Bowling Green, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bowling Green's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 40.6 inches of precipitation and 16 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.8°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,031 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBowling Green (1 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00230856
- Location39.34°N 91.17°W
- Elevation895 ft (273 m)
- Population4,380
On October 23, the normal high in Bowling Green is 64°F and the normal low 43°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 Bowling Green.
- Jan 36° 19°
- Feb 41° 23°
- Mar 52° 32°
- Apr 65° 43°
- May 73° 53°
- Jun 82° 62°
- Jul 86° 67°
- Aug 85° 65°
- Sep 78° 56°
- Oct 67° 45°
- Nov 53° 34°
- Dec 40° 24°
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 Bowling Green each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.67 in), the least in February (2.06 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 19°F | 27.2°F | 2.44 | 4.6 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 41°F | 23°F | 31.8°F | 2.06 | 5.0 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 32°F | 42.1°F | 2.73 | 1.9 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 43°F | 53.7°F | 4.46 | 0.2 | 10 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 53°F | 63.2°F | 4.67 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 82°F | 62°F | 72.1°F | 4.55 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 67°F | 76.2°F | 4.32 | 0.0 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 65°F | 74.7°F | 3.57 | 0.0 | 7 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 56°F | 67.0°F | 3.89 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 45°F | 55.8°F | 2.95 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 34°F | 43.2°F | 2.90 | 0.8 | 7 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| December | 40°F | 24°F | 32.1°F | 2.07 | 3.1 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 44°F | 53.3°F | 40.61 | 15.6 | 95 | 29 | 117 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −7°C | −2.7°C | 62 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 5°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 52 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 69 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 18°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 113 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 23°C | 12°C | 17.3°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.3°C | 116 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.7°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.4°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 75 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.2°C | 74 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 53 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00230856; 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 Bowling Green?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, 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 USC00230856.
When is the last frost in Bowling Green?
In Bowling Green, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 13 in half of years and after May 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 5 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 1; 9 in 10 after March 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 213 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bowling Green in zone 6a in ZIP code 63334, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00230856; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Bowling Green?
In a normal year in Bowling Green, 29 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 117 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 95 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 29a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 117a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 30high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 95a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00230856.
How sunny is Bowling Green?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bowling Green, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 2.0 |
| February | 68% | 2.9 |
| March | 68% | 3.8 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 79% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 75% | 3.3 |
| November | 72% | 2.3 |
| December | 65% | 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 Bowling Green need?
A normal year in Bowling Green brings 5,387 heating degree days, 0% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,144 cooling degree days, 26% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,712 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,173 | 0 |
| February | 928 | 0 |
| March | 712 | 3 |
| April | 355 | 17 |
| May | 137 | 82 |
| June | 17 | 228 |
| July | 2 | 349 |
| August | 4 | 304 |
| September | 74 | 133 |
| October | 312 | 25 |
| November | 656 | 2 |
| December | 1,018 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,387 | 1,144 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00230856. 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 Bowling Green been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 52.5°F, 0.8°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 53.3°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.1°F | +0.8°F | 46.88 | – |
| 2022 | 52.5°F | −0.8°F | 38.50 | – |
Over 85 complete years from 1884 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.3°F per century (+0.01°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00230856; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bowling Green's climate compare?
Bowling Green is warmer than 28 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 29. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.3°F is warmer than 55%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bowling Green is Dfa: continental, 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 Bowling Green share this climate record?
4 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.
- Louisiana, MO3,244 people · 9 mi NE
- St. Clement, MO29 people · 5 mi SW
- Tarrants, MO19 people · 1 mi NW
- Ashley, MO10 people · 7 mi SW
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 Bowling Green's climate
What is the coldest month in Bowling Green?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Bowling Green?
Yes: 16 inches in a normal year, falling on 7 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Bowling Green?
May, with 4.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.06 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bowling Green in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bowling Green in zone 6a in ZIP code 63334, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Bowling Green?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 13; in one year in ten it comes after May 1. Waiting until May 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clarksville, MO14 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Vandalia, MO17 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Saverton, MO21 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Elsberry, MO24 miles from this station, 54.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made