Frankfort, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Frankfort's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 47.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.6°C, January lows of −4°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,202 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFrankfort Capital City Airport
- Station IDUSW00053841
- Location38.18°N 84.90°W
- Elevation804 ft (245 m)
- Population28,610
On October 14, the normal high in Frankfort is 70°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Frankfort.
- Jan 43° 25°
- Feb 48° 28°
- Mar 57° 35°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 54°
- Jun 85° 63°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 87° 65°
- Sep 81° 57°
- Oct 70° 46°
- Nov 57° 36°
- Dec 47° 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 in Frankfort each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.10 in), the least in August (3.15 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 25°F | 34.1°F | 3.27 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 28°F | 37.8°F | 3.40 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 4.72 | 12 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 4.55 | 13 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 54°F | 65.5°F | 5.10 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 63°F | 73.7°F | 4.34 | 13 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.2°F | 4.69 | 12 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 76.1°F | 3.15 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 57°F | 69.2°F | 3.35 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 46°F | 57.6°F | 3.64 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 36°F | 46.1°F | 3.36 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 29°F | 38.1°F | 3.77 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 46°F | 56.5°F | 47.34 | 138 | 28 | 98 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −4°C | 1.2°C | 83 mm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 86 mm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 120 mm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 116 mm |
| May | 25°C | 12°C | 18.6°C | 130 mm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 110 mm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.1°C | 119 mm |
| August | 31°C | 18°C | 24.5°C | 80 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.7°C | 85 mm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 92 mm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 85 mm |
| December | 8°C | −1°C | 3.4°C | 96 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Lexington (19 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 USW00053841; 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 Frankfort?
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 (9).
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 USW00053841.
When is the last frost in Frankfort?
In Frankfort, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 24 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 151 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 241 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 192 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 215 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Frankfort in zone 6b in ZIP code 40601, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Frankfort's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (24 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kentucky · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00053841; 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 Frankfort?
In a normal year in Frankfort, 28 days a year reach 90°F, 98 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 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
- 98a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 103°F, on July 7, 2012; the lowest is −21°F, on February 20, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 68.94 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00053841; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00053841. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Frankfort?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Frankfort, 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 Frankfort need?
A normal year in Frankfort brings 4,386 heating degree days, 18% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,332 cooling degree days, 47% 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 4,141 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 958 | 0 |
| February | 762 | 1 |
| March | 586 | 5 |
| April | 277 | 26 |
| May | 92 | 109 |
| June | 7 | 269 |
| July | 0 | 378 |
| August | 1 | 345 |
| September | 40 | 166 |
| October | 261 | 31 |
| November | 567 | 2 |
| December | 836 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,386 | 1,332 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053841. 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 Frankfort been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.4°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 56.5°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.1°F | +0.6°F | 54.89 |
| 2022 | 56.3°F | −0.2°F | 45.94 |
| 2023 | 57.6°F | +1.1°F | 40.38 |
| 2024 | 58.8°F | +2.3°F | 45.65 |
| 2025 | 56.4°F | −0.1°F | 65.85 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00053841. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Frankfort's climate compare?
Frankfort is warmer than 40 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 6. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.5°F is warmer than 65%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Frankfort 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.
Questions about Frankfort's climate
What is the coldest month in Frankfort?
January, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Frankfort?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Frankfort's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Lexington (19 miles away), records 15 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Frankfort?
May, with 5.10 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 3.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Frankfort in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Frankfort in zone 6b in ZIP code 40601, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Frankfort's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Frankfort?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; 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
- Frankfort in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Versailles, KY11 miles from this station, 55.2°F a year
- Shelbyville, KY16 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Lexington, KY19 miles from this station, 56.3°F a year
- Taylorsville, KY25 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made