Jackson, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Jackson's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 51.9 inches of precipitation and 23 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.0°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,318 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationJackson Julian Carroll Airport
- Station IDUSW00003889
- Location37.59°N 83.31°W
- Elevation1,364 ft (416 m)
- Population2,101
On October 23, the normal high in Jackson is 66°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 Jackson.
- Jan 44° 27°
- Feb 49° 31°
- Mar 58° 38°
- Apr 69° 47°
- May 76° 56°
- Jun 82° 63°
- Jul 85° 67°
- Aug 84° 65°
- Sep 79° 59°
- Oct 69° 49°
- Nov 57° 39°
- Dec 48° 32°
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 Jackson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.25 in), the least in September (3.42 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 27°F | 35.8°F | 3.96 | 7.4 | 14 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 31°F | 39.7°F | 4.06 | 6.7 | 14 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 38°F | 47.8°F | 4.71 | 4.0 | 14 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 47°F | 58.2°F | 4.54 | 0.4 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 56°F | 65.6°F | 5.17 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 82°F | 63°F | 72.6°F | 5.25 | 0.0 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 85°F | 67°F | 75.7°F | 5.10 | 0.0 | 13 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 65°F | 74.9°F | 4.26 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 59°F | 69.1°F | 3.42 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 49°F | 58.7°F | 3.45 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 39°F | 48.1°F | 3.50 | 0.7 | 11 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 32°F | 39.7°F | 4.47 | 4.1 | 14 | <1 | 17 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 48°F | 57.2°F | 51.89 | 23.4 | 148 | 14 | 78 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 2.1°C | 101 mm | 19 cm |
| February | 9°C | −1°C | 4.3°C | 103 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 14°C | 3°C | 8.8°C | 120 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 21°C | 8°C | 14.6°C | 115 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 13°C | 18.7°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 133 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 19°C | 24.3°C | 130 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 19°C | 23.8°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 9°C | 14.8°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 4°C | 8.9°C | 89 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 9°C | 0°C | 4.3°C | 114 mm | 10 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003889; 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 Jackson?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, 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 USW00003889.
When is the last frost in Jackson?
In Jackson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 6 in half of years and after April 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 18 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 61 year in 10 after April 25; 9 in 10 after March 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 208 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 231 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 27 in half of springs and before November 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Jackson in zone 7a in ZIP code 41339, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Jackson's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (30 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 USW00003889; 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 Jackson?
In a normal year in Jackson, 14 days a year reach 90°F, 78 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 148 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 14a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 78a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 148a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in Jackson's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1981) is 104°F, on June 29, 2012; the lowest is −18°F, on January 21, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 67.98 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 50.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003889; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record JKLthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Jackson?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Jackson, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and February the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 2.0 |
| February | 60% | 2.6 |
| March | 65% | 3.7 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 76% | 5.9 |
| August | 78% | 5.5 |
| September | 77% | 4.6 |
| October | 73% | 3.4 |
| November | 71% | 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 much heating and cooling does Jackson need?
A normal year in Jackson brings 4,069 heating degree days, 24% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,236 cooling degree days, 36% 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 4,179 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 905 | 0 |
| February | 711 | 1 |
| March | 541 | 8 |
| April | 244 | 41 |
| May | 89 | 109 |
| June | 9 | 235 |
| July | 0 | 334 |
| August | 1 | 306 |
| September | 39 | 161 |
| October | 233 | 36 |
| November | 511 | 4 |
| December | 785 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,069 | 1,236 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003889. 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 Jackson been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.1°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 57.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58.4°F | +1.2°F | 52.46 | 17.6 |
| 2022 | 57.7°F | +0.5°F | 56.22 | 23.2 |
| 2023 | 59.1°F | +1.9°F | 44.27 | 2.7 |
| 2024 | 59.8°F | +2.6°F | 47.12 | 20.4 |
| 2025 | 57.1°F | −0.1°F | 62.57 | 29.6 |
Over 44 complete years from 1976 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.8°F per century (+0.32°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003889; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Jackson's climate compare?
Jackson is warmer than 52 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 39. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.2°F is warmer than 67%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Jackson 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 Jackson's climate
What is the coldest month in Jackson?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Jackson?
Yes: 23 inches in a normal year, falling on 22 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (7.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Jackson?
June, with 5.25 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 3.42 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Jackson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Jackson in zone 7a in ZIP code 41339, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Jackson's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Jackson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 6; in one year in ten it comes after April 25. Waiting until April 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Quicksand, KY4 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
- Salyersville, KY17 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Buckhorn, KY19 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Beattyville, KY22 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made