Gadsden, AL Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Gadsden's primary NOAA station, GADSDEN 19 N - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Gadsden
Water is the standout signal in Gadsden, Alabama: 57.6 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 59°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 59°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 57.6"
- precipitation, annual total
- 213 days
- frost-free growing season
Gadsden: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00063857 · Gadsden, AL 59°F mean · 57.6" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 59°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,940
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Valley Head
- PRCP-WET 57.6"
- SWING-MID 36°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,446 HDD
- STN-MULTI USW00063857
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Valley Head, AL ( -0.2 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every AL station list.
- Gadsden (this station) 59°F
- Cold Sandberg, CA 59°F
- Hot Big Fork, AR 59°F
- Near Valley Head, AL 59°F
- Near Colfax, CA 59°F
Climate Living Index · Gadsden
Gadsden: 70/100 · grade B
Gadsden publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Gadsden, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 37 calendar days | 94/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 213 days/year | 74/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 59.0°F · 8.5° from 67.5°F | 73/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 57.6 in · 22.6 from 35 in | 20/100 · F |
Gadsden · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Gadsden is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 40.3°F and warmest-month mean 76.6°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 76.6°F
- Coldest month
- 40.3°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Gadsden sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Gadsden's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 28% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Gadsden sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 8% wettest
- Gadsden's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 79%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Gadsden is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Gadsden compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Gadsden's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F (10°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 5.5" | N/A | 18.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 54°F (12°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 5.0" | N/A | 14.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 61°F (16°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 5.5" | N/A | 6.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 70°F (21°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 5.2" | N/A | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 4.3" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.8" | N/A | 0.0 | 5.6 |
| July | 87°F (30°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 4.2" | N/A | 0.0 | 8.1 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 3.9" | N/A | 0.0 | 8.3 |
| September | 81°F (27°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 4.5" | N/A | 0.0 | 3.6 |
| October | 71°F (22°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 3.9" | N/A | 1.4 | 0.3 |
| November | 61°F (16°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 4.8" | N/A | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 52°F (11°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 6.1" | N/A | 15.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 22, short of 90°F on every date, while 37 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 31°F near January 15.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 5, then returns to freezing around December 31, covering 37 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is February 21, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 10 at 27%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 125 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 27 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 24°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Gadsden.
Where Gadsden Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 58 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Gadsden earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
10.3 days with precipitation
12.5 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
11.1 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
11.6 days with precipitation
Gadsden spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 23% of the annual total and December through February 29%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Gadsden has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 36.3°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: December averages 6.1" and October 3.9". The three wettest months together take 30% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Gadsden, it arrives in quantity
57.6" of precipitation falls across only about 125 wet days here, averaging 0.46 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 125 a year, 34% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.46 inches
- Most wet days
- February, about 13
- Fewest wet days
- October, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 31
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
213 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,446
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,291
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AL closest to Gadsden on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (59°F here).
- Asheboro, NC 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Claremore, OK 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Elida, NM 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Iuka, MS 59°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (57.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Fordyce, AR 57.6" · 0.0" off
- Ripley, MS 57.6" · 0.0" off
- Decatur, TN 57.6" · 0.0" off
- Minden, LA 57.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Gadsden's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Gadsden's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,446 annual heating degree days against 1,291 for cooling. Its 36.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Gadsden's frost-free season lasts about 213 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Gadsden's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 36.3°F. The annual average is 59°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Gadsden carries 57.6 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Gadsden's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Gadsden, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Gadsden's climate
How much rain does Gadsden get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Gadsden? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Gadsden's primary station: GADSDEN 19 N (USW00063857). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Gadsden area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 0128696). Match rule for Gadsden: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Gadsden comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.