at Raleigh; old record 88 in 1985)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  6. Archived Record Event Report, National Weather Service Raleigh, 4:45 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  7. Climate Report, National Weather Service Raleigh (CLIRDU), 4:44 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026 (Oct. 15 maximum 89 as of 4 p.m., record flag; overnight low 64 at 6:50 a.m.; 0.00 inches of rain; separate 90-degree maximum at the NWS office on N.C. State Centennial Campus; Friday record high 86 in 1897 and 1925)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  8. Archived Climate Report, National Weather Service Raleigh, 4:44 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  9. Area Forecast Discussion, National Weather Service Raleigh, 2:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026 (near-record heat through Friday; cold front Friday evening; significant weekend cooldown; patchy frost possible Sunday and Monday mornings; Friday southwest gusts 20-30 mph; frontal rainband gusts may exceed 40 mph)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  10. Archived Area Forecast Discussion, National Weather Service Raleigh, 2:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  11. Seven-day forecast for Raleigh, issued 8:14 p.m. Oct. 15, 2026 (Friday high near 90; Friday night showers 40% after midnight, low around 55; Saturday high near 63, showers likely, 60% chance)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 8:20 PM

  12. Record Event Report, National Weather Service Raleigh (RERRDU), 4:58 p.m. EDT Oct. 14, 2026 (daily record high of 90 at Raleigh; old record 86 in 1975 and 1985)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 10:20 AM

  13. Archived Record Event Report, National Weather Service Raleigh, 4:58 p.m. EDT Oct. 14, 2026

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 10:20 AM

  14. Climate Report, National Weather Service Raleigh (CLIRDU), 3:48 a.m. EDT Oct. 15, 2026 (Oct. 14 maximum 90 at 3:22 p.m., record flag; overnight low 63; 0.00 inches of rain; separate 91-degree maximum at the NWS office on N.C. State Centennial Campus)

    Official sourcePublished by National Weather Service, Raleigh · Checked Oct 15, 2026, 10:20 AM

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