Climate and average weather in Gadsden

In Gadsden, the summers are muggy, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: late March to late May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gadsden typically varies from 35°F to 89°F, and is rarely below 21°F or above 95°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Gadsden for warm-weather activities are from late March to late May and mid September to mid November.

Hottest
Jul
89°
Coldest
Jan
35°
Wettest
Mar
5.4 in
Driest
Oct
3.2 in
Rain / yr
51.4 in
125 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
548 ft
34.0°N
Clearest
Oct
46% cloud

Gadsden is city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama.

Density
362/km²
people per km²
Founded
1867

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Gadsden weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late March to late May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Gadsden, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.5 months, from May 14 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Gadsden is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 72°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 28 to February 25, with daily high temperatures below 59°F. The coldest month of the year in Gadsden is January, with an average low of 35°F and high of 52°F.

Days typically run about 19°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5235
Feb5738
Mar6444
Apr7352
May8060
Jun8668
Jul8972
Aug8871
Sep8364
Oct7453
Nov6342
Dec5537

How hot and cold Gadsden really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Gadsden feels like about 94°F (around July 22). About 74 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 28°F (around January 20), with roughly 60 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan52522935
Feb57573238
Mar64644044
Apr72735152
May80806060
Jun89866868
Jul94897272
Aug92887171
Sep84836464
Oct74745253
Nov63633942
Dec55553237

Average hourly temperature in Gadsden

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 89°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 35°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Gadsden weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan52° / 35°5.0100.6102.9
Feb57° / 38°4.910.40.510.73.8
Mar64° / 44°5.411.10.111.75.7
Apr73° / 52°4.59.7012.86.8
May80° / 60°3.910.4013.76.5
Jun86° / 68°3.912.7014.24.6
Jul89° / 72°4.214.20143.9
Aug88° / 71°3.412.1013.34.2
Sep83° / 64°3.58.2012.26.0
Oct74° / 53°3.27.1011.17.4
Nov63° / 42°4.28.20.110.25.8
Dec55° / 37°5.210.70.29.83.4

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Gadsden gets about 51.4 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.2 months, from around May 23 to Aug 26, peaking in July at about 48% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 10.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 5.4 in over about 11 wet days; October is the driest, with 3.2 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 5 · 48%Oct 10 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3310
Feb3610
Mar3511
Apr3310
May3410
Jun4213
Jul4514
Aug3912
Sep278
Oct247
Nov278
Dec3511

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gadsden collects about 51.4 in of rain across 125 wet days — roughly 4.3 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 5.4 in, while October is the driest at just 3.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec5.04.95.44.53.93.94.23.43.53.24.25.2
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan5.0101
Feb4.9101
Mar5.4110
Apr4.5100
May3.9100
Jun3.9130
Jul4.2140
Aug3.4120
Sep3.580
Oct3.270
Nov4.280
Dec5.2110

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Gadsden, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around August 4 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around November 27. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 61% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 28 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around April 14. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 5 · 63%Jan 6 · 40%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4456
Feb4357
Mar4654
Apr5050
May5149
Jun5149
Jul5050
Aug5347
Sep5941
Oct6139
Nov5446
Dec4456

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 9 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.06:544:52
Feb10.76:365:21
Mar11.76:025:46
Apr12.85:196:10
May13.74:476:33
Jun14.24:376:52
Jul14.04:486:51
Aug13.35:106:26
Sep12.25:325:45
Oct11.15:555:03
Nov10.26:234:35
Dec9.86:484:33

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Gadsden averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 15 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.1 months, from around Sep 4 to Dec 5. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 15 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 8 sunny days — about 46% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightOct 1915 daysJul 148 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun8Mixed
Jul8Gloomy
Aug10Mixed
Sep12Mixed
Oct15Mixed
Nov13Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Gadsden, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around May 7 to October 6. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 97% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 7 to May 6, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 99% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 26 · 100%Jul 19 · 2%oppressivemuggycomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9441000
Feb9271000
Mar85114000
Apr631915300
May2622242620
Jun3101740300
Jul03728611
Aug041333491
Sep14142729160
Oct551817810
Nov8495200
Dec9162100

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Gadsden is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Oct 23 to May 9. The windiest month is March, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 10 to Oct 22, with July the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 4 · 7 mphJul 28 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr6calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Hazard calendar for Gadsden

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Gadsden sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Gadsden

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gadsden throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid May, Gadsden is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Gadsden for general outdoor tourist activities run from late March to late May and again from mid September to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 12 · 7.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan2.9poor
Feb3.9fair
Mar5.7good
Apr6.8good
May6.5good
Jun4.7fair
Jul3.9fair
Aug4.3fair
Sep6.0good
Oct7.4good
Nov5.8good
Dec3.4poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gadsden for hot-weather activities is from late April to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 13 · 7.3

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Gadsden, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 89°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 52°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Gadsden sees daytime highs around 89°F and nights near 72°F. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gadsden by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gadsden peaks around June 22 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 22UV 10Dec 19UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Gadsden

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan20
Feb4.50
Mar5.50
Apr73.5
May7.54.5
Jun8.56
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep6.53
Oct50
Nov3.50
Dec00

Air quality in Gadsden by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Gadsden is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.3× the cleanest month (January, 6 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1720 µg/m³Jan 116 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb9Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May13Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul20Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Gadsden is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 17 to November 8 (237 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 1790%Nov 890%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan6031
Feb7228
Mar8915
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct980
Nov8620
Dec7131

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Gadsden banks about 4,978 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar132
Apr360
May626
Jun817
Jul930
Aug907
Sep715
Oct409
Nov82
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Gadsden receives about 4.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.2 and 6.1 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 26. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.0 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 62% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 186.1 kWhDec 232.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.2Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.5Bright
May6.0Intense
Jun6.0Intense
Jul5.9Bright
Aug5.5Bright
Sep4.7Bright
Oct3.9Moderate
Nov2.9Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is Gadsden?

Gadsden sits at 34.0°N, 86.0°W, 548 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Albertville, 21 mi away.

Topography around Gadsden

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Gadsden.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Gadsden has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 604 ft around an average of 597 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,027 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,142 ft.

The land around Gadsden is covered by trees (47%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, trees (69%) and grassland (22%) within 10 miles, and trees (73%) and grassland (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
604 ft
10 miles
1,027 ft
50 miles
2,142 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Albertville 21 mi · Anniston 27 mi · Oxford 29 mi · Talladega 40 mi · Dixiana 42 mi · Trussville 44 mi · Center Point 47 mi · Cullman 49 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Gadsden (34.0143°, -86.0064°, elevation 548 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).