According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 312.00 square miles (808.1 km²), of which 310.02 square miles (802.9 km²) is land and 1.98 square miles (5.1 km²) (0.63%) is water.^[7] Charlotte is the twenty-sixth-most expansive city in the United States and lies at an elevation of 751 feet (229 m). Charlotte constitutes most of Mecklenburg County in the Carolina Piedmont.^[73] Uptown Charlotte sits atop a long rise between two creeks, Sugar Creek and Irwin Creek, and was built on the gunnies of the St. Catherine's and Rudisill gold mines.^[74] Charlotte is 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Concord;^[75] 26 miles (42 km) northeast of Rock Hill, South Carolina;^[76] 83 miles (134 km) southwest of Greensboro;^[77] 135 miles (217 km) west of Fayetteville;^[78] and 165 miles (266 km) southwest of Raleigh, the state capital.^[79]

Though the Catawba River and its lakes lie several miles west, there are no significant bodies of water or other geological features near the city center.^[80] Consequently, development has neither been constrained nor helped by waterways or ports that have contributed to many cities of similar size. The lack of these obstructions has contributed to Charlotte's growth as a highway, rail, and air transportation hub.^[81]

Neighborhoods

Charlotte has 199 neighborhoods radiating in all directions from Uptown.^[82]^[83] Biddleville, the primary historic center of Charlotte's African American community, is west of Uptown, starting at the Johnson C. Smith University campus and extending to the airport.^[84]^[85]^[86] East of The Plaza and north of Central Avenue, Plaza-Midwood is known for its international population, including Eastern Europeans, Greeks, Middle-Easterners, and Hispanics.^[87]^[88]^[89] North Tryon and the Sugar Creek area include several Asian American communities.^[90]^[91] NoDa (North Davidson), north of Uptown, is an emerging center for arts and entertainment.^[92]^[93]^[94] Myers Park, Dilworth, and Eastover are home to some of Charlotte's most affluent, oldest and largest houses, on tree-lined boulevards, with Freedom Park nearby.^[95]^[96]^[97]^[98]^[99]

The SouthPark area offers shopping, dining, and multifamily housing.^[100]^[101] Far South Boulevard is home to a large Hispanic community.^[102] Many students, researchers, and affiliated professionals live near UNC Charlotte in the northeast area known as University City.^[103]^[104]^[105]

The large area known as Southeast Charlotte is home to many golf communities, luxury developments, churches, the Jewish community center, and private schools. As undeveloped land within Mecklenburg has become scarce, many of these communities have expanded into Weddington and Waxhaw in Union County.^[106] Ballantyne, in the south of Charlotte, and nearly every area on the I‑485 perimeter, has experienced rapid growth over the past ten years.^[107]^[108]^[109] The Steele Creek neighborhood which is primarily in Mecklenburg county is located within minutes near Uptown Charlotte.^[110]^[111]^[112]^[113]

Since the 1980s in particular, Uptown Charlotte has undergone massive construction of buildings, housing Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Hearst Corporation, and Duke Energy, several hotels, and multiple condominium developments.^[114]^[115]^[116]^[117]^[118]

Parks and green space

Latta Park was created in 1891 as an amusement park.^[119]

Bryant Park was established in the 1930s and is one of the earliest small-scale public parks in Charlotte. It is the only green space remaining in West Morehead Street's industrial sector.^[120]

The 120-acre (49 ha) Park Road Park is a prominent landmark near the SouthPark area.^[121] Park Road Park features eight basketball courts, two horseshoe pits, six baseball fields, five picnic shelters, volleyball courts, playgrounds, trails, tennis courts, and an 11-acre (4.5 ha) lake.^[122] The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Parks & Recreation Department operates 36 tennis facilities and the 12 lighted tennis courts at the park.^[123] In September 2013, the 5.4-acre (2.2 ha) Romare Bearden Park opened to the public.^[124]^[125]

