Clayton, Alabama climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Clayton's normal year runs from 37°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 55.6 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.5 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.5°C, January lows of 3°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,413 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationClayton
- Station IDUSC00011725
- Location31.87°N 85.45°W
- Elevation569 ft (173 m)
- Population2,192
On October 23, the normal high in Clayton is 76°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Clayton.
- Jan 58° 37°
- Feb 63° 40°
- Mar 70° 46°
- Apr 77° 52°
- May 84° 61°
- Jun 89° 69°
- Jul 91° 71°
- Aug 90° 71°
- Sep 86° 66°
- Oct 78° 55°
- Nov 68° 45°
- Dec 60° 40°
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 Clayton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 37°F. The most precipitation falls in July (6.03 in), the least in October (3.33 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58°F | 37°F | 47.7°F | 4.55 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 63°F | 40°F | 51.3°F | 5.23 | 8 | <1 | 9 | 11 h |
| March | 70°F | 46°F | 57.9°F | 5.21 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 12 h |
| April | 77°F | 52°F | 64.4°F | 4.98 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 61°F | 72.4°F | 3.70 | 6 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 89°F | 69°F | 78.8°F | 4.94 | 10 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 91°F | 71°F | 81.3°F | 6.03 | 10 | 22 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 90°F | 71°F | 80.7°F | 4.54 | 9 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 86°F | 66°F | 76.1°F | 3.68 | 6 | 11 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 78°F | 55°F | 66.7°F | 3.33 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 68°F | 45°F | 56.5°F | 3.83 | 5 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 60°F | 40°F | 50.1°F | 5.62 | 8 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 76°F | 55°F | 65.3°F | 55.64 | 88 | 73 | 44 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 3°C | 8.7°C | 116 mm |
| February | 17°C | 5°C | 10.7°C | 133 mm |
| March | 21°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 132 mm |
| April | 25°C | 11°C | 18.0°C | 126 mm |
| May | 29°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 94 mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 26.0°C | 125 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.4°C | 153 mm |
| August | 32°C | 22°C | 27.1°C | 115 mm |
| September | 30°C | 19°C | 24.5°C | 93 mm |
| October | 26°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 85 mm |
| November | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 97 mm |
| December | 16°C | 4°C | 10.1°C | 143 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00011725; 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 Clayton?
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 (4).
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 USC00011725.
When is the last frost in Clayton?
In Clayton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 11 in half of years and after March 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 19 in half of years and before November 1 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 111 year in 10 after March 30; 9 in 10 after February 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 191 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 254 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 284 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 28 in half of springs and before December 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Clayton in zone 8b in ZIP code 36016, 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 USC00011725; 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 in Clayton?
In a normal year in Clayton, 73 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 44 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 88 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 73a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 44a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 88a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 105°F, on August 20, 2000; the lowest is −5°F, on December 24, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 71.95 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 12.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00011725; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00011725. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Clayton?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Clayton, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (83%) and February the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 3.0 |
| February | 71% | 3.6 |
| March | 76% | 4.8 |
| April | 80% | 5.9 |
| May | 83% | 6.5 |
| June | 79% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 81% | 5.1 |
| October | 81% | 4.3 |
| November | 81% | 3.4 |
| December | 72% | 2.6 |
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 Clayton need?
A normal year in Clayton brings 2,117 heating degree days, 61% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,264 cooling degree days, 2.5 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,060 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 541 | 3 |
| February | 390 | 7 |
| March | 252 | 32 |
| April | 96 | 80 |
| May | 15 | 246 |
| June | 0 | 414 |
| July | 0 | 507 |
| August | 0 | 488 |
| September | 4 | 336 |
| October | 72 | 123 |
| November | 279 | 23 |
| December | 469 | 5 |
| Year (annual) | 2,117 | 2,264 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00011725. 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.
How does Clayton's climate compare?
Clayton is warmer than 62 of the other 79 places with their own NOAA record in Alabama, and wetter than 19. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 65.3°F is warmer than 88%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Clayton 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 Clayton 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.
- Clio, AL1,190 people · 15 mi SW
- Louisville, AL386 people · 9 mi SW
- Blue Springs, AL79 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 Clayton's climate
What is the coldest month in Clayton?
January, with a normal high of 58°F and a normal low of 37°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Clayton?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.5 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Clayton?
July, with 6.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Clayton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Clayton in zone 8b in ZIP code 36016, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Clayton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 11; in one year in ten it comes after March 30. Waiting until March 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alabama climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Weedon Field Airport, AL20 miles from this station, 66.8°F a year
- Union Springs, AL20 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Eufaula, AL23 miles from this station, 66.5°F a year
- Georgetown (4 mi E), GA24 miles from this station, 62.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made