Frost dates for Birmingham Airport, Alabama
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 21, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 8.
A frost date is really a percentile from 30 years of records at a nearby weather station: in about half of years a frost still comes after the median date. Both numbers are below, so you can choose the risk yourself.
The odds
Last spring frost
How often a frost still comes on or after each date.
- 1 year in 10
- April 8
- 1 year in 5
- April 2
- 3 years in 10
- March 30
- 2 years in 5
- March 26
- Half of years (the median)
- March 21
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 30
- 1 year in 5
- November 3
- 3 years in 10
- November 6
- 2 years in 5
- November 8
- Half of years (the median)
- November 11
- Growing season
- about 236 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 8a, 8b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 32 °C90 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- May to September, in hot, long days (how we know)
Summer and rain
A growing garden needs about 25 mm1 in of water a week, rain and watering together. Here is what a normal month brings.
- Hot-weather watering
- July to August: days run above 32 °C90 °F and nights stay above 21 °C70 °F, so expect to water daily or every other day (how we know)
Month by month
- January
- high ~12 °C54 °F · low ~2 °C35 °F · rain ~128 mm5 in
- February
- high ~15 °C59 °F · low ~4 °C38 °F · rain ~126 mm4.9 in
- March
- high ~20 °C67 °F · low ~7 °C45 °F · rain ~144 mm5.7 in
- April
- high ~24 °C75 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~129 mm5.1 in
- May
- high ~28 °C82 °F · low ~16 °C61 °F · rain ~125 mm4.9 in
- June
- high ~31 °C88 °F · low ~20 °C69 °F · rain ~121 mm4.8 in
- July
- high ~33 °C91 °F · low ~22 °C72 °F · rain ~138 mm5.4 in
- August
- high ~33 °C91 °F · low ~22 °C71 °F · rain ~110 mm4.4 in
- September
- high ~30 °C86 °F · low ~18 °C65 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
- October
- high ~24 °C76 °F · low ~12 °C54 °F · rain ~85 mm3.3 in
- November
- high ~18 °C65 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~107 mm4.2 in
- December
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~124 mm4.9 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Birmingham Airport station (listed by NOAA as Birmingham Ap, USW00013876), at 33.57, -86.75. These are that station’s own records, unshifted. The further your garden is from it, the less exactly they describe your ground. The planner finds the nearest station to your garden and lowers its confidence with distance, so no number is presented as if it were measured in your garden.
Cold air also pools in low ground on the clear, still nights when frost happens, so a hollow can freeze while a slope a few hundred feet away does not. No table can know that about your garden. A few seasons of your own logged frosts can.
ZIP codes nearest this station
35005, 35036, 35060, 35061, 35062, 35064, 35068, 35073, 35094, 35117, 35118, 35127, 35139, 35176, 35203, 35204, 35205, 35206, 35207, 35208, 35209, 35210, 35211, 35212, 35213, 35214, 35216, 35217, 35218, 35221, 35222, 35223, 35224, 35228, 35229, 35233, 35234, 35242, 35243, 35254.
What can I plant here, and when? ›
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Pinson, AL, last frost by April 4
- Helena, AL, last frost by March 19
- Huntsville International Airport, AL, last frost by March 24
Other stations in Alabama.
- Mobile, AL, last frost by March 3