Cynthiana, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cynthiana's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 47.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.7°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,212 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCynthiana
- Station IDUSC00151998
- Location38.38°N 84.30°W
- Elevation700 ft (213 m)
- Population6,557
On October 23, the normal high in Cynthiana is 66°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cynthiana.
- Jan 41° 23°
- Feb 46° 25°
- Mar 55° 32°
- Apr 67° 41°
- May 76° 52°
- Jun 84° 61°
- Jul 87° 65°
- Aug 86° 63°
- Sep 80° 55°
- Oct 69° 43°
- Nov 56° 33°
- Dec 46° 27°
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 Cynthiana each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.98 in), the least in August (3.06 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 23°F | 32.0°F | 3.38 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 46°F | 25°F | 35.4°F | 3.47 | 8 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 32°F | 43.7°F | 4.53 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 41°F | 54.3°F | 4.61 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 52°F | 64.1°F | 4.98 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 61°F | 72.1°F | 4.54 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 65°F | 76.0°F | 4.83 | 9 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 86°F | 63°F | 74.6°F | 3.06 | 8 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 55°F | 67.9°F | 3.53 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 43°F | 56.2°F | 3.45 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 33°F | 44.3°F | 3.22 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 27°F | 36.5°F | 4.13 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 43°F | 54.8°F | 47.73 | 110 | 29 | 109 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −5°C | 0.0°C | 86 mm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 88 mm |
| March | 13°C | 0°C | 6.5°C | 115 mm |
| April | 20°C | 5°C | 12.4°C | 117 mm |
| May | 24°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 126 mm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 115 mm |
| July | 30°C | 18°C | 24.4°C | 123 mm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.7°C | 78 mm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 90 mm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.4°C | 88 mm |
| November | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 82 mm |
| December | 8°C | −3°C | 2.5°C | 105 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Williamstown (23 miles away), gets 16 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00151998; 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 Cynthiana?
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 USC00151998.
When is the last frost in Cynthiana?
In Cynthiana, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 18 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 13 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 181 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 211 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cynthiana in zone 6b in ZIP code 41031, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cynthiana's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (22 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 USC00151998; 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 Cynthiana?
In a normal year in Cynthiana, 29 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 109 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 110 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
- 109a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 110a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1951) is 106°F, on August 21, 1983; the lowest is −33°F, on January 20, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 68.60 in; the snowiest season is 1950–51, with 44.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00151998; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00151998. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cynthiana?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cynthiana, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.9 |
| February | 62% | 2.6 |
| March | 65% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.6 |
| October | 73% | 3.3 |
| November | 70% | 2.4 |
| December | 60% | 1.7 |
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 Cynthiana need?
A normal year in Cynthiana brings 4,827 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,124 cooling degree days, 24% 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 3,758 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,024 | 0 |
| February | 829 | 0 |
| March | 660 | 1 |
| April | 333 | 12 |
| May | 117 | 87 |
| June | 15 | 226 |
| July | 0 | 340 |
| August | 2 | 300 |
| September | 52 | 137 |
| October | 293 | 20 |
| November | 620 | 0 |
| December | 882 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,827 | 1,124 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00151998. 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 Cynthiana been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.3°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.8°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.3°F | +0.5°F | 45.95 |
| 2022 | 54.6°F | −0.2°F | 41.04 |
| 2023 | 56.3°F | +1.5°F | 43.22 |
| 2025 | 55.3°F | +0.5°F | 50.72 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00151998. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cynthiana's climate compare?
Cynthiana is warmer than 13 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 9. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.8°F is warmer than 59%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cynthiana 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 Cynthiana share this climate record?
6 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.
- Georgetown, KY40,518 people · 15 mi SW
- Paris, KY10,185 people · 12 mi S
- Carlisle, KY2,151 people · 15 mi E
- Millersburg, KY746 people · 10 mi SE
- Sadieville, KY343 people · 13 mi W
- Berry, KY261 people · 11 mi NW
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 Cynthiana's climate
What is the coldest month in Cynthiana?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Cynthiana?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Cynthiana's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Williamstown (23 miles away), records 16 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Cynthiana?
May, with 4.98 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.06 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cynthiana in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cynthiana in zone 6b in ZIP code 41031, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cynthiana's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Cynthiana?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 18; in one year in ten it comes after May 5. Waiting until May 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Williamstown, KY23 miles from this station, 56.4°F a year
- Lexington, KY29 miles from this station, 56.3°F a year
- Mount Sterling, KY30 miles from this station, 53.8°F a year
- Chilo, OH30 miles from this station, 54.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made