Licking, Missouri climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Licking's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 46.5 inches of precipitation and 11 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.9°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,182 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLicking (4 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00234919
- Location37.55°N 91.88°W
- Elevation1,180 ft (360 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population2,969
On October 23, the normal high in Licking is 66°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Licking.
- Jan 42° 21°
- Feb 47° 25°
- Mar 56° 34°
- Apr 67° 43°
- May 76° 53°
- Jun 83° 62°
- Jul 88° 67°
- Aug 87° 65°
- Sep 80° 56°
- Oct 69° 44°
- Nov 56° 34°
- Dec 45° 26°
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 Licking each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.54 in), the least in February (2.71 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 21°F | 31.7°F | 2.81 | 3.5 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 47°F | 25°F | 36.1°F | 2.71 | 1.7 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 4.12 | 2.0 | 10 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 43°F | 55.3°F | 4.80 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 53°F | 64.5°F | 5.54 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 62°F | 72.9°F | 4.54 | 0.0 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 67°F | 77.3°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 8 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 76.0°F | 4.04 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 56°F | 68.0°F | 4.20 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 44°F | 56.5°F | 3.34 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 34°F | 45.0°F | 4.09 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 26°F | 35.5°F | 2.87 | 3.6 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 46.54 | 11.0 | 108 | 34 | 109 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −6°C | −0.2°C | 71 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 2.3°C | 69 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 14°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 105 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 20°C | 6°C | 12.9°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 141 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.2°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 18°C | 24.4°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 20.0°C | 107 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.6°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 104 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 73 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00234919; 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 Licking?
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 USC00234919.
When is the last frost in Licking?
In Licking, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 20 in half of years and after May 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 in half of years and before October 4 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 201 year in 10 after May 5; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 4; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 181 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 205 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 6 in half of springs and before October 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Licking in zone 6b in ZIP code 65542, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Licking's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (29 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Missouri · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00234919; 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 Licking?
In a normal year in Licking, 34 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 109 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 108 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 34a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 109a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 108a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1936) is 114°F, on July 15, 1954; the lowest is −24°F, on January 17, 1977.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1985, with 64.72 in; the snowiest season is 1969–70, with 33.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00234919; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00234919. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Licking?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Licking, 4.3 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 69% | 2.3 |
| February | 67% | 3.0 |
| March | 68% | 4.0 |
| April | 72% | 5.1 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 81% | 6.6 |
| July | 82% | 6.4 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 81% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.5 |
| December | 67% | 2.0 |
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 Licking need?
A normal year in Licking brings 4,773 heating degree days, 11% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,272 cooling degree days, 40% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,972 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,034 | 0 |
| February | 809 | 0 |
| March | 622 | 3 |
| April | 311 | 22 |
| May | 111 | 94 |
| June | 12 | 249 |
| July | 1 | 382 |
| August | 3 | 344 |
| September | 61 | 150 |
| October | 290 | 27 |
| November | 603 | 2 |
| December | 916 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,773 | 1,272 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00234919. 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 Licking been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 56.8°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 55.8°F | +0.5°F | 53.34 | 21.6 |
| 2024 | 57.6°F | +2.3°F | 62.95 | 3.7 |
| 2025 | 56.8°F | +1.5°F | 50.98 | – |
Over 68 complete years from 1939 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00234919; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Licking's climate compare?
Licking is warmer than 67 of the other 133 places with their own NOAA record in Missouri, and wetter than 94. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.3°F is warmer than 61%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Licking is Dfa: continental, 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 Licking share this climate record?
Edgar Springs has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Edgar Springs, MO203 people · 10 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 Licking's climate
What is the coldest month in Licking?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Licking?
Yes: 11 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (3.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Licking?
May, with 5.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.71 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Licking in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Licking in zone 6b in ZIP code 65542, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Licking's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Licking?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 20; 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
- Missouri climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Houston, MO17 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Fort Leonard Wood, MO18 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Salem, MO20 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Waynesville, MO26 miles from this station, 56.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made