Barren River Lake, Kentucky climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Barren River Lake's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 52.7 inches of precipitation and 6 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.1°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,339 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBarren River Lake
- Station IDUSC00150422
- Location36.90°N 86.12°W
- Elevation615 ft (188 m)
On October 8, the normal high in Barren River Lake is 74°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Barren River Lake.
- Jan 44° 26°
- Feb 49° 29°
- Mar 58° 36°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 85° 64°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 88° 65°
- Sep 82° 59°
- Oct 71° 47°
- Nov 59° 36°
- Dec 48° 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 at Barren River Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.40 in), the least in September (3.60 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 26°F | 35.4°F | 3.86 | 2.4 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 29°F | 38.9°F | 4.30 | 1.5 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 36°F | 47.0°F | 4.61 | 0.9 | 11 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 57.0°F | 4.94 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 66.3°F | 5.40 | 0.0 | 10 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 64°F | 74.2°F | 4.85 | 0.0 | 10 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.8°F | 4.98 | 0.0 | 9 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 88°F | 65°F | 76.6°F | 3.72 | 0.0 | 7 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 59°F | 70.3°F | 3.60 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 47°F | 59.0°F | 3.70 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 36°F | 47.4°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 30°F | 39.0°F | 5.06 | 0.8 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 47°F | 57.4°F | 52.70 | 5.6 | 111 | 58 | 88 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 98 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 109 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 15°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 117 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 19.1°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.4°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 19°C | 24.8°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 8°C | 15.0°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −1°C | 3.9°C | 129 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00150422; 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.
Which months are mildest at Barren River Lake?
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 USC00150422.
When is the last frost at Barren River Lake?
In Barren River Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 12 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 29 in half of years and before October 16 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 121 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 291 year in 10 before October 16; 9 in 10 before November 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 198 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 221 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 31 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Barren River Lake in zone 7a in ZIP code 42156, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (27 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 USC00150422; 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 at Barren River Lake?
In a normal year in Barren River Lake, 58 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 88 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 111 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 58a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 88a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 111a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1963) is 109°F, on July 18, 1986; the lowest is −19°F, on January 21, 1984.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 69.90 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 24.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00150422; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00150422. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Barren River Lake?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Barren River Lake, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.2 |
| February | 62% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 64% | 1.9 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Barren River Lake record?
A normal year at Barren River Lake brings 4,181 heating degree days, 22% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,443 cooling degree days, 59% 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 4,338 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 918 | 0 |
| February | 731 | 1 |
| March | 564 | 6 |
| April | 272 | 32 |
| May | 87 | 127 |
| June | 7 | 282 |
| July | 0 | 397 |
| August | 1 | 359 |
| September | 34 | 193 |
| October | 227 | 43 |
| November | 531 | 3 |
| December | 808 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,181 | 1,443 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00150422. 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.
Have recent years at Barren River Lake been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 59.0°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.4°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 57.8°F | +0.4°F | 51.19 | 10.6 |
| 2023 | 59.0°F | +1.6°F | 40.12 | 0.0 |
Over 53 complete years from 1964 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00150422; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Barren River Lake's climate compare?
Barren River Lake is warmer than 54 of the 68 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 47. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.4°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Barren River Lake 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.
Questions about Barren River Lake's climate
What is the coldest month at Barren River Lake?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow at Barren River Lake?
Yes: 6 inches in a normal year, falling on 4 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Barren River Lake?
May, with 5.40 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 3.60 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Barren River Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Barren River Lake in zone 7a in ZIP code 42156, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come at Barren River Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 12; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Scottsville, KY12 miles from this station, 57.0°F a year
- Glasgow, KY14 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Mammoth Cave, KY16 miles from this station, 60.2°F a year
- Bowling Green, KY17 miles from this station, 59.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made