Birmingham has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 91°, a January night drops to 33°, and about 1 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
91°
243rd hottest of 594 Alabama towns
❄️
January low
33°
291st coldest of 594 Alabama towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
57 in
294th wettest of 594 Alabama towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
1 in
46th snowiest of 573 Alabama towns
A normal year
What a year in Birmingham feels like
❄️
Winter
57° / 35°
Typical high / low · Snow is rare
🌷
Spring
75° / 50°
Typical high / low · Last frost around Mar 21
☀️
Summer
90° / 68°
Typical high / low · 65 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
75° / 52°
Typical high / low · First frost around Nov 11
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
54°
33°
59°
36°
67°
43°
75°
49°
82°
59°
88°
66°
91°
70°
90°
69°
86°
63°
76°
51°
65°
41°
57°
36°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideMarAprMayOctNovHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Birmingham weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
Month
High
Low
Rain + melt
Snow
Wet days
Snow on ground
30-yr range
January
54°
33°
5.2"
0.4"
11
0
35° – 51°
February
59°
36°
5.4"
0.3"
11
0
39° – 56°
March
67°
43°
5.5"
0.5"
11
0
49° – 65°
April
75°
49°
5.1"
0
9
0
58° – 67°
May
82°
59°
4.4"
0
10
0
66° – 74°
June
88°
66°
5.0"
0
11
0
73° – 81°
July
91°
70°
5.1"
0
12
0
77° – 83°
August
90°
69°
4.2"
0
11
0
75° – 85°
September
86°
63°
3.9"
0
7
0
71° – 81°
October
76°
51°
3.4"
0
7
0
60° – 69°
November
65°
41°
4.5"
0
8
0
47° – 58°
December
57°
36°
5.1"
0.2"
10
0
37° – 56°
Year
74°
51°
56.6"
1.4"
118
0
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.
Rain & snow
Rain and snow in Birmingham
Birmingham gets 57 inches of rain and melted snow a year. March is the wettest month and October the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 118 days a year.
💧
57 in
Rain + melted snow a year
More rain than 96% of U.S. towns
❄️
1 in
Snow in a normal winter
Less snow than 84% of U.S. towns
⛄
0 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
Fewer than 83% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
5.5"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
About 1.4" in a normal year, so most winters see none.
Frost & the growing season
About 236 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by March 21 and the first one by November 11. That leaves about 236 frost-free days for gardens, longer than 87% of U.S. towns.
🌱 Mar 21
🍂 Nov 11
236 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
47
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
0
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
65
days that reach 90° in a normal year
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
JFMAMJJASOND
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling a home in Birmingham
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Birmingham, 54% of that work is heating and 46% is cooling.
🔥
2,533 heating degree daysLess heating than 89% of U.S. towns
❄️
2,177 cooling degree daysMore cooling than 90% of U.S. towns
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Around Birmingham
Birmingham and its neighbors
Birmingham borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 1.1°. Trussville has the coldest January nights (32°) and Hoover the hottest July afternoons (91°). Birmingham’s January low is 33° and its July high 91°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.0°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Birmingham averaged 1.0° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in February (+1.8°). The shift is smaller than in 67% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+1.4°now 46°, was 45°
🌷 Spring+1.1°now 63°, was 61°
☀️ Summer+0.7°now 79°, was 78°
🍂 Fall+1.0°now 64°, was 63°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Birmingham’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+1.8°
+0.4°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. December swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 37° to 56°. July is the most reliable, staying within 6°.
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Birmingham’s climate
What is the coldest month in Birmingham?
January, with a typical high of 54° and a low of 33°.
What is the hottest month in Birmingham?
July, with a typical high of 91° and a low of 70°. About 65 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Birmingham get?
About 1 inches in a normal winter, most of it in March.
When is the first frost in Birmingham?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by November 11, and the last spring frost by March 21.
What is the rainiest month in Birmingham?
March, with 5.5 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 57 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Birmingham itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Birmingham Airport, AL (4 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.