Alto, Georgia climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Alto's normal year runs from 30°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.3°C, January lows of −1°C, July highs of 30°C.
- NOAA stationAlto (4 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00090236
- Location34.44°N 83.52°W
- Elevation918 ft (280 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population1,011
On October 23, the normal high in Alto is 71°F and the normal low 46°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Alto.
- Jan 52° 30°
- Feb 56° 32°
- Mar 64° 38°
- Apr 72° 46°
- May 78° 55°
- Jun 84° 64°
- Jul 87° 67°
- Aug 86° 67°
- Sep 82° 61°
- Oct 73° 49°
- Nov 63° 38°
- Dec 54° 33°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Alto each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 30°F | 41.0°F | – | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 32°F | 44.1°F | – | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| March | 64°F | 38°F | 50.9°F | – | <1 | 10 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 46°F | 59.0°F | – | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 55°F | 66.2°F | – | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 84°F | 64°F | 73.8°F | – | 5 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 87°F | 67°F | 77.0°F | – | 9 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 67°F | 76.3°F | – | 7 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 61°F | 71.0°F | – | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 49°F | 60.9°F | – | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 38°F | 50.3°F | – | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 54°F | 33°F | 43.4°F | – | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 48°F | 59.5°F | – | 26 | 81 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | −1°C | 5.0°C |
| February | 13°C | 0°C | 6.7°C |
| March | 18°C | 3°C | 10.5°C |
| April | 22°C | 8°C | 15.0°C |
| May | 26°C | 13°C | 19.0°C |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.2°C |
| July | 30°C | 20°C | 25.0°C |
| August | 30°C | 19°C | 24.6°C |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 21.7°C |
| October | 23°C | 10°C | 16.1°C |
| November | 17°C | 3°C | 10.2°C |
| December | 12°C | 0°C | 6.3°C |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Cornelia (5 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00090236; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Alto?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October.
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00090236.
When is the last frost in Alto?
In Alto, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 4 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 4 in half of years and before October 23 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 41 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 41 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 216 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 241 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 22 in half of springs and before November 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alto in zone 8a in ZIP code 30510, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Alto's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (19 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Georgia · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00090236; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Alto?
In a normal year in Alto, 26 days a year reach 90°F and 81 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 26a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 81a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1999) is 100°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is 5°F, on December 25, 2022.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 79.25 in; the snowiest season is 2019–20, with 4.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00090236; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00090236. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Alto?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Alto, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.7 |
| February | 69% | 3.3 |
| March | 72% | 4.3 |
| April | 77% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.1 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 79% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.8 |
| October | 79% | 4.0 |
| November | 78% | 3.0 |
| December | 70% | 2.3 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Alto need?
A normal year in Alto brings 3,341 heating degree days, 38% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,365 cooling degree days, 50% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,450 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 746 | 0 |
| February | 585 | 0 |
| March | 441 | 4 |
| April | 206 | 26 |
| May | 65 | 104 |
| June | 4 | 270 |
| July | 0 | 374 |
| August | 0 | 349 |
| September | 17 | 198 |
| October | 166 | 39 |
| November | 443 | 2 |
| December | 668 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,341 | 1,365 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00090236. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Alto been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 60.3°F, 0.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.5°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.9°F | +0.4°F |
| 2022 | 59.7°F | +0.2°F |
| 2023 | 60.3°F | +0.8°F |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00090236. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Alto's climate compare?
Alto is warmer than 9 of the other 100 places with their own NOAA record in Georgia. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.5°F is warmer than 73%.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers.
Which places near Alto share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Lula, GA3,043 people · 9 mi W
- Raoul, GA2,211 people · 5 mi W
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Alto's climate
What is the coldest month in Alto?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Alto?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Alto's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Cornelia (5 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What plant hardiness zone is Alto in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Alto in zone 8a in ZIP code 30510, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Alto's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Alto?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 4; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Georgia climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cornelia, GA6 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Clarkesville, GA12 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Commerce, GA12 miles from this station, 60.8°F a year
- Toccoa, GA14 miles from this station, 61.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made