The urban section of Little Sugar Creek Greenway was completed in 2012. Inspired in part by the San Antonio River Walk, and integral to Charlotte's extensive urban park system, it is "a huge milestone" according to Gwen Cook, greenway planner for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.^[126] However, the Little Sugar Creek Greenway bears no relation to the San Antonio River Walk. The Little Sugar Creek Greenway is prone to flooding during thunderstorms and periods of heavy rain. Creation of Little Sugar Creek Greenway cost $43 million and was controversial because it required the forced acquisition of several established local businesses.^[127]

The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County began purchasing flood-prone homes in the 1990s. Voluntary buyouts of 700 households have created around 200 acres (81 ha)s of open land that can flood safely, thereby saving an estimated $28 million in flood damage and emergency rescues.^[128]

McAlpine Creek Park and integrated McAlpine Creek Greenway constructed in 1978 was the first greenway built in the western piedmont of North Carolina.^[129]^[130]

Climate

Like much of the Piedmont region of the southeastern United States, Charlotte has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons; the city itself is part of USDA hardiness zone 8a, transitioning to 7b in the suburbs in all directions except the south.^[131] The following narrative reflects 1991–2020 climate data. Winters are short and fairly mild, with a normal January daily mean temperature of 42.1 °F (5.6 °C). On occasion the temperature can fall below 20 °F (−6.7 °C) but Charlotte also enjoys multiple warm winter days in excess of 65 °F (18.3 °C).^[132] On average, there are 59 nights per year that drop to or below freezing, and only 1.5 days that fail to rise above freezing.^[132] Precipitation is evenly distributed through the year; only August stands out as a slightly wetter month, averaging 4.35 inches of rainfall. Summers are hot and humid, with a normal July daily mean temperature of 80.1 °F (26.7 °C).^[133] Hot and humid days can arrive as early as May and last through the end of September. There is an average of 44 days per year with highs at or above 90 °F (32 °C).^[132] Official record temperatures range from 104 °F (40 °C) recorded six times, most recently from June 29 to July 1, 2012, down to −5 °F (−21 °C) recorded on January 21, 1985, the most recent of three occasions. The record cold daily maximum is 14 °F (−10 °C) on February 12 and 13, 1899,^[132] and the record warm daily minimum is 82 °F (28 °C) on August 13, 1881.^{[lower-alpha 1]} The average window for freezing temperatures is November 5 through March 30, allowing a growing season of 220 days.^[132]

Charlotte is directly in the path of subtropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico as it heads up the eastern seaboard, thus the city receives ample precipitation throughout the year but also many clear, sunny days; precipitation is generally less frequent in autumn than in spring.^[132] On average, Charlotte receives 43.60 inches (1,110 mm) of precipitation annually, evenly distributed throughout the year. Annual precipitation has historically ranged from 26.23 in (666 mm) in 2001 to 68.44 in (1,738 mm) in 1884.^[132] There is an average of 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) of snow, mainly in January and February and rarely December or March, with more frequent ice storms and sleet mixed in with rain; seasonal snowfall has historically ranged from trace amounts in 2011–12 to 22.6 in (57 cm) in 1959–60.^[132] Snow and ice storms can have a major impact on the area, as they often pull tree limbs down onto power lines and make driving hazardous. Snow has been recorded a small number of times in April, most recently on April 2, 2019.^[134]^[135]

As of 2020^[update], the Charlotte metropolitan area as a whole is noted for having one of the worst weather radar gaps among any major U.S. East Coast city, with little to no coverage in a roughly quadrilateral area spanning Concord, Salisbury and much of Statesville.^[136] As the nearest NWS-owned NEXRAD is located in Greer, South Carolina, more than 80 mi (130 km) to the west-southwest of Charlotte, this deficit is particularly problematic during severe thunderstorm or tornado episodes.^[136] The current lowest angle of the radar, based in Greer, is quite far above the surface over Charlotte, so the velocities measurement for detecting rotations cannot be below mid-level in potential tornado-forming storms and thus cannot indicate whether said rotation extends closer to the ground (below 5,000 ft (1,500 m)).^[136]

More information Month, Jan ...

