Monticello, KY Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Monticello's primary NOAA station, MONTICELLO 3 NE.
The climate verdict for Monticello
Water is the standout signal in Monticello, Kentucky: 52.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 56°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 56°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 52.5"
- annual precipitation · 14" snow
- 191 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Monticello: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00155524 · Monticello, KY 56°F mean · 52.5" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 56°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,460
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Dennard
- PRCP-WET 52.5"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,319 HDD
- STN-1 USC00155524
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Dennard, AR ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every KY station list.
- Hot Mccarty Rch, NM 57°F
- Near Huntington Tri…, WV 57°F
- Monticello (this station) 56°F
- Cold Cape May, NJ 56°F
- Near Dennard, AR 56°F
Climate Living Index · Monticello
Monticello: 62/100 · grade C
Monticello publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Monticello, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 97 calendar days | 77/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 56.4°F · 11.1° from 67.5°F | 64/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 191 days/year | 58/100 · C |
| Snowfall burden | 14.2 inches/year | 57/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 52.5 in · 17.5 from 35 in | 38/100 · F |
Monticello · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Monticello is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 35.5°F and warmest-month mean 76.0°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 76.0°F
- Coldest month
- 35.5°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Monticello sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Monticello's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 65th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 14% wettest
- Monticello's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 38th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Monticello compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Monticello's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F (7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 4.5" | 4.3" | 22.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 4.3" | 4.2" | 19.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 58°F (14°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 5.2" | 2.9" | 14.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 68°F (20°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 4.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 76°F (24°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 4.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.1 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 3.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.7 |
| September | 81°F (27°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 3.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| October | 70°F (21°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 2.9" | 0.0" | 3.5 | 0.1 |
| November | 58°F (15°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.6" | 0.2" | 13.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 48°F (9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 5.0" | 2.6" | 20.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 86°F around July 11, short of 90°F on every date, while 97 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 26°F near January 21.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 5, then returns to freezing around November 30, covering 97 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 1, when 45% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 28 at 25%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 133 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 13 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 25°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Monticello.
Where Monticello Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 53 inches.
Monticello earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 4.3"
13.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.2"
12.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.9"
12.9 days with precipitation
11.5 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
10.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
13.3 days with precipitation
Monticello spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 26%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Monticello has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: March averages 5.2" and October 2.9". The three wettest months together take 29% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Monticello, it arrives in quantity
52.5" of precipitation falls across only about 133 wet days here, averaging 0.39 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 133 a year, 36% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.39 inches
- Most wet days
- January, about 14
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 8
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Monticello
Monticello averages 14.2 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 14 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 14.2 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 14 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 3% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 18
50% probability date
Growing Season
191 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,319
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,198
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KY closest to Monticello on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (56°F here).
- Appomattox, VA 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Boise City, OK 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Dalhart, TX 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Hudson, KS 56°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (52.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Jacksonville Beach, FL 52.4" · 0.0" off
- Carthage, TN 52.5" · 0.0" off
- Charleston, SC 52.5" · 0.0" off
- Texarkana, TX 52.4" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Monticello
heating led · wet · mid swing
Monticello's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,319 annual heating degree days against 1,198 for cooling. Its 40.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Monticello's frost-free season lasts about 191 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Monticello coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 36°F (2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Monticello typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Monticello snow peak
January
Monticello averages 14.2 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Monticello's climate
How much snow does Monticello get? ▼
How cold does Monticello get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Monticello? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Monticello's primary station: MONTICELLO 3 NE (USC00155524). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 2153130). Match rule for Monticello: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Monticello comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.