Gulf Shores Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Alabama, United States) (2024)

In Gulf Shores, the summers are long, hot, and oppressive; the winters are cold and windy; and it is wet and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 7°C to 32°C and is rarely below -1°C or above 34°C.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Gulf Shores for warm-weather activities are from early April to late May and from late September to late October.

The hot season lasts for 4.0 months, from 26 May to 25 September, with an average daily high temperature above 29°C. The hottest month of the year in Gulf Shores is July, with an average high of 32°C and low of 24°C.

The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from 3 December to 4 March, with an average daily high temperature below 19°C. The coldest month of the year in Gulf Shores is January, with an average low of 7°C and high of 17°C.

In Gulf Shores, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Gulf Shores begins around 2 September and lasts for 9.4 months, ending around 13 June.

The clearest month of the year in Gulf Shores is October, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 65% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around 13 June and lasts for 2.6 months, ending around 2 September.

The cloudiest month of the year in Gulf Shores is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 1 millimetre of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Gulf Shores varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.8 months, from 11 June to 4 September, with a greater than 39% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Gulf Shores is July, with an average of 17.3 days with at least 1 millimetre of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.2 months, from 4 September to 11 June. The month with the fewest wet days in Gulf Shores is October, with an average of 6.7 days with at least 1 millimetre of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Gulf Shores is July, with an average of 17.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 59% on 27 July.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Gulf Shores experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Gulf Shores. The month with the most rain in Gulf Shores is July, with an average rainfall of 145 millimetres.

The month with the least rain in Gulf Shores is October, with an average rainfall of 88 millimetres.

The length of the day in Gulf Shores varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is 21 December, with 10 hours, 12 minutes of daylight; the longest day is 20 June, with 14 hours, 6 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 05:48 on 10 June, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 18 minutes later at 07:06 on 2 November. The earliest sunset is at 16:49 on 2 December, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 7 minutes later at 19:56 on 30 June.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Gulf Shores during 2024, starting in the spring on 10 March, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on 3 November.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Gulf Shores experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from 11 April to 26 October, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 27% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Gulf Shores is July, with 29.9 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Gulf Shores is February, with 1.5 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 metres above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Gulf Shores experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from 23 September to 4 May, with average wind speeds of more than 14.7 kilometres per hour. The windiest month of the year in Gulf Shores is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 17.9 kilometres per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.6 months, from 4 May to 23 September. The calmest month of the year in Gulf Shores is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.7 kilometres per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Gulf Shores varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.4 months, from 27 February to 7 July, with a peak percentage of 45% on 1 June. The wind is most often from the east for 2.7 months, from 21 August to 12 November, with a peak percentage of 43% on 22 September. The wind is most often from the north for 3.5 months, from 12 November to 27 February, with a peak percentage of 39% on 1 January.

Gulf Shores is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.9 months, from 4 June to 2 October, with an average temperature above 27°C. The month of the year in Gulf Shores with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 29°C.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.6 months, from 14 December to 1 April, with an average temperature below 20°C. The month of the year in Gulf Shores with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 17°C.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gulf Shores throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 18°C and 27°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Gulf Shores for general outdoor tourist activities are from early April to late May and from late September to late October, with a peak score in the last week of April.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 24°C and 32°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Gulf Shores for hot-weather activities are from early May to late June and from late August to late September, with a peak score in the first week of June.

Methodology

For each hour between 08:00 and 21:00 of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 1 millimetre of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 10°C, rising linearly to 9 for 18°C, to 10 for 24°C, falling linearly to 9 for 27°C, and to 1 for 32°C or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 18°C, rising linearly to 9 for 24°C, to 10 for 28°C, falling linearly to 9 for 32°C, and to 1 for 38°C or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 0°C) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from 1 July until 30 June in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Gulf Shores typically lasts for 10 months (303 days), from around 17 February to around 16 December, rarely starting before 21 January or after 13 March, and rarely ending before 17 November or after 8 January.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 10°C and a cap of 30°C.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Gulf Shores should appear around 16 January, only rarely appearing before 10 January or after 28 January.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from 31 March to 17 June, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Gulf Shores is May, with an average of 6.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from 15 November to 1 February, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Gulf Shores is December, with an average of 3.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Gulf Shores are 30.246 deg latitude, -87.701 deg longitude, and 2 m elevation.

The topography within 3 kilometres of Gulf Shores is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 10 metres and an average elevation above sea level of 1 metre. Within 16 kilometres is also essentially flat (23 metres). Within 80 kilometres is essentially flat (91 metres).

The area within 3 kilometres of Gulf Shores is covered by water (51%) and artificial surfaces (35%), within 16 kilometres by water (64%) and cropland (13%), and within 80 kilometres by water (64%) and trees (16%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Gulf Shores, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from 1 January 1980 to 31 December 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Gulf Shores.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Gulf Shores according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Gulf Shores is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Gulf Shores and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

• Jack Edwards Airport (KJKA, 99%, 5.7 km, northeast, 2 m elevation change)
• Main Pass B68 (KVKY, 0.9%, 132 km, southwest, 113 m elevation change)

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Gulf Shores and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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