Climate data for Charlotte, North Carolina (Charlotte Douglas Int'l), 1991–2020 normals,^{[lower-alpha 2]} extremes 1878–present^{[lower-alpha 3]}
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	79 (26)	82 (28)	91 (33)	96 (36)	98 (37)	104 (40)	104 (40)	104 (40)	104 (40)	99 (37)	85 (29)	80 (27)	104 (40)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	70.6 (21.4)	73.6 (23.1)	81.6 (27.6)	85.9 (29.9)	90.4 (32.4)	94.7 (34.8)	97.0 (36.1)	96.1 (35.6)	92.0 (33.3)	85.6 (29.8)	77.8 (25.4)	71.2 (21.8)	98.0 (36.7)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	52.3 (11.3)	56.6 (13.7)	64.2 (17.9)	73.2 (22.9)	80.1 (26.7)	86.9 (30.5)	90.3 (32.4)	88.6 (31.4)	82.8 (28.2)	73.3 (22.9)	62.9 (17.2)	54.9 (12.7)	72.2 (22.3)
Daily mean °F (°C)	42.1 (5.6)	45.7 (7.6)	52.7 (11.5)	61.1 (16.2)	69.0 (20.6)	76.6 (24.8)	80.1 (26.7)	78.6 (25.9)	72.7 (22.6)	61.9 (16.6)	51.4 (10.8)	44.7 (7.1)	61.4 (16.3)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	31.8 (−0.1)	34.9 (1.6)	41.2 (5.1)	49.1 (9.5)	58.0 (14.4)	66.2 (19.0)	69.9 (21.1)	68.7 (20.4)	62.6 (17.0)	50.4 (10.2)	39.8 (4.3)	34.5 (1.4)	50.6 (10.3)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	14.8 (−9.6)	19.3 (−7.1)	23.7 (−4.6)	32.9 (0.5)	43.3 (6.3)	55.5 (13.1)	62.2 (16.8)	60.0 (15.6)	49.8 (9.9)	33.9 (1.1)	23.8 (−4.6)	19.6 (−6.9)	12.6 (−10.8)
Record low °F (°C)	−5 (−21)	−5 (−21)	4 (−16)	21 (−6)	32 (0)	45 (7)	53 (12)	50 (10)	38 (3)	24 (−4)	11 (−12)	−5 (−21)	−5 (−21)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	3.49 (89)	3.13 (80)	3.95 (100)	3.84 (98)	3.36 (85)	3.99 (101)	3.74 (95)	4.35 (110)	3.71 (94)	3.16 (80)	3.31 (84)	3.57 (91)	43.60 (1,107)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	1.6 (4.1)	1.1 (2.8)	0.3 (0.76)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.1 (0.25)	0.4 (1.0)	3.5 (8.9)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	10.3	9.7	10.2	9.0	9.5	10.6	10.5	10.1	7.7	7.1	8.1	9.6	112.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	0.9	0.5	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.9
Average relative humidity (%)	65.7	61.8	61.5	59.3	66.9	69.6	72.2	73.5	73.3	69.9	67.6	67.3	67.4
Average dew point °F (°C)	27.3 (−2.6)	28.6 (−1.9)	36.3 (2.4)	43.5 (6.4)	54.9 (12.7)	63.0 (17.2)	67.1 (19.5)	66.7 (19.3)	61.2 (16.2)	49.5 (9.7)	39.6 (4.2)	31.3 (−0.4)	47.4 (8.6)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	173.3	180.3	234.8	269.6	292.1	289.2	290.0	272.9	241.4	230.5	178.4	168.5	2,821
Percent possible sunshine	55	59	63	69	67	66	66	65	65	66	58	55	63
Average ultraviolet index	3	4	6	8	9	10	10	9	8	5	3	2	6
Source 1: NOAA (relative humidity, dew point, and sun 1961–1990)^[132]^[133]^[137]
Source 2: Weather Atlas ^[138] (UV index)

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