Baxter, Kentucky climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station

What is the weather like at Baxter each month?

July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in December (5.04 in), the least in October (3.18 in).

NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Pennington Gap (19 miles away), gets 9 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.

Which months are mildest at Baxter?

Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).

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.

When is the last frost at Baxter?

In Baxter, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 17 in one year in ten.

Last spring frost, half of years after

April 151 year in 10 after May 1; 9 in 10 after March 31

First autumn frost, half of years before

October 301 year in 10 before October 17; 9 in 10 before November 10

NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 197 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 221 days.

A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 1 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.

The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Baxter in zone 7a in ZIP code 40854, 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 4°F (23 complete years).

Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kentucky · Frost dates by ZIP code

How hot and how cold does it get at Baxter?

In a normal year in Baxter, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 101 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 126 days bring measurable precipitation.

Days at 90°F or more

13a normal year

Days at 100°F or more

fewer than 1a normal year

Nights at 32°F or colder

101a normal year

Days that stay below freezing

10high of 32°F or less

Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation

126a normal year

The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1952) is 103°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −19°F, on January 21, 1985.

The wettest calendar year on that record is 2011, with 67.73 in; the snowiest season is 1986–87, with 30.9 inches.

How sunny is it at Baxter?

Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Baxter, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (79%) and February the cloudiest (62%).

How many heating and cooling degree days does Baxter record?

A normal year at Baxter brings 4,324 heating degree days, 20% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,051 cooling degree days, 16% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,806 growing degree days a year above 50°F.

Have recent years at Baxter been warmer than normal?

Over 51 complete years from 1953 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.4°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.

Which places near Baxter share this climate record?

10 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.

• Harlan, KY1,831 people · 1 mi SE
• South Wallins, KY948 people · 5 mi SW
• Jonesville, VA851 people · 17 mi SE
• Pathfork, KY606 people · 10 mi SW
• Loyall, KY593 people · 1 mi SW
• Rose Hill, VA551 people · 14 mi S
• Ages, KY302 people · 5 mi E
• Coldiron, KY247 people · 7 mi W
• Wallins Creek, KY221 people · 5 mi W
• Coxton, KY212 people · 3 mi E

Nearby and next

• Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
• Pennington Gap, VA19 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
• Skyline (1 mi SE), KY24 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
• Big Stone Gap, VA29 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
• Tazewell, TN30 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
• Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side

Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made