Alum Fork, Arkansas climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Alum Fork's normal year runs from 29°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 58.4 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.5°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,484 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlum Fork
- Station IDUSC00030130
- Location34.80°N 92.84°W
- Elevation698 ft (213 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Alum Fork is 71°F and the normal low 48°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Alum Fork.
- Jan 49° 29°
- Feb 54° 32°
- Mar 62° 40°
- Apr 71° 48°
- May 78° 58°
- Jun 85° 66°
- Jul 90° 70°
- Aug 90° 69°
- Sep 83° 62°
- Oct 73° 50°
- Nov 61° 39°
- Dec 51° 32°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Alum Fork each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in April (5.79 in), the least in January (3.90 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 29°F | 39.0°F | 3.90 | 0.9 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 32°F | 42.6°F | 4.61 | 1.4 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 40°F | 50.8°F | 5.44 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 48°F | 59.5°F | 5.79 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 58°F | 67.9°F | 5.76 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 66°F | 75.8°F | 4.42 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 70°F | 79.7°F | 4.39 | 0.0 | 10 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 90°F | 69°F | 79.1°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 9 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 62°F | 72.3°F | 4.50 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 50°F | 61.4°F | 4.80 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 61°F | 39°F | 49.8°F | 5.59 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 51°F | 32°F | 41.4°F | 5.31 | 0.3 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 50°F | 59.9°F | 58.41 | 2.9 | 113 | 49 | 69 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −2°C | 3.9°C | 99 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 12°C | 0°C | 5.9°C | 117 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 138 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 22°C | 9°C | 15.3°C | 147 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 15°C | 19.9°C | 146 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.5°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 20°C | 26.2°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 114 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | 4°C | 9.9°C | 142 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 11°C | 0°C | 5.2°C | 135 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00030130; 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.
Which months are mildest at Alum Fork?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00030130.
When is the last frost at Alum Fork?
In Alum Fork, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 28 in half of years and after April 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 8 in half of years and before October 26 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
- March 281 year in 10 after April 12; 9 in 10 after March 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 81 year in 10 before October 26; 9 in 10 before November 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 226 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 248 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 15 in half of springs and before November 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alum Fork in zone 8a in ZIP code 72122, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (28 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arkansas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00030130; 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 at Alum Fork?
In a normal year in Alum Fork, 49 days a year reach 90°F (4 of them 100°F or more), 69 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 113 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 49a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 69a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 113a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1937) is 110°F, on July 27, 1986; the lowest is −7°F, on February 2, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2009, with 88.29 in; the snowiest season is 1978–79, with 23.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00030130; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00030130. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Alum Fork?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Alum Fork, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.3 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 82% | 6.5 |
| July | 82% | 6.3 |
| August | 82% | 5.8 |
| September | 82% | 5.0 |
| October | 77% | 3.8 |
| November | 74% | 2.8 |
| 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Alum Fork record?
A normal year at Alum Fork brings 3,494 heating degree days, 35% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,687 cooling degree days, 86% 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 4,806 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 806 | 0 |
| February | 628 | 1 |
| March | 446 | 6 |
| April | 196 | 31 |
| May | 47 | 137 |
| June | 1 | 325 |
| July | 0 | 456 |
| August | 0 | 439 |
| September | 15 | 235 |
| October | 166 | 53 |
| November | 459 | 4 |
| December | 730 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,494 | 1,687 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00030130. 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.
Have recent years at Alum Fork been warmer than normal?
2021 averaged 59.8°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 59.9°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.8°F | −0.1°F | 52.17 | 12.0 |
Over 69 complete years from 1940 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted -0.2°F per century (−0.01°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00030130; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Alum Fork's climate compare?
Alum Fork is warmer than 26 of the 86 places with their own NOAA record in Arkansas, and wetter than 82. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.9°F is warmer than 75%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Alum Fork is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Alum Fork 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.
- Hot Springs Village, AR16,509 people · 12 mi SW
- Fountain Lake, AR472 people · 14 mi S
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 Alum Fork's climate
What is the coldest month at Alum Fork?
January, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow at Alum Fork?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (1.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Alum Fork?
April, with 5.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 3.90 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Alum Fork in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Alum Fork in zone 8a in ZIP code 72122, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come at Alum Fork?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 28; in one year in ten it comes after April 12. Waiting until April 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arkansas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Benton, AR21 miles from this station, 62.6°F a year
- Nimrod Dam, AR21 miles from this station, 62.6°F a year
- Morrilton, AR25 miles from this station, 61.1°F a year
- Blakely Mountain Dam, AR25 miles from this station, 59.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made