Apalachicola, Florida climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Apalachicola's normal year runs from 44°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 53.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 20.6°C, January lows of 7°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,348 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationApalachicola Airport
- Station IDUSW00012832
- Location29.73°N 85.03°W
- Elevation19 ft (6 m)
- Population2,461
On October 23, the normal high in Apalachicola is 79°F and the normal low 59°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Apalachicola.
- Jan 64° 44°
- Feb 66° 47°
- Mar 71° 53°
- Apr 76° 58°
- May 84° 66°
- Jun 89° 73°
- Jul 90° 75°
- Aug 89° 75°
- Sep 87° 72°
- Oct 81° 62°
- Nov 73° 52°
- Dec 66° 47°
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 Apalachicola each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 44°F. The most precipitation falls in August (7.79 in), the least in May (1.87 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64°F | 44°F | 54.0°F | 4.06 | 10 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 30 min |
| February | 66°F | 47°F | 56.8°F | 4.17 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 71°F | 53°F | 61.7°F | 4.34 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 76°F | 58°F | 67.3°F | 2.91 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 84°F | 66°F | 74.8°F | 1.87 | 6 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 89°F | 73°F | 80.7°F | 5.86 | 11 | 12 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 90°F | 75°F | 82.2°F | 5.74 | 15 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| August | 89°F | 75°F | 82.2°F | 7.79 | 15 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| September | 87°F | 72°F | 79.2°F | 5.38 | 12 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 81°F | 62°F | 71.5°F | 3.63 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 73°F | 52°F | 62.1°F | 3.74 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 66°F | 47°F | 56.5°F | 3.59 | 10 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 60°F | 69.1°F | 53.08 | 118 | 56 | 9 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 7°C | 12.2°C | 103 mm |
| February | 19°C | 9°C | 13.8°C | 106 mm |
| March | 22°C | 11°C | 16.5°C | 110 mm |
| April | 25°C | 15°C | 19.6°C | 74 mm |
| May | 29°C | 19°C | 23.8°C | 47 mm |
| June | 31°C | 23°C | 27.1°C | 149 mm |
| July | 32°C | 24°C | 27.9°C | 146 mm |
| August | 32°C | 24°C | 27.9°C | 198 mm |
| September | 30°C | 22°C | 26.2°C | 137 mm |
| October | 27°C | 17°C | 21.9°C | 92 mm |
| November | 23°C | 11°C | 16.7°C | 95 mm |
| December | 19°C | 8°C | 13.6°C | 91 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00012832; 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 Apalachicola?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, May, October, November and December. Of those, May has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USW00012832.
When is the last frost in Apalachicola?
In Apalachicola, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 15 in half of years and after March 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 18 in half of years and before November 21 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
- February 151 year in 10 after March 11; 9 in 10 after January 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 181 year in 10 before November 21; 9 in 10 before January 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 307 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 339 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 31 in half of springs and before January 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Apalachicola in zone 9b in ZIP code 32320, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Apalachicola's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Florida · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00012832; 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 Apalachicola?
In a normal year in Apalachicola, 56 days a year reach 90°F, 9 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 118 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 56a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 9a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 118a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1975) is 103°F, on August 15, 1995; the lowest is 9°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1991, with 88.24 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00012832; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00012832. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Apalachicola?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Apalachicola, 4.9 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (88%) and December the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 3.1 |
| February | 75% | 3.8 |
| March | 81% | 5.1 |
| April | 84% | 6.1 |
| May | 88% | 6.9 |
| June | 83% | 6.4 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 79% | 5.5 |
| September | 81% | 5.2 |
| October | 84% | 4.5 |
| November | 82% | 3.5 |
| December | 74% | 2.8 |
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 Apalachicola need?
A normal year in Apalachicola brings 1,224 heating degree days, 77% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,738 cooling degree days, 3.0 times the median (908). One month needs 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 7,119 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 348 | 9 |
| February | 241 | 13 |
| March | 144 | 42 |
| April | 41 | 109 |
| May | 2 | 306 |
| June | 0 | 469 |
| July | 0 | 533 |
| August | 0 | 533 |
| September | 0 | 425 |
| October | 24 | 225 |
| November | 140 | 53 |
| December | 284 | 22 |
| Year (annual) | 1,224 | 2,738 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00012832. 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 Apalachicola been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 69.2°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 69.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69.5°F | +0.4°F | 75.71 |
| 2022 | 69.5°F | +0.4°F | 63.98 |
| 2023 | 70.7°F | +1.6°F | 58.84 |
| 2024 | 70.8°F | +1.8°F | 76.38 |
| 2025 | 69.2°F | +0.1°F | 51.15 |
Over 39 complete years from 1976 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.4°F per century (+0.30°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00012832; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Apalachicola's climate compare?
Apalachicola is warmer than 20 of the other 105 places with their own NOAA record in Florida, and wetter than 45. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 69.1°F is warmer than 94%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Apalachicola 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 Apalachicola share this climate record?
3 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.
- Port St. Joe, FL3,856 people · 18 mi W
- Eastpoint, FL2,602 people · 10 mi E
- St. George Island, FL1,218 people · 10 mi SE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Apalachicola's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Apalachicola. This page uses Apalachicola Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apalachicola Airport USC00080211 | 1 mi SE | 20 ft | 69.4°F | 44°F | 92°F | 57.9 | 0 | February 20 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Apalachicola's climate
What is the coldest month in Apalachicola?
January, with a normal high of 64°F and a normal low of 44°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 75°F at night).
Does it snow in Apalachicola?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Apalachicola's NOAA station; Apalachicola's own co-op station Apalachicola Airport records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Apalachicola?
August, with 7.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 1.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Apalachicola in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Apalachicola in zone 9b in ZIP code 32320, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Apalachicola's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Apalachicola?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 15; in one year in ten it comes after March 11. Waiting until March 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Florida climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wewahitchka, FL29 miles from this station, 67.1°F a year
- Panacea, FL38 miles from this station, 67.8°F a year
- Panama City, FL51 miles from this station, 69.7°F a year
- Lynn Haven, FL52 miles from this station, 69.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made