August Almanac

Updated to the 1981-2010 Climate Normals

Welcome to August in Birmingham. We are on the downhill run of summer now. The days are getting shorter. And with the lessened solar energy, the temperatures will be going down.

July is our hottest month, but there is really very little difference from mid-June to mid-August. Then things start to cool off. Right now, the normal high is 91F, the normal low 72F. By the end of the month, the normal high will be 89F and the normal low 69F.

The hottest it has ever been in Birmingham in any August is 105F on August 15th and 23rd in 2007. The coolest August reading is 51F on August 31, 1946.

It generally rains on 9.6 days in the month, with storms on nine (8.8). The normal monthly rainfall is 3.93 inches. 13.83 inches fell in Birmingham in 1901, to set the mark for the most ever in any August. In 1989, only 0.38 inches of rain fell in the month.

August is the least cloudy month in Birmingham, with the sky being cloudy only 19% of the time. This fact is a little misleading, as there are months, including September and October with a lower percentage mean sky cover.

Photograph by Kathy Bell, owner of kbella photography.