Pool season · North Carolina
Winston-Salem Pool Season: the Year on One Bar
Last updated: July 25, 2026 · dates · water temp
Winston-Salem's whole pool calendar, condensed: when the water warms, when it cools, and where today falls between those edges. Use the opening guide and closing guide for the step-by-step work; keep this page for the dates.
Winston-Salem, NC — 114 swim days a yearReading it takes ten seconds: 52 dots, one per week. Solid teal is Winston-Salem's swim season; the hollow teal run before it (March 31 to April 21) is when to open; the hollow amber run after is when to close, with October 23 as the deadline; gray is the covered season. Today's marker shows where you stand in that cycle right now.
The Winston-Salem pool calendar
Opening — target April 7
Open by April 7 — a two-week head start on the April 21 crossing keeps startup chemistry small and beats the local service rush.
Closing — deadline October 23
The window opens October 13 once water leaves the algae zone; the model deadline is October 23, a week ahead of the November 9 freeze normal.
Estimated water temperature by month
This is Winston-Salem's typical-year water curve: the same EWMA model as the live widget, run on the 1991–2020 normals instead of this week's weather.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40° | 41° | 47° | 56° | 64° | 72° | 78° | 78° | 74° | 65° | 54° | 46° |
Warmest water typically July–August (peaking near 79°F); heaters and covers shift any month up.
Every station tells its own story: compare this curve with Wilmington's pool season and Apex's — neighboring normals stations can shift the windows by a week or more. The full ranking lives on the North Carolina season index.
Winston-Salem pool season FAQ
When should I open my pool in Winston-Salem, NC?
Target April 7. That date backs off two weeks from the day Winston-Salem's 7-day mean temperature reaches 61°F, so you start up in cold, algae-resistant water. Work the full checklist in the Winston-Salem opening guide.
When should I close my pool in Winston-Salem?
The closing deadline is October 23 — late enough that the water has cooled out of the algae zone, early enough to beat Winston-Salem's first-freeze normal by about a week. See the Winston-Salem closing guide for the winterizing steps.
How long is the swim season in Winston-Salem?
Winston-Salem averages 114 days a year with normal highs of 80°F or better — right on the statewide median. The North Carolina season index ranks all 17 covered cities by the same metric.
How warm does pool water get in Winston-Salem?
An unheated pool near Winston-Salem typically peaks around 79°F in high summer and bottoms out near 40°F in winter, spending roughly 1 month at or above the 78°F comfort line most swimmers prefer. The month-by-month curve above shows the whole cycle; the methodology page explains the ±5°F error bars.
Email me when Winston-Salem hits the closing window
Data: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals via Winston Salem Rynlds Airport (3.0 mi); live outlook by Open-Meteo. Attribution: sources · assumptions: methodology.