Hopkinsville, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Hopkinsville's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 51.8 inches of precipitation and 5 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.6°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,315 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHopkinsville
- Station IDUSC00153994
- Location36.85°N 87.52°W
- Elevation520 ft (159 m)
- Population30,800
On October 22, the normal high in Hopkinsville is 69°F and the normal low 46°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 Hopkinsville.
- Jan 44° 27°
- Feb 48° 31°
- Mar 58° 38°
- Apr 69° 47°
- May 77° 58°
- Jun 85° 66°
- Jul 88° 70°
- Aug 88° 68°
- Sep 82° 61°
- Oct 71° 49°
- Nov 58° 38°
- Dec 47° 31°
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 Hopkinsville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.38 in), the least in January (3.41 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 27°F | 35.5°F | 3.41 | 1.8 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 31°F | 39.6°F | 4.06 | 1.8 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 38°F | 48.0°F | 4.76 | 0.8 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 47°F | 58.1°F | 4.81 | 0.1 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 58°F | 67.4°F | 5.38 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 66°F | 75.5°F | 4.26 | 0.0 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 70°F | 79.1°F | 4.87 | 0.0 | 9 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 88°F | 68°F | 77.9°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 61°F | 71.4°F | 3.54 | 0.0 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 49°F | 59.7°F | 3.79 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 38°F | 48.1°F | 3.90 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 31°F | 39.2°F | 4.69 | 0.7 | 11 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 49°F | 58.3°F | 51.76 | 5.2 | 119 | 42 | 87 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 87 mm | 5 cm |
| February | 9°C | −1°C | 4.2°C | 103 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 15°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 121 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.5°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 14°C | 19.7°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 19°C | 24.2°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 21°C | 26.2°C | 124 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 20°C | 25.5°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 3°C | 8.9°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 8°C | 0°C | 4.0°C | 119 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00153994; 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 Hopkinsville?
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 (8).
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 USC00153994.
When is the last frost in Hopkinsville?
In Hopkinsville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 4 in half of years and after April 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 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 41 year in 10 after April 19; 9 in 10 after March 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 211 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 235 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 22 in half of springs and before November 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hopkinsville in zone 7a in ZIP code 42240.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kentucky · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00153994; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Hopkinsville?
In a normal year in Hopkinsville, 42 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 87 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 119 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 42a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 87a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 12high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 119a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 111°F, on August 9, 1930; the lowest is −22°F, on February 2, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1979, with 71.97 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 34.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00153994; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00153994. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Hopkinsville?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Hopkinsville, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 2.2 |
| February | 63% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.8 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 80% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 64% | 1.9 |
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 Hopkinsville need?
A normal year in Hopkinsville brings 4,026 heating degree days, 25% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,610 cooling degree days, 77% 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 4,577 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 914 | 0 |
| February | 714 | 1 |
| March | 532 | 4 |
| April | 243 | 36 |
| May | 67 | 143 |
| June | 4 | 319 |
| July | 0 | 437 |
| August | 1 | 399 |
| September | 27 | 218 |
| October | 213 | 50 |
| November | 511 | 4 |
| December | 800 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,026 | 1,610 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00153994. 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 Hopkinsville been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 57.5°F, 0.8°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 58.3°F. 0 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.3°F | at normal | 48.82 | – |
| 2022 | 57.5°F | −0.8°F | 50.28 | – |
Over 93 complete years from 1897 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted -0.6°F per century (−0.03°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00153994; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Hopkinsville's climate compare?
Hopkinsville is warmer than 57 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 38. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.3°F is warmer than 70%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Hopkinsville 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 Hopkinsville share this climate record?
4 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.
- Cadiz, KY2,741 people · 16 mi W
- Crofton, KY640 people · 14 mi N
- Cerulean, KY409 people · 13 mi NW
- Gracey, KY53 people · 8 mi W
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 Hopkinsville's climate
What is the coldest month in Hopkinsville?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Hopkinsville?
Yes: 5 inches in a normal year, falling on 4 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (1.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Hopkinsville?
May, with 5.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 3.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Hopkinsville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Hopkinsville in zone 7a in ZIP code 42240.
How late can frost come in Hopkinsville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 4; in one year in ten it comes after April 19. Waiting until April 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Hopkinsville in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clarksville, TN17 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Elkton, KY21 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Clarksville Wastewater Treatment Plant, TN23 miles from this station, 59.2°F a year
- Princeton, KY27 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made