Buckhorn, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Buckhorn's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 51.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.3°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,308 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBuckhorn Lake
- Station IDUSC00151080
- Location37.34°N 83.47°W
- Elevation780 ft (238 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population81
On October 14, the normal high in Buckhorn is 71°F and the normal low 46°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Buckhorn.
- Jan 44° 25°
- Feb 49° 27°
- Mar 59° 32°
- Apr 70° 41°
- May 78° 52°
- Jun 84° 61°
- Jul 87° 65°
- Aug 85° 64°
- Sep 80° 58°
- Oct 70° 45°
- Nov 58° 34°
- Dec 49° 28°
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 Buckhorn each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.31 in), the least in October (3.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 25°F | 34.2°F | 4.01 | – | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 27°F | 37.8°F | 3.87 | – | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 32°F | 45.5°F | 4.77 | – | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 41°F | 55.7°F | 4.47 | – | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 78°F | 52°F | 65.0°F | 5.01 | – | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 61°F | 72.4°F | 4.97 | – | 6 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 65°F | 76.0°F | 5.31 | – | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 85°F | 64°F | 74.7°F | 4.41 | – | 6 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 58°F | 69.0°F | 3.34 | – | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 45°F | 57.5°F | 3.26 | – | 1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 34°F | 46.2°F | 3.32 | – | <1 | 16 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 49°F | 28°F | 38.0°F | 4.74 | – | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 44°F | 56.0°F | 51.48 | – | 31 | 103 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −4°C | 1.2°C | 102 mm |
| February | 9°C | −3°C | 3.2°C | 98 mm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.5°C | 121 mm |
| April | 21°C | 5°C | 13.2°C | 114 mm |
| May | 25°C | 11°C | 18.3°C | 127 mm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.4°C | 126 mm |
| July | 31°C | 18°C | 24.4°C | 135 mm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 23.7°C | 112 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.6°C | 85 mm |
| October | 21°C | 7°C | 14.2°C | 83 mm |
| November | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 84 mm |
| December | 9°C | −2°C | 3.3°C | 120 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Oneida (11 miles away), gets 9 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00151080; 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 Buckhorn?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October.
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 USC00151080.
When is the last frost in Buckhorn?
In Buckhorn, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 12 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 191 year in 10 after May 2; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 12; 9 in 10 before November 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 207 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 9 in half of springs and before November 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Buckhorn in zone 7a in ZIP code 41721, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Buckhorn's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (24 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 USC00151080; 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 Buckhorn?
In a normal year in Buckhorn, 31 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 103 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 103a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1964) is 106°F, on June 30, 2012; the lowest is −18°F, on January 20, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2004, with 64.39 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 31.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00151080; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00151080. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Buckhorn?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Buckhorn, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and February the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 2.0 |
| February | 60% | 2.6 |
| March | 65% | 3.7 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 76% | 5.9 |
| August | 78% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.6 |
| October | 73% | 3.4 |
| November | 71% | 2.5 |
| December | 61% | 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 Buckhorn need?
A normal year in Buckhorn brings 4,428 heating degree days, 18% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,174 cooling degree days, 29% 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 3,922 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 954 | 0 |
| February | 763 | 0 |
| March | 608 | 2 |
| April | 294 | 15 |
| May | 102 | 101 |
| June | 9 | 231 |
| July | 0 | 341 |
| August | 1 | 301 |
| September | 39 | 159 |
| October | 257 | 24 |
| November | 566 | 1 |
| December | 835 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,428 | 1,174 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00151080. 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 Buckhorn been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 57.6°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.0°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.6°F | +0.6°F | 52.66 |
| 2023 | 57.6°F | +1.6°F | 45.21 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00151080. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Buckhorn's climate compare?
Buckhorn is warmer than 33 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 34. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.0°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Buckhorn 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 Buckhorn 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.
- Hazard, KY4,808 people · 16 mi E
- Hyden, KY279 people · 14 mi S
- Combs, KY37 people · 15 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 Buckhorn's climate
What is the coldest month in Buckhorn?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Buckhorn?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Buckhorn's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Oneida (11 miles away), records 9 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Buckhorn?
July, with 5.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Buckhorn in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Buckhorn in zone 7a in ZIP code 41721, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Buckhorn's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Buckhorn?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 2. Waiting until May 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Oneida, KY11 miles from this station, 56.1°F a year
- Quicksand, KY15 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
- Booneville (12 mi SW), KY17 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Jackson, KY19 miles from this station, 57.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made