Is it good to paint in Raleigh, NC this week?
A live 7-day go/no-go calendar for exterior paint in Raleigh, built from the local forecast against the 5°F-above-dew-point rule. We lead with the signal a weather app misses: overnight condensation risk.
- Dew margin
- 4.7°F
- Overnight dew
- Watch
- Rain
- 26%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 96°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Dew margin
- 5.8°F
- Overnight dew
- Low
- Rain
- 12%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 92°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Dew margin
- 6.3°F
- Overnight dew
- Low
- Rain
- 19%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 96°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Dew margin
- 7.7°F
- Overnight dew
- Low
- Rain
- 22%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 98°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Dew margin
- 7.6°F
- Overnight dew
- Low
- Rain
- 17%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 94°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Dew margin
- 3.2°F
- Overnight dew
- Watch
- Rain
- 16%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 94°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Dew margin
- 3.1°F
- Overnight dew
- Watch
- Rain
- 35%
- Window
- —
Too hot — high of 97°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Too hot — high of 96°F is well over the 85°F ceiling; the film skins over before it can level or adhere.
- Humidity peaks at 97% — well above the 85% ceiling; cure stalls and moisture gets trapped.
- Watch overnight dew — surface comes within 4.7°F of the dew point (margin is 5°F). Time the coat to dry well before evening.
Hold off. These are forecast numbers — confirm the surface temperature on-site before you start.
Why these thresholds
Overnight dew condensing on a fresh coat causes blistering, surfactant leaching and peeling — the cause of 40%+ of exterior paint failures.
- • Surface temp must stay 5°F above the dew point through application and cure (ASTM D3276 / ISO 8502-42).
- • Air + surface in the 50–85°F band (low-temp lines to 35°F).
- • Humidity under 85%; ideally under 70%.
- • No rain for 24h after application.
- • We use the forecast ground-surface temperature as a surface-temp proxy — confirm on-site with an IR thermometer.
Free in the beta
Watch this job site 24/7
Get an email the moment overnight dew, rain, or an out-of-range stretch threatens a fresh coat — and a morning digest with the best window ahead. No app to check; we watch the forecast for you.