Birmingham climate

Name: Birmingham
Address: US

Birmingham is warmest in July, with average highs of 32 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average 2.9 °C. March is the wettest month (144 mm) and September the driest (86 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Birmingham averages 1,342 mm of rain, 164 days above 25 °C and 30 days below freezing.

United States · 187 m elevation · population 196,357 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month July 32 °C
Coldest month January 2.9 °C
Driest month September 86 mm
Wettest month March 144 mm
Least cloud October 43 % cloud
Hottest on record June 39 °C
Coldest on record March -14 °C

What to expectBirmingham through the year

Birmingham has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 12 °C in January to 32 °C in July, a swing of 20 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 164 days a year reach 25 °C, 79 of them reach 30 °C, 30 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C, in June.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 86 mm in September to 144 mm in March. There is no dry season to aim for.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	12.0 °C	126 mm	59 %
February	14.5 °C	128 mm	61 %
March	18.5 °C	144 mm	58 %
April	22.6 °C	121 mm	54 %
May	26.9 °C	98 mm	53 %
June	30.2 °C	108 mm	55 %
July	31.7 °C	114 mm	57 %
August	31.5 °C	95 mm	53 %
September	29.0 °C	86 mm	48 %
October	23.8 °C	87 mm	43 %
November	17.6 °C	105 mm	49 %
December	13.3 °C	132 mm	59 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	12.0 °C	2.9 °C	6.8 °C	23.2 °C	-12.2 °C	0	0	11
February	14.5 °C	4.4 °C	8.7 °C	26.4 °C	-13.0 °C	0	0	7
March	18.5 °C	7.8 °C	12.5 °C	28.5 °C	-14.2 °C	2	0	2
April	22.6 °C	11.6 °C	16.7 °C	32.0 °C	-0.8 °C	8	0	0
May	26.9 °C	16.3 °C	21.3 °C	34.6 °C	4.4 °C	23	5	0
June	30.2 °C	20.4 °C	25.0 °C	39.1 °C	11.2 °C	29	16	0
July	31.7 °C	22.4 °C	26.6 °C	38.0 °C	14.6 °C	31	23	0
August	31.5 °C	22.1 °C	26.3 °C	38.5 °C	13.8 °C	31	22	0
September	29.0 °C	19.3 °C	23.7 °C	36.3 °C	7.3 °C	26	12	0
October	23.8 °C	13.6 °C	18.2 °C	35.3 °C	0.7 °C	13	1	0
November	17.6 °C	7.8 °C	12.1 °C	30.5 °C	-6.0 °C	1	0	2
December	13.3 °C	4.4 °C	8.2 °C	24.1 °C	-8.5 °C	0	0	8

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	126 mm	10	10 h/day	59 %	72 %	16 km/h
February	128 mm	10	11 h/day	61 %	72 %	17 km/h
March	144 mm	11	12 h/day	58 %	71 %	17 km/h
April	121 mm	10	13 h/day	54 %	71 %	16 km/h
May	98 mm	10	14 h/day	53 %	71 %	14 km/h
June	108 mm	13	14 h/day	55 %	74 %	12 km/h
July	114 mm	15	14 h/day	57 %	75 %	11 km/h
August	95 mm	12	13 h/day	53 %	74 %	11 km/h
September	86 mm	8	12 h/day	48 %	70 %	12 km/h
October	87 mm	7	11 h/day	43 %	69 %	14 km/h
November	105 mm	8	10 h/day	49 %	71 %	15 km/h
December	132 mm	10	9.9 h/day	59 %	76 %	16 km/h

How Birmingham compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Birmingham	32 °C	2.9 °C	1,342 mm	164
Huntsville · United States	31 °C	1.6 °C	1,354 mm	151
Montgomery · United States	33 °C	4.3 °C	1,158 mm	183
Columbus · United States	33 °C	4.2 °C	1,148 mm	182
Chattanooga · United States	31 °C	1.0 °C	1,311 mm	145
Atlanta · United States	31 °C	2.0 °C	1,204 mm	148

Where Birmingham ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in North America in October	22nd of 50	94/100
Places with the best weather in North America in April	50th of 50	88/100

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Birmingham.

QuestionsCommon questions about Birmingham’s climate

When is the best time to visit Birmingham?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. April, May, October sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and September the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Birmingham get?

In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 32 °C. About 79 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 2.9 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 30 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Birmingham?

March, averaging 144 mm over 11 days with rain. The driest month is September with 86 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,342 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Birmingham rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: 33.521°, -86.802° , 187 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.