Updated: 2026-07-31
If you garden, farm, or manage a nursery around Birmingham, the question that matters each autumn is simple: how many frost days will we get, and when? The nearest Met Office station with a long, complete daily record is Coton-in-the-Elms, Derbyshire, located at 85 m elevation, about 32.6 km from the centre of Birmingham. Across the 35 years from 1991 to 2025, that station has averaged 40 frost days per year — days when the minimum temperature dropped below 0 °C.
-11.5 °C
The coldest temperature ever recorded at Coton-in-the-Elms
On 3 December 2010, the thermometer fell to -11.5 °C, the lowest minimum in the entire 1991–2025 record. That December was exceptional: four of the five coldest days in the whole series fell within a single fortnight in 2010. The winter of 2010-2011 remains the coldest winter this station has measured, with 78 frost days that year — tied with 1996 as the frostiest year on record.
But that extreme is the outlier. Most years bring far fewer frost days. The mildest year in the series was 2014, with just 23 frost days and a coldest temperature of only -3.4 °C — barely a hard frost at all. Between these extremes, the data show a clear pattern: Birmingham's closest reference station typically experiences between the high-20s and mid-50s frost days per year, with the average sitting at 40. Agricultural planners should expect frosts from October through May, with the real risk concentrated in the winter months.
The monthly pattern at Coton-in-the-Elms shows exactly when growers need to be alert. December is the frostiest month, averaging 9.3 frost days per year, closely followed by January at 10.0 frost days. February brings 8.5, and March still delivers 6.0. The danger extends later than many people assume: even April averages 3.7 frost days, and May averages 0.7 — a reminder that the last frost can arrive late. October offers an early warning with 1.1 frost days on average, and November averages 4.6.
The table below breaks down the average monthly frost days and the average number of "hard" frost days (minimum temperature below -3 °C) — the frosts that actually kill tender plants:
| Month | Average frost days (min < 0 °C) | Average hard frost days (min < -3 °C) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10.0 | 3.1 |
| Feb | 8.5 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 6.0 | 1.1 |
| Apr | 3.7 | 0.5 |
| May | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 4.6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 9.3 | 3.3 |
The hard frost numbers are striking. December averages 3.3 hard frost days per year, and January 3.1 — meaning that on several nights each winter, temperatures plunge below -3 °C, enough to kill anything not fully dormant. From June through September, no frost has ever been recorded at this station in the 1991–2025 period, giving growers a solid frost-free window of roughly four months.
When planning for the worst, these are the extremes this station has actually measured. Four of the five coldest days in the entire 35-year record occurred during the December 2010 freeze:
| Date | Minimum temperature (°C) |
|---|---|
| 2010-12-03 | -11.5 |
| 2010-12-20 | -11.2 |
| 2000-12-29 | -10.8 |
| 2010-12-07 | -10.5 |
| 2010-11-28 | -10.4 |
The only non-2010 entry on this list is 29 December 2000, when the temperature fell to -10.8 °C — making that week the second-coldest spell in the entire period. Notably, the November 2010 cold snap (28 November, -10.4 °C) shows that extreme cold can arrive in Birmingham's region before December even begins, a critical fact for anyone who plants winter crops.
For researchers and serious growers, here is the complete annual series. Two years stand out with 78 frost days each: 1996 and 2010. The mildest year, 2014, had just 23. The coldest single temperature each year is also shown below:
The chart shows the complete annual series. The table lists the most notable years; the full series comes from Met Office.
| Year | Frost days | Coldest min (°C) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 51 | -5.2 |
| 1998 | 37 | -5.0 |
| 2010 | 78 | -11.5 |
| 2014 | 23 | -3.4 |
| 2015 | 31 | -3.7 |
| 2016 | 41 | -5.0 |
| 2020 | 28 | -3.7 |
Looking at the five coldest winters and the five mildest ones puts the range in perspective. The coldest year was 2010 with 78 frost days and a minimum of -11.5 °C. The mildest was 2014 with 23 frost days and a minimum of only -3.4 °C — a winter that never produced a hard frost at all, remarkably rare for this station.
| Category | Year | Coldest min (°C) | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coldest | 2010 | -11.5 | 78 |
| Coldest | 2000 | -10.8 | 37 |
| Coldest | 1991 | -9.3 | 24 |
| Coldest | 2002 | -9.2 | 26 |
| Coldest | 1997 | -8.8 | 46 |
| Mildest | 1998 | -5.0 | 37 |
| Mildest | 2016 | -5.0 | 41 |
| Mildest | 2015 | -3.7 | 31 |
| Mildest | 2020 | -3.7 | 28 |
| Mildest | 2014 | -3.4 | 23 |
The mildest years all cluster in the modern era — 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 — while the coldest five are spread from 1991 to 2010. This pattern suggests that extreme cold events have become less ferocious in recent decades, but the 2025 data (40 frost days, minimum -7.4 °C) shows that frost remains a normal part of the growing season here.
For anyone planning an allotment, market garden, or orchard near Birmingham, the practical takeaways are clear. The typical frost season spans from October through May, with December the most frost-prone month. A grower should assume roughly 40 frost days per year at this elevation, but budget for years like 1996 or 2010 when that number nearly doubled to 78.
Hard frosts — those below -3 °C, which kill tender plants outright — average 3.3 per December and 3.1 per January. These are the nights to worry about. If you're planting fruit trees, remember that April still averages 3.7 frost days, and even May has recorded frosts, so the last frost date can fall as late as early summer.
The climate at Coton-in-the-Elms may differ slightly from Birmingham itself due to local topography — the station sits at 85 m elevation, and Birmingham's urban heat island can keep night-time temperatures higher in the city centre. But over 35 years of complete daily records, this is the most reliable long-term reference available for the region, and the frost patterns it reveals are remarkably consistent.
Source: Met Office MIDAS, Coton-in-the-Elms station (1991–2025). Daily minimum temperatures from the UK national weather station network, consolidated from the Met Office Integrated Data Archive System.
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