Many people buy a mountain home to escape the intense heat of the summer, assuming that just being in the mountains will ensure that the summer weather is cool. This is not always the case.
We often speak to disillusioned homeowners who now realize that they bought a home in the wrong location after enduring their first mountain summer with weather well into the mid to high 80s, or even 90s. Don't be one of them!
The chart below shows average high temperatures in July for a number of popular mountain towns, as well as some other vacation destinations in the Southeastern US for comparison purposes.
Keep in mind that on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the high temperatures listed below only last for a few hours in the height of the afternoon. For example, if the high in Cashiers for the day was 78 degrees, the morning and late afternoon would likely be in the low 70s, the evening would be in the high 60s, and overnight it would drop into the low 60s. Perfect!
Unfortunately for those in lower altitudes, the hottest part of the day can last much longer than it does here.
Average HIGH Temperatures in July (in Degrees Farenheit)
| Cashiers, NC |  78 |
| Highlands, NC | 78 |
| Lake Glenville, NC | 78 |
| Lake Toxaway, NC | 79 |
| Sapphire, NC | 79 |
| Maggie Valley, NC |  81 |
| Waynesville, NC | 83 |
| Asheville, NC | 84 |
| Franklin, NC | 85 |
| Gatlinburg, TN | 85 |
| Murphy, NC |  86 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 87 |
| Blue Ridge, GA | 88 |
| Knoxville, TN | 88 |
| Raleigh, NC | 88 |
| Atlanta, GA | 89 |
| Charleston, SC | 89 |
| Greenville, SC | 89 |
| Lake Lure, NC | 89 |
| Charlotte, NC |  90 |
| Lake Norman, NC | 90 |
| Palm Beach, FL | 90 |
| Naples, FL | 91 |
| Orlando, FL | 92 |
| Savannah, GA | 92 |
Weather information provided by Weather.com.