Birmingham National Weather Service (2024)

FAQs

What is the coldest month in Alabama? ›

January is normally the coldest month but there is not much difference from mid-December to mid-February. Overall, winters are relatively mild. Even in cold spells, it is unusual for the temperature to remain below freezing all day.

Birmingham occupies Jones Valley, flanked by long parallel mountain ridges (the tailing ends of the Appalachian foothills – see Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians) running from north-east to south-west. The valley is drained by small creeks (Village Creek, Valley Creek) which flow into the Black Warrior River.

Sub-zero cold is extremely rare, occurring only a very few times this century. Extremely low temperatures almost always occur under clear skies after a snowfall. Visitors in January will find that the average high in Birmingham is 52.8F, the average January low is 32.3F, both the coldest averages of the year.

In March 1993, Alabamians faced a generational storm which packed hurricane strength, whiteout conditions and the largest snowfall total ever recorded in the City of Birmingham.

Alabama's lowest recorded temperature was -27 degrees Fahrenheit at New Market on January 30, 1966.

Birmingham was once the nation's most segregated city, home to brutal, racially motivated violence. Today, a new national park site commemorates the critical civil rights history that happened here. So wrote Martin Luther King, Jr., in his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in April 1963.

Birmingham was home to the great scientists and inventors Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch, leading Birmingham to be the first manufacturing town in the world. The first ever working Steam Engine and the anchor of the Titanic were built in the Black Country.

The city was named for Birmingham, England, the center of that country's iron industry. The new Alabama city boomed so quickly that it came to be known as the "Magic City." It later became known as the "Pittsburgh of the South" after the Pennsylvania center of iron and steel production.

If you've been looking for an incredible city for retirement, it's time to consider the Magic City. Birmingham, AL, is ranked as the second best place to retire in Alabama and one of the best places to live, according to U.S. News & World Report.

What was the hottest day in Birmingham Alabama? ›

The hottest recorded temperature in Birmingham, Alabama history was a scorching 107 degrees Fahrenheit which occurred on July 29th, 1930.

Alabama's generally warm, humid climate results from its mid-latitude location and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico.

Birmingham Climate Summary

The city's yearly temperature is 10.56ºC (51.01ºF) and it is -0.19% lower than United Kingdom's averages. Birmingham typically receives about 29.35 millimeters (1.16 inches) of precipitation and has 79.46 rainy days (21.77% of the time) annually.

A map of typical summertime heat patterns from NOAA shows that the mid-July through mid-August is usually the hottest for Alabama as a whole -- and much of the contiguous U.S. as well. July 15 through Aug. 1 is typically the hottest for most of Alabama.

When Does It Snow In Alabama? While there is a chance of a white Christmas in Alabama, the odds are slim. January is typically the coldest and snowiest month in Alabama, but mild snow events can occur from December to March.

The Alabama climate is temperate, with an average annual temperature of about 64 °F (18 °C), mellowed by altitude to some 60 °F (16 °C) in the northern counties and reaching 67 °F (19 °C) in the southern counties, although summer heat is often alleviated somewhat by the winds blowing in from the Gulf of Mexico.

The monthly average temperature is 50.5°, with daily highs near 57.5° and lows near 43.5°, and the water temperature averages 55°. February on the Alabama Gulf Coast is the perfect destination to escape the harsh colds of winter.

The month of January ranks as the coldest one of the year as daytime highs average 54ºF-56ºF from the start to the end of the month, with lows averaging from as low as 35ºF-36ºF.