Muscle Shoals, Alabama climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Muscle Shoals's normal year runs from 34°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 54.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.2°C, January lows of 1°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,378 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMuscle Shoals Airport
- Station IDUSW00013896
- Location34.74°N 87.60°W
- Elevation540 ft (165 m)
- Population17,409
On October 23, the normal high in Muscle Shoals is 73°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Muscle Shoals.
- Jan 52° 34°
- Feb 57° 37°
- Mar 65° 44°
- Apr 74° 52°
- May 82° 61°
- Jun 89° 68°
- Jul 92° 71°
- Aug 91° 70°
- Sep 86° 63°
- Oct 76° 52°
- Nov 64° 41°
- Dec 55° 36°
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 Muscle Shoals each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in December (5.48 in), the least in October (3.47 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52°F | 34°F | 42.9°F | 4.71 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| February | 57°F | 37°F | 46.7°F | 4.79 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 44°F | 54.4°F | 5.14 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 52°F | 62.9°F | 4.80 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 61°F | 71.3°F | 4.55 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 89°F | 68°F | 78.4°F | 5.05 | 11 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 92°F | 71°F | 81.5°F | 4.78 | 11 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 91°F | 70°F | 80.5°F | 3.77 | 9 | 19 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 86°F | 63°F | 74.7°F | 3.55 | 7 | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 52°F | 63.6°F | 3.47 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 64°F | 41°F | 52.5°F | 4.15 | 9 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 36°F | 45.6°F | 5.48 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 52°F | 62.9°F | 54.24 | 119 | 69 | 56 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11°C | 1°C | 6.1°C | 120 mm |
| February | 14°C | 3°C | 8.2°C | 122 mm |
| March | 18°C | 6°C | 12.4°C | 131 mm |
| April | 24°C | 11°C | 17.2°C | 122 mm |
| May | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 116 mm |
| June | 32°C | 20°C | 25.8°C | 128 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.5°C | 121 mm |
| August | 33°C | 21°C | 26.9°C | 96 mm |
| September | 30°C | 17°C | 23.7°C | 90 mm |
| October | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 88 mm |
| November | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 105 mm |
| December | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 139 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Russellville #2 (18 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013896; 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 Muscle Shoals?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USW00013896.
When is the last frost in Muscle Shoals?
In Muscle Shoals, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 20 in half of years and after April 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 8 in half of years and before October 25 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 6; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 81 year in 10 before October 25; 9 in 10 before November 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 233 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 260 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 6 in half of springs and before November 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Muscle Shoals in zone 8a in ZIP code 35661. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Muscle Shoals's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 13°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alabama · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00013896; 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 Muscle Shoals?
In a normal year in Muscle Shoals, 69 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 56 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 119 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 69a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 56a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 119a normal year
The highest temperature in Muscle Shoals's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 108°F, on June 26, 1914; the lowest is −13°F, on February 14, 1905.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1975, with 78.78 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 18.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00013896; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record MSLthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Muscle Shoals, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 68°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 70°F, above the 65°F at which most people call the air sticky; the driest air comes in January (32°F). February is the windiest month (7.6 mph on average), and September has the most clear or nearly clear hours (76%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 65% | 47% | 7.0 mph | 57% | 34% |
| February | 37°F | 63% | 45% | 7.6 mph | 55% | 33% |
| March | 45°F | 62% | 42% | 7.5 mph | 61% | 24% |
| April | 53°F | 67% | 46% | 6.7 mph | 65% | 19% |
| May | 64°F | 71% | 51% | 5.3 mph | 66% | 16% |
| June | 68°F | 71% | 51% | 4.5 mph | 72% | 9% |
| July | 70°F | 73% | 52% | 3.7 mph | 76% | 8% |
| August | 67°F | 72% | 49% | 4.2 mph | 76% | 10% |
| September | 57°F | 69% | 44% | 4.7 mph | 76% | 12% |
| October | 46°F | 69% | 45% | 5.3 mph | 66% | 23% |
| November | 37°F | 69% | 50% | 6.3 mph | 61% | 29% |
| December | 33°F | 70% | 54% | 6.8 mph | 53% | 37% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00013896. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Muscle Shoals?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Muscle Shoals, 4.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.5 |
| February | 65% | 3.0 |
| March | 70% | 4.2 |
| April | 76% | 5.5 |
| May | 77% | 6.0 |
| June | 80% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.9 |
| October | 78% | 3.9 |
| November | 76% | 2.9 |
| December | 67% | 2.2 |
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 Muscle Shoals need?
A normal year in Muscle Shoals brings 2,822 heating degree days, 47% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,096 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 5,528 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 684 | 1 |
| February | 514 | 2 |
| March | 347 | 16 |
| April | 130 | 68 |
| May | 22 | 219 |
| June | 0 | 402 |
| July | 0 | 512 |
| August | 0 | 482 |
| September | 8 | 298 |
| October | 127 | 84 |
| November | 384 | 9 |
| December | 605 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 2,822 | 2,096 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00013896. 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 Muscle Shoals been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 64.2°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 62.9°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 63.9°F | +1.0°F | 61.35 |
| 2022 | 62.8°F | −0.1°F | 51.79 |
| 2023 | 64.4°F | +1.5°F | 41.27 |
| 2024 | 65.1°F | +2.2°F | 53.95 |
| 2025 | 64.2°F | +1.3°F | 63.20 |
Over 76 complete years from 1941 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.0°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00013896; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Muscle Shoals's climate compare?
Muscle Shoals is warmer than 34 of the other 79 places with their own NOAA record in Alabama, and wetter than 8. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.9°F is warmer than 82%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Muscle Shoals 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 Muscle Shoals 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.
- Killen, AL1,040 people · 9 mi NE
- Leighton, AL662 people · 6 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 Muscle Shoals's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Muscle Shoals. This page uses Muscle Shoals Airport; the others differ by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muscle Shoals Water Treatment Plant USC00015751 | 3 mi NW | 540 ft | 60.7°F | 29°F | 90°F | 58.0 | – | March 30 |
| Muscle Shoals (2 mi N) USW00063894 | 3 mi NW | 530 ft | 60.7°F | 31°F | 89°F | 57.6 | – | March 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Muscle Shoals's climate
What is the coldest month in Muscle Shoals?
January, with a normal high of 52°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Muscle Shoals?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Muscle Shoals's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Russellville #2 (18 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Muscle Shoals?
December, with 5.48 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Muscle Shoals in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Muscle Shoals in zone 8a in ZIP code 35661. By the same method at Muscle Shoals's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 13°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Muscle Shoals?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 20; in one year in ten it comes after April 6. Waiting until April 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Muscle Shoals in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Alabama climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Muscle Shoals Water Treatment Plant, AL2 miles from this station, 60.7°F a year
- Courtland, AL16 miles from this station, 60.7°F a year
- Lexington, AL20 miles from this station, 61.0°F a year
- Russellville, AL21 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