Bankhead Lock and Dam, Alabama climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Bankhead Lock and Dam's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 60.2 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.4 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.4°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,529 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBankhead Lock and Dam
- Station IDUSC00010505
- Location33.45°N 87.36°W
- Elevation280 ft (85 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Bankhead Lock and Dam is 74°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 23%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bankhead Lock and Dam.
- Jan 54° 34°
- Feb 59° 37°
- Mar 67° 43°
- Apr 75° 51°
- May 82° 59°
- Jun 89° 68°
- Jul 91° 71°
- Aug 91° 70°
- Sep 86° 64°
- Oct 77° 53°
- Nov 65° 42°
- Dec 57° 37°
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 Bankhead Lock and Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in January (6.15 in), the least in October (3.32 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 34°F | 44.0°F | 6.15 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 59°F | 37°F | 47.9°F | 5.86 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 43°F | 55.1°F | 5.83 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 12 h |
| April | 75°F | 51°F | 62.6°F | 5.40 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 59°F | 70.7°F | 4.38 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 89°F | 68°F | 78.2°F | 5.16 | 10 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 91°F | 71°F | 81.2°F | 5.32 | 11 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 70°F | 80.5°F | 4.34 | 9 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 86°F | 64°F | 75.3°F | 3.95 | 7 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 77°F | 53°F | 64.6°F | 3.32 | 6 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 42°F | 53.5°F | 4.79 | 8 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 57°F | 37°F | 46.7°F | 5.71 | 11 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 52°F | 63.4°F | 60.21 | 111 | 70 | 60 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | 1°C | 6.7°C | 156 mm |
| February | 15°C | 3°C | 8.8°C | 149 mm |
| March | 19°C | 6°C | 12.8°C | 148 mm |
| April | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 137 mm |
| May | 28°C | 15°C | 21.5°C | 111 mm |
| June | 31°C | 20°C | 25.7°C | 131 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.3°C | 135 mm |
| August | 33°C | 21°C | 26.9°C | 110 mm |
| September | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 100 mm |
| October | 25°C | 11°C | 18.1°C | 84 mm |
| November | 19°C | 5°C | 11.9°C | 122 mm |
| December | 14°C | 3°C | 8.2°C | 145 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00010505; 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 Bankhead Lock and Dam?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October 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 USC00010505.
When is the last frost at Bankhead Lock and Dam?
In Bankhead Lock and Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 20 in half of years and after April 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 11 in half of years and before October 29 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 201 year in 10 after April 9; 9 in 10 after February 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 111 year in 10 before October 29; 9 in 10 before November 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 235 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 262 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bankhead Lock and Dam in zone 8b in ZIP code 35444, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alabama · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00010505; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Bankhead Lock and Dam?
In a normal year in Bankhead Lock and Dam, 70 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 60 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 70a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 60a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 107°F, on June 29, 2012; the lowest is −2°F, on January 30, 1966.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 74.32 in; the snowiest season is 1963–64, with 7.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00010505; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00010505. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Bankhead Lock and Dam?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Bankhead Lock and Dam, 4.5 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.6 |
| February | 67% | 3.2 |
| March | 71% | 4.3 |
| April | 77% | 5.5 |
| May | 79% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 81% | 5.0 |
| October | 79% | 4.0 |
| November | 77% | 3.0 |
| December | 68% | 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 Bankhead Lock and Dam record?
A normal year at Bankhead Lock and Dam brings 2,653 heating degree days, 51% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,089 cooling degree days, 2.3 times 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 5,589 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 652 | 1 |
| February | 481 | 2 |
| March | 323 | 16 |
| April | 132 | 60 |
| May | 28 | 203 |
| June | 1 | 398 |
| July | 0 | 502 |
| August | 0 | 480 |
| September | 6 | 316 |
| October | 108 | 95 |
| November | 355 | 12 |
| December | 569 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 2,653 | 2,089 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00010505. 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 Bankhead Lock and Dam been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 61.8°F, 1.6°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 63.4°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 63.9°F | +0.5°F | 51.11 |
| 2025 | 61.8°F | −1.6°F | 48.37 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00010505. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bankhead Lock and Dam's climate compare?
Bankhead Lock and Dam is warmer than 40 of the 80 places with their own NOAA record in Alabama, and wetter than 58. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.4°F is warmer than 84%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bankhead Lock and Dam 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 Bankhead Lock and Dam share this climate record?
Brookwood has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Brookwood, AL2,453 people · 15 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 Bankhead Lock and Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Bankhead Lock and Dam?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow at Bankhead Lock and Dam?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.4 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Bankhead Lock and Dam?
January, with 6.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.32 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bankhead Lock and Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bankhead Lock and Dam in zone 8b in ZIP code 35444, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Bankhead Lock and Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 20; in one year in ten it comes after April 9. Waiting until April 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alabama climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bessemer, AL21 miles from this station, 63.7°F a year
- Northport, AL21 miles from this station, 64.3°F a year
- Tuscaloosa, AL22 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Jasper, AL31 miles from this station, 61.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made