Bunkie, Louisiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bunkie's normal year runs from 39°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 61.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.6°C, January lows of 4°C, July highs of 34°C, 1,565 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBunkie
- Station IDUSC00161287
- Location30.96°N 92.18°W
- Elevation80 ft (24 m)
- Population3,183
On October 9, the normal high in Bunkie is 83°F and the normal low 58°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bunkie.
- Jan 60° 39°
- Feb 64° 43°
- Mar 72° 49°
- Apr 79° 56°
- May 86° 64°
- Jun 91° 70°
- Jul 93° 73°
- Aug 93° 72°
- Sep 89° 66°
- Oct 81° 56°
- Nov 70° 46°
- Dec 62° 41°
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 Bunkie each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 39°F. The most precipitation falls in January (6.79 in), the least in July (4.14 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 39°F | 49.7°F | 6.79 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 64°F | 43°F | 53.4°F | 5.30 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h |
| March | 72°F | 49°F | 60.4°F | 4.67 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 79°F | 56°F | 67.3°F | 5.92 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 86°F | 64°F | 74.9°F | 5.01 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 91°F | 70°F | 80.5°F | 4.86 | 10 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 93°F | 73°F | 82.8°F | 4.14 | 10 | 24 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 93°F | 72°F | 82.5°F | 4.68 | 9 | 24 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 66°F | 77.7°F | 4.52 | 7 | 15 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 81°F | 56°F | 68.1°F | 4.76 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 70°F | 46°F | 58.1°F | 5.45 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 62°F | 41°F | 51.7°F | 5.53 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 56°F | 67.3°F | 61.63 | 104 | 91 | 20 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 4°C | 9.8°C | 172 mm |
| February | 18°C | 6°C | 11.9°C | 135 mm |
| March | 22°C | 10°C | 15.8°C | 119 mm |
| April | 26°C | 13°C | 19.6°C | 150 mm |
| May | 30°C | 18°C | 23.8°C | 127 mm |
| June | 33°C | 21°C | 26.9°C | 123 mm |
| July | 34°C | 23°C | 28.2°C | 105 mm |
| August | 34°C | 22°C | 28.1°C | 119 mm |
| September | 32°C | 19°C | 25.4°C | 115 mm |
| October | 27°C | 13°C | 20.1°C | 121 mm |
| November | 21°C | 8°C | 14.5°C | 138 mm |
| December | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 140 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00161287; 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 Bunkie?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, October 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 USC00161287.
When is the last frost in Bunkie?
In Bunkie, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 28 in half of years and after March 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 24 in half of years and before November 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
- February 281 year in 10 after March 21; 9 in 10 after January 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 241 year in 10 before November 5; 9 in 10 before December 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 270 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 305 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 7 in half of springs and before December 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bunkie in zone 9a in ZIP code 71322, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bunkie's NOAA station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Louisiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00161287; 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 Bunkie?
In a normal year in Bunkie, 91 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 20 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 91a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 20a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 107°F, on August 31, 2000; the lowest is 8°F, on December 23, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1973, with 81.71 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 8.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00161287; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00161287. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Bunkie?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bunkie, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (66%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70% | 2.9 |
| February | 66% | 3.3 |
| March | 73% | 4.5 |
| April | 77% | 5.5 |
| May | 80% | 6.1 |
| June | 79% | 6.1 |
| July | 79% | 5.9 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 81% | 5.1 |
| October | 82% | 4.4 |
| November | 79% | 3.4 |
| December | 70% | 2.6 |
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 Bunkie need?
A normal year in Bunkie brings 1,799 heating degree days, 67% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,650 cooling degree days, 2.9 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,669 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 481 | 7 |
| February | 339 | 12 |
| March | 189 | 48 |
| April | 58 | 128 |
| May | 6 | 312 |
| June | 0 | 466 |
| July | 0 | 550 |
| August | 0 | 544 |
| September | 2 | 383 |
| October | 59 | 155 |
| November | 238 | 31 |
| December | 426 | 13 |
| Year (annual) | 1,799 | 2,650 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00161287. 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 Bunkie been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 68.8°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 67.3°F. 1 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66.5°F | −0.8°F | 76.59 |
| 2022 | 66.5°F | −0.8°F | 64.17 |
| 2023 | 68.8°F | +1.5°F | 52.84 |
Over 100 complete years from 1896 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted -0.9°F per century (−0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00161287; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bunkie's climate compare?
Bunkie is warmer than 33 of the other 64 places with their own NOAA record in Louisiana, and wetter than 36. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 67.3°F is warmer than 92%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bunkie 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 Bunkie share this climate record?
16 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.
- Marksville, LA4,805 people · 13 mi NE
- Cottonport, LA1,951 people · 8 mi E
- Pine Prairie, LA1,559 people · 19 mi SW
- Simmesport, LA1,410 people · 22 mi E
- Mansura, LA1,270 people · 11 mi NE
- Fifth Ward, LA1,104 people · 11 mi N
- Moreauville, LA937 people · 13 mi NE
- Hessmer, LA749 people · 7 mi NE
- Echo, LA490 people · 11 mi N
- Cheneyville, LA441 people · 8 mi NW
- Turkey Creek, LA398 people · 15 mi SW
- Bordelonville, LA285 people · 19 mi NE
- Plaucheville, LA212 people · 12 mi E
- Evergreen, LA208 people · 4 mi E
- Lebeau, LA202 people · 20 mi SE
- Morrow, LA81 people · 11 mi SE
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 Bunkie's climate
What is the coldest month in Bunkie?
January, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 39°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 73°F at night).
Does it snow in Bunkie?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Bunkie?
January, with 6.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 4.14 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bunkie in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bunkie in zone 9a in ZIP code 71322, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Bunkie's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come in Bunkie?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 28; in one year in ten it comes after March 21. Waiting until March 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Louisiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lsu Dean Lee Research Station, LA21 miles from this station, 66.9°F a year
- Alexandria, LA34 miles from this station, 66.9°F a year
- Eunice, LA35 miles from this station, 67.7°F a year
- Elizabeth, LA37 miles from this station, 66.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made