When is a good time to visit Aiken, South Carolina? That depends on what you like. My favorite seasons here are fall and spring. Jeremy gets bad allergies in the spring, so he loves fall and winter. Both of us hibernate during summer!
Here's the inside scoop on Aiken's weather, the good, the bad, and the ugly!
SUMMERS - June through August is hot (low 80’s to low 100’s) and humid, with afternoon thunderstorms and rain common. Check your weather, and bring an umbrella when you go out as things can change quickly. I bring a sweatshirt with me in the summer if I’m going to a restaurant or the movies as they can get a little crazy with the A/C around here and freeze you out when you go indoors! Your nights will stay warm and humid, with a serenade of cicadas, crickets, and frogs if you're in the countryside.
Late summer/early Fall is hurricane season, but we don’t tend to get the brunt of storms the way the coast does, and Aiken is not low-lying enough to flood in most areas.
WINTERS - Some years we get surprisingly cold streaks in the winter, especially in the months of January and early February. It can snow, but it’s very rare and usually doesn’t accumulate if it does.
SPRING & FALL - Heavenly, and less humid with average temps in the 60’s - 80’s. For a couple of weeks in the Spring, there is “pollen season,” when the pine trees shed yellow pollen all over EVERYTHING. This period can be tough on those with allergies!
All times of year can have wildly varying outlying temps… such as low seventies in July (weirdly low!) or 90’s in early December (oddly high!).
A google search can give you a monthly average for your time in Aiken, but it’s a good rule of thumb to prepare for a wide range of temps and conditions regardless of when you visit!
We can get tornados here, and occasionally you may get a severe weather warning alert on your phone. If that happens, don’t panic, just follow the instructions (usually to seek shelter and tune in to the radio for updates for a short period of time).
Very occasionally Aiken can see ice storms. The last one was in February 2014 and was fairly disruptive, with lasting power outages and lots of damage to trees and property from falling limbs.
In summary, there's a reason that Southern homes all have large porches and ceiling fans! It's hot in the summer, mild in the winter, and there's rarely a time you won't want to be sitting outside, sipping a cool sweet tea.
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