Bardstown, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bardstown's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 51.6 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.8°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,311 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBardstown (5 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00150397
- Location37.82°N 85.38°W
- Elevation780 ft (238 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population14,104
On October 23, the normal high in Bardstown is 67°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bardstown.
- Jan 43° 26°
- Feb 48° 29°
- Mar 57° 37°
- Apr 69° 46°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 84° 63°
- Jul 87° 66°
- Aug 86° 65°
- Sep 81° 58°
- Oct 70° 47°
- Nov 57° 37°
- Dec 47° 30°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Bardstown each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.46 in), the least in August (3.65 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 26°F | 34.7°F | 3.71 | 4.2 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 29°F | 38.6°F | 3.86 | 3.7 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 37°F | 47.0°F | 4.92 | 1.3 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 46°F | 57.4°F | 4.71 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 65.9°F | 5.46 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 63°F | 73.2°F | 4.94 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 66°F | 76.5°F | 4.54 | 0.0 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 65°F | 75.4°F | 3.65 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 58°F | 69.4°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 47°F | 58.3°F | 3.71 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 37°F | 46.9°F | 3.70 | 0.2 | 10 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 30°F | 38.3°F | 4.51 | 2.5 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 47°F | 56.8°F | 51.61 | 11.9 | 130 | 24 | 87 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −3°C | 1.5°C | 94 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 98 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 14°C | 3°C | 8.3°C | 125 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.8°C | 139 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.7°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.8°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 3°C | 8.3°C | 94 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 8°C | −1°C | 3.5°C | 115 mm | 6 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00150397; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Bardstown?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00150397.
When is the last frost in Bardstown?
In Bardstown, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 13 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 13 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 131 year in 10 after May 3; 9 in 10 after March 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 195 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 217 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bardstown in zone 7a in ZIP code 40004, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bardstown's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (26 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kentucky · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00150397; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Bardstown?
In a normal year in Bardstown, 24 days a year reach 90°F, 87 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 130 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 24a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 87a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 14high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 130a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1950) is 105°F, on July 27, 1952; the lowest is −26°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 68.65 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 35.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00150397; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00150397. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bardstown?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bardstown, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 63% | 2.0 |
| February | 62% | 2.7 |
| March | 66% | 3.8 |
| April | 73% | 5.1 |
| May | 74% | 5.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 72% | 2.5 |
| December | 62% | 1.8 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Bardstown need?
A normal year in Bardstown brings 4,235 heating degree days, 21% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,273 cooling degree days, 40% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,157 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 939 | 0 |
| February | 739 | 0 |
| March | 563 | 4 |
| April | 255 | 26 |
| May | 80 | 109 |
| June | 7 | 254 |
| July | 0 | 355 |
| August | 1 | 322 |
| September | 38 | 168 |
| October | 240 | 33 |
| November | 545 | 2 |
| December | 828 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,235 | 1,273 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00150397. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Bardstown been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 57.3°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.8°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.3°F | +0.5°F | 59.08 | – |
Over 48 complete years from 1953 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.2°F per century (+0.18°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00150397; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bardstown's climate compare?
Bardstown is warmer than 43 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 36. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.8°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bardstown is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Bardstown share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Springfield, KY2,970 people · 12 mi SE
- Loretto, KY710 people · 12 mi S
- Willisburg, KY299 people · 14 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Bardstown's climate
What is the coldest month in Bardstown?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Bardstown?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (4.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bardstown?
May, with 5.46 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.65 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bardstown in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bardstown in zone 7a in ZIP code 40004, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bardstown's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Bardstown?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 13; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Bardstown in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Taylorsville, KY13 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Bernheim Forest, KY16 miles from this station, 57.2°F a year
- Bradfordsville, KY25 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Hodgenville, KY27 miles from this station, 56.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made