London, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
London's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 51.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.8°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,302 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLondon Corbin Airport
- Station IDUSW00003849
- Location37.09°N 84.08°W
- Elevation1,188 ft (362 m)
- Population7,573
On October 14, the normal high in London is 70°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for London.
- Jan 45° 27°
- Feb 50° 30°
- Mar 58° 36°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 54°
- Jun 84° 62°
- Jul 86° 66°
- Aug 86° 65°
- Sep 80° 58°
- Oct 70° 45°
- Nov 58° 36°
- Dec 49° 30°
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 London each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.16 in), the least in October (3.29 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 | 45°F | 27°F | 36.0°F | 3.89 | 12 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 50°F | 30°F | 39.7°F | 4.02 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 36°F | 47.3°F | 4.57 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 57.1°F | 4.65 | 13 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 54°F | 65.4°F | 5.04 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 84°F | 62°F | 72.9°F | 5.06 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 86°F | 66°F | 76.3°F | 5.16 | 13 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 65°F | 75.2°F | 3.97 | 10 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 58°F | 68.8°F | 3.55 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 45°F | 57.5°F | 3.29 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 36°F | 46.7°F | 3.52 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 49°F | 30°F | 39.4°F | 4.54 | 12 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 46°F | 56.9°F | 51.26 | 138 | 21 | 89 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 2.2°C | 99 mm |
| February | 10°C | −1°C | 4.3°C | 102 mm |
| March | 15°C | 2°C | 8.5°C | 116 mm |
| April | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 118 mm |
| May | 25°C | 12°C | 18.6°C | 128 mm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 129 mm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 131 mm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 24.0°C | 101 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 90 mm |
| October | 21°C | 7°C | 14.2°C | 84 mm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 89 mm |
| December | 9°C | −1°C | 4.1°C | 115 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Mount Vernon (23 miles away), gets 11 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003849; 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 London?
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 USW00003849.
When is the last frost in London?
In London, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 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 3; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 192 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 216 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 1 in half of springs and before November 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts London in zone 7a in ZIP code 40741, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, London's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (28 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 USW00003849; 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 London?
In a normal year in London, 21 days a year reach 90°F, 89 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 138 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 21a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 89a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 138a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1954) is 105°F, on June 29, 2012; the lowest is −25°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2004, with 66.82 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 63.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003849; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00003849. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is London?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around London, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (80%) and February the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 62% | 2.0 |
| February | 61% | 2.7 |
| March | 66% | 3.8 |
| April | 72% | 5.1 |
| May | 73% | 5.7 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 78% | 6.0 |
| August | 80% | 5.6 |
| September | 78% | 4.6 |
| October | 74% | 3.5 |
| November | 72% | 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 London need?
A normal year in London brings 4,158 heating degree days, 23% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,218 cooling degree days, 34% 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 4,064 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 901 | 0 |
| February | 709 | 0 |
| March | 552 | 3 |
| April | 261 | 24 |
| May | 88 | 100 |
| June | 7 | 246 |
| July | 0 | 350 |
| August | 1 | 317 |
| September | 39 | 153 |
| October | 257 | 23 |
| November | 551 | 2 |
| December | 794 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,158 | 1,218 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003849. 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 London been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 58.7°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.9°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.2°F | +0.3°F | 54.58 |
| 2022 | 56.6°F | −0.3°F | 47.04 |
| 2023 | 58.1°F | +1.2°F | 40.00 |
| 2024 | 58.7°F | +1.8°F | 53.96 |
Over 63 complete years from 1955 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.0°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003849; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does London's climate compare?
London is warmer than 45 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 32. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.9°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, London 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 London share this climate record?
3 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.
- Corbin, KY7,891 people · 11 mi S
- North Corbin, KY2,092 people · 8 mi S
- East Bernstadt, KY673 people · 8 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 London's climate
What is the coldest month in London?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in London?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for London's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Mount Vernon (23 miles away), records 11 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in London?
July, with 5.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.29 in.
What plant hardiness zone is London in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts London in zone 7a in ZIP code 40741, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at London's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 3°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in London?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- London in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Manchester, KY15 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Barbourville, KY18 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Mount Vernon, KY24 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Williamsburg, KY25 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made