Lake City, Florida climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lake City's normal year runs from 41°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 54.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.6°C, January lows of 5°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,371 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLake City (2 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00084731
- Location30.19°N 82.59°W
- Elevation195 ft (59 m)
- Population12,783
On October 23, the normal high in Lake City is 78°F and the normal low 56°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lake City.
- Jan 63° 41°
- Feb 67° 44°
- Mar 73° 49°
- Apr 79° 55°
- May 85° 62°
- Jun 88° 68°
- Jul 90° 70°
- Aug 89° 70°
- Sep 86° 67°
- Oct 79° 59°
- Nov 71° 49°
- Dec 66° 44°
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 Lake City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 41°F. The most precipitation falls in June (7.55 in), the least in November (1.91 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 | 63°F | 41°F | 52.1°F | 4.27 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 67°F | 44°F | 55.5°F | 3.23 | 9 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| March | 73°F | 49°F | 60.8°F | 4.29 | 9 | <1 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 79°F | 55°F | 66.6°F | 3.55 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 85°F | 62°F | 73.4°F | 3.47 | 7 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 88°F | 68°F | 78.2°F | 7.55 | 15 | 18 | <1 | 14 h |
| July | 90°F | 70°F | 80.0°F | 7.16 | 16 | 23 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 89°F | 70°F | 79.6°F | 7.28 | 17 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 86°F | 67°F | 76.6°F | 5.86 | 12 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 79°F | 59°F | 69.0°F | 2.50 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 71°F | 49°F | 60.2°F | 1.91 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 66°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 2.91 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 56°F | 67.2°F | 53.98 | 128 | 83 | 14 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 108 mm |
| February | 19°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 82 mm |
| March | 23°C | 9°C | 16.0°C | 109 mm |
| April | 26°C | 13°C | 19.2°C | 90 mm |
| May | 30°C | 16°C | 23.0°C | 88 mm |
| June | 31°C | 20°C | 25.7°C | 192 mm |
| July | 32°C | 21°C | 26.7°C | 182 mm |
| August | 32°C | 21°C | 26.4°C | 185 mm |
| September | 30°C | 20°C | 24.8°C | 149 mm |
| October | 26°C | 15°C | 20.6°C | 64 mm |
| November | 22°C | 10°C | 15.7°C | 49 mm |
| December | 19°C | 6°C | 12.5°C | 74 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00084731; 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 Lake City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October, November and December. Of those, April 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 USC00084731.
When is the last frost in Lake City?
In Lake City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 1 in half of years and after March 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 28 in half of years and before November 11 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
- March 11 year in 10 after March 24; 9 in 10 after February 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 281 year in 10 before November 11; 9 in 10 before December 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 273 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 305 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 13 in half of springs and before December 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lake City in zone 9a in ZIP code 32055, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lake City's NOAA station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Florida · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00084731; 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 Lake City?
In a normal year in Lake City, 83 days a year reach 90°F, 14 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 128 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 83a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 14a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 128a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1892) is 106°F, on June 4, 1918; the lowest is 6°F, on February 13, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1947, with 82.01 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00084731; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00084731. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lake City?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lake City, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (83%) and February the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 3.1 |
| February | 74% | 3.8 |
| March | 78% | 4.9 |
| April | 81% | 5.9 |
| May | 83% | 6.4 |
| June | 77% | 6.0 |
| July | 79% | 5.9 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 78% | 4.9 |
| October | 80% | 4.2 |
| November | 81% | 3.5 |
| December | 75% | 2.8 |
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 Lake City need?
A normal year in Lake City brings 1,489 heating degree days, 72% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,319 cooling degree days, 2.6 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,534 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 410 | 8 |
| February | 279 | 13 |
| March | 171 | 42 |
| April | 57 | 105 |
| May | 7 | 268 |
| June | 0 | 396 |
| July | 0 | 465 |
| August | 0 | 453 |
| September | 1 | 350 |
| October | 39 | 163 |
| November | 185 | 41 |
| December | 340 | 15 |
| Year (annual) | 1,489 | 2,319 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00084731. 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 Lake City been warmer than normal lately?
Over 85 complete years from 1893 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.1°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lake City's climate compare?
Lake City is warmer than 5 of the other 105 places with their own NOAA record in Florida, and wetter than 57. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 67.2°F is warmer than 92%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lake City 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 Lake City share this climate record?
2 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.
- Watertown, FL2,797 people · 0 mi W
- Five Points, FL1,160 people · 4 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 Lake City's climate
What is the coldest month in Lake City?
January, with a normal high of 63°F and a normal low of 41°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Lake City?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Lake City?
June, with 7.55 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 1.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lake City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lake City in zone 9a in ZIP code 32055, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Lake City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come in Lake City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 1; in one year in ten it comes after March 24. Waiting until March 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Lake City in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Florida climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- White Springs, FL21 miles from this station, 69.1°F a year
- Live Oak, FL23 miles from this station, 71.2°F a year
- High Springs, FL25 miles from this station, 68.3°F a year
- Glen St. Mary, FL25 miles from this station, 68.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made