Dix Dam, Kentucky climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Dix Dam's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 45.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.9°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,166 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDix Dam
- Station IDUSC00152214
- Location37.79°N 84.71°W
- Elevation870 ft (265 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Dix Dam is 69°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dix Dam.
- Jan 45° 27°
- Feb 49° 29°
- Mar 59° 36°
- Apr 70° 46°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 84° 63°
- Jul 86° 67°
- Aug 86° 65°
- Sep 80° 58°
- Oct 71° 48°
- Nov 56° 35°
- Dec 45° 29°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Dix Dam each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.89 in), the least in January (3.10 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 27°F | 35.9°F | 3.10 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 29°F | 39.3°F | 3.49 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 59°F | 36°F | 47.5°F | 4.10 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 46°F | 57.7°F | 4.37 | 11 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 66.1°F | 4.89 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 63°F | 73.8°F | 4.70 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 67°F | 76.8°F | 4.67 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 65°F | 75.4°F | 3.19 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 58°F | 69.1°F | 3.36 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 48°F | 59.3°F | 3.29 | 8 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 3.15 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 29°F | 37.3°F | 3.58 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 47°F | 57.0°F | 45.89 | 114 | 28 | 80 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 2.2°C | 79 mm |
| February | 10°C | −1°C | 4.1°C | 89 mm |
| March | 15°C | 2°C | 8.6°C | 104 mm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 111 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 124 mm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 119 mm |
| July | 30°C | 20°C | 24.9°C | 119 mm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 81 mm |
| September | 27°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 85 mm |
| October | 22°C | 9°C | 15.2°C | 84 mm |
| November | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 80 mm |
| December | 7°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 91 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Lexington (18 miles away), gets 15 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00152214; 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.
Which months are mildest at Dix Dam?
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 USC00152214.
When is the last frost at Dix Dam?
In Dix Dam, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 7 in half of years and after April 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 20 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 71 year in 10 after April 24; 9 in 10 after March 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 206 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 226 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 29 in half of springs and before November 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dix Dam in zone 7a in ZIP code 40310, 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 2°F (15 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 USC00152214; 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 at Dix Dam?
In a normal year in Dix Dam, 28 days a year reach 90°F, 80 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 28a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 80a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1923) is 107°F, on July 28, 1930; the lowest is −18°F, on January 24, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1942, with 58.84 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 30.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00152214; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00152214. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Dix Dam?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Dix Dam, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 62% | 2.0 |
| February | 61% | 2.7 |
| March | 66% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.1 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 78% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.5 |
| November | 72% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Dix Dam record?
A normal year at Dix Dam brings 4,180 heating degree days, 22% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,288 cooling degree days, 42% 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 4,197 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 902 | 0 |
| February | 720 | 0 |
| March | 547 | 3 |
| April | 244 | 25 |
| May | 75 | 110 |
| June | 5 | 269 |
| July | 0 | 366 |
| August | 1 | 324 |
| September | 32 | 155 |
| October | 210 | 35 |
| November | 585 | 2 |
| December | 859 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,180 | 1,288 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00152214. 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.
How does Dix Dam's climate compare?
Dix Dam is warmer than 50 of the 68 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 2. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.0°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dix Dam 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 Dix Dam share this climate record?
5 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.
- Harrodsburg, KY9,491 people · 8 mi W
- Wilmore, KY6,268 people · 7 mi N
- Burgin, KY1,017 people · 3 mi SW
- Salvisa, KY151 people · 13 mi NW
- High Bridge, KY65 people · 3 mi N
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 Dix Dam's climate
What is the coldest month at Dix Dam?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow at Dix Dam?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Lexington (18 miles away), records 15 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Dix Dam?
May, with 4.89 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 3.10 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dix Dam in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dix Dam in zone 7a in ZIP code 40310, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come at Dix Dam?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 7; in one year in ten it comes after April 24. Waiting until April 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Danville, KY10 miles from this station, 55.4°F a year
- Lexington, KY19 miles from this station, 56.3°F a year
- Richmond, KY21 miles from this station, 55.7°F a year
- Versailles, KY21 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made