Climate and average weather in Oxford

In Oxford, the summers are humid, 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 Oxford typically varies from 35°F to 88°F, and is rarely below 21°F or above 94°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 Oxford for warm-weather activities are from late March to late May and mid September to mid November.

Hottest
Jul
88°
Coldest
Jan
35°
Wettest
Mar
5.0 in
Driest
Oct
3.0 in
Rain / yr
48.6 in
128 wet days
Daylight
9.8–14.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
656 ft
33.6°N
Clearest
Oct
46% cloud

Oxford is city in Calhoun and Talladega counties, Alabama, USA.

Density
263/km²
people per km²
Founded
1850

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

Oxford 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 Oxford, 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 15 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Oxford is July, with an average high of 88°F and low of 71°F.

The cool season lasts 2.9 months, from November 28 to February 24, with daily high temperatures below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Oxford is January, with an average low of 35°F and high of 53°F.

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

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5335
Feb5738
Mar6544
Apr7252
May8060
Jun8568
Jul8871
Aug8770
Sep8364
Oct7453
Nov6343
Dec5538

How hot and cold Oxford 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, Oxford feels like about 93°F (around July 21). About 64 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 56 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)
Jan53532935
Feb57573338
Mar65654144
Apr72725152
May80806060
Jun88856868
Jul93887171
Aug91877070
Sep84836464
Oct74745253
Nov63633943
Dec55553238

Average hourly temperature in Oxford

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 88°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 35°F.

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

Oxford 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
Jan53° / 35°4.610.50.7103.0
Feb57° / 38°4.710.60.510.84.0
Mar65° / 44°5.0110.211.75.8
Apr72° / 52°4.19.8012.86.8
May80° / 60°3.410.2013.76.6
Jun85° / 68°4.013.1014.24.7
Jul88° / 71°4.414.70144.0
Aug87° / 70°3.713.2013.24.3
Sep83° / 64°3.19012.26.1
Oct74° / 53°3.07011.27.4
Nov63° / 43°4.08.2010.35.9
Dec55° / 38°4.610.30.39.83.6

Chance of rain

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

Oxford gets about 48.6 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 3.3 months, from around May 25 to Aug 31, peaking in July at about 48% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 19.

March is the wettest month by volume, with 5.0 in over about 11 wet days; October is the driest, with 3.0 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 17 · 48%Oct 19 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3411
Feb3711
Mar3511
Apr3310
May3310
Jun4313
Jul4815
Aug4213
Sep309
Oct247
Nov268
Dec3310

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Oxford collects about 48.6 in of rain across 128 wet days — roughly 4.1 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. March is the wettest month with 5.0 in, while October is the driest at just 3.0 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.64.75.04.13.44.04.43.73.13.04.04.6
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan4.6111
Feb4.7111
Mar5.0110
Apr4.1100
May3.4100
Jun4.0130
Jul4.4150
Aug3.7130
Sep3.190
Oct3.070
Nov4.080
Dec4.6100

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Oxford, 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 15 and lasts for 3.4 months, ending around November 27. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 28 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around April 12. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% 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 19 · 61%Jan 1 · 42%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4555
Feb4555
Mar4753
Apr5149
May5347
Jun5050
Jul4852
Aug5149
Sep5743
Oct6040
Nov5644
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 8, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.06:534:53
Feb10.86:355:21
Mar11.76:015:45
Apr12.85:196:09
May13.74:486:32
Jun14.24:376:50
Jul14.04:486:50
Aug13.25:106:25
Sep12.25:315:44
Oct11.25:545:03
Nov10.36:224:35
Dec9.86:464:33

Sunny days

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

Oxford averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 15 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.4 months, from around Sep 6 to Dec 16. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 15 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is July, down near 7 sunny days — about 52% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 2115 daysJul 97 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun8Mixed
Jul7Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep12Mixed
Oct15Mixed
Nov13Mixed
Dec11Mixed

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 Oxford, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around May 8 to October 7. 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 8 to May 7, 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 17 · 2%oppressivemuggyhumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9361000
Feb9182000
Mar83135000
Apr641915300
May2722262320
Jun4111942250
Jul03835531
Aug151236460
Sep15152530140
Oct561717810
Nov84105200
Dec9072100

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 Oxford 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 22 to May 7. The windiest month is March, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 8 to Oct 21, with July the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeMar 5 · 7 mphJul 28 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Oxford

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late March, Oxford is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Oxford 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 third week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 15 · 7.5

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
Jan3.1poor
Feb4.0fair
Mar5.8good
Apr6.8good
May6.5good
Jun4.8fair
Jul4.0fair
Aug4.3fair
Sep6.1good
Oct7.3good
Nov5.9good
Dec3.6fair

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 Oxford 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 12 · 7.2

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 Oxford, 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 88°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 53°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Oxford sees daytime highs around 88°F and nights near 71°F. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 15 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Oxford 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 Oxford peaks around July 12 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 highHighModerateJul 12UV 10Dec 19UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar6High
Apr8Very high
May8Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Oxford

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 July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 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)
Jan2.50
Feb4.50
Mar5.50
Apr74
May7.54.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.55
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov40
Dec00

Air quality in Oxford 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 Oxford is worst in July — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1820 µg/m³Jan 117 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb12Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr13Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun17Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct13Moderate
Nov9Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

Oxford is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 16 to November 6 (236 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 1690%Nov 690%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan6231
Feb7328
Mar8915
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct980
Nov8621
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. Oxford banks about 4,920 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
Feb2
Mar144
Apr360
May618
Jun800
Jul910
Aug885
Sep704
Oct410
Nov88
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.

Oxford receives about 4.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 6.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 15 to Sep 25. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 61% less than the May peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 176.2 kWhDec 232.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.4Bright
Apr5.6Bright
May6.1Intense
Jun6.0Intense
Jul5.8Bright
Aug5.5Bright
Sep4.7Bright
Oct3.9Moderate
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is Oxford?

Oxford sits at 33.6°N, 85.8°W, 656 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Anniston, 3.1 mi away.

Topography around Oxford

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Oxford has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,024 ft around an average of 768 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,886 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,133 ft.

The land around Oxford is covered by trees (58%) and grassland (25%) within 2 miles, trees (79%) within 10 miles, and trees (79%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
1,024 ft
10 miles
1,886 ft
50 miles
2,133 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Anniston 3.1 mi · Talladega 20 mi · Gadsden 29 mi · Carrollton 43 mi · Trussville 45 mi · Dixiana 48 mi · Center Point 49 mi · Albertville 50 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 Oxford (33.6143°, -85.835°, elevation 656 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. 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).