Gulf Shores weather

Gulf Shores runs its warmest in summer (June – August), averaging 89°F by day and 75°F overnight. Winter (December – February) is the other end of it: highs around 63°F, lows near 45°F. That is a 44-degree spread between the hottest afternoon and the coldest night of a typical year, which is why the same packing list does not work twice here. Visitor numbers track it closely — summer is full, winter is quiet — so the cheapest weather is rarely the most comfortable weather.

• Winter

  December – February

  63°F / 45°F

  quietcrowds

  quietprices
  • Cheapest weeks of the year by a wide margin, with long-stay rates from January
  • Gulf water around 60°F in February — cold-water swimming or nothing
  • The best trail conditions of the year: no humidity, no mosquitoes, visible alligators

• Spring

  March – May

  77°F / 59°F

  busycrowds

  busyprices
  • March spring break arrives in waves rather than one continuous peak
  • The Flora-Bama Interstate Mullet Toss takes over the state line each April
  • April is the most comfortable air of the year: high seventies, low humidity

• Summer

  June – August

  89°F / 75°F

  fullcrowds

  fullprices
  • Gulf water in the mid-eighties by August, warm enough that children refuse to get out
  • Saturday is changeover day — thousands of rentals turn over and Highway 59 stops moving
  • Afternoon thunderstorms are near daily, so the boats and the pier run on a morning schedule

• Fall

  September – November

  79°F / 61°F

  quietcrowds

  quietprices
  • Gulf water in the low eighties into October with the summer crowd gone
  • September is hurricane season's peak here — Ivan in 2004 and Sally in 2020 both landed on the 16th
  • The National Shrimp Festival fills the Gulf Shores public beach each October; check dates

These bookings go through Viator, and we are paid for them. Your price is the same, and the payment had nothing to do with the picks.