Mount Sterling, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Mount Sterling's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 48.5 inches of precipitation and 9 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.1°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,232 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Sterling
- Station IDUSC00155640
- Location38.06°N 83.93°W
- Elevation960 ft (293 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population7,588
On October 14, the normal high in Mount Sterling is 69°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 31%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Sterling.
- Jan 42° 22°
- Feb 46° 24°
- Mar 56° 31°
- Apr 67° 40°
- May 76° 51°
- Jun 83° 59°
- Jul 87° 63°
- Aug 86° 61°
- Sep 80° 53°
- Oct 69° 42°
- Nov 56° 31°
- Dec 45° 25°
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 Mount Sterling each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.38 in), the least in October (3.22 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 22°F | 31.7°F | 3.52 | 3.3 | 12 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 46°F | 24°F | 34.5°F | 3.66 | 2.0 | 11 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 56°F | 31°F | 43.1°F | 4.36 | 2.2 | 13 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 40°F | 53.3°F | 4.40 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 51°F | 63.1°F | 4.53 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 59°F | 71.2°F | 4.80 | 0.0 | 12 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 63°F | 74.8°F | 5.38 | 0.0 | 12 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 61°F | 73.1°F | 3.36 | 0.0 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 53°F | 66.6°F | 3.61 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 42°F | 55.0°F | 3.22 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 31°F | 43.6°F | 3.38 | 0.2 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 25°F | 35.2°F | 4.28 | 1.1 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 42°F | 53.8°F | 48.50 | 8.8 | 134 | 28 | 116 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −6°C | −0.2°C | 89 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 8°C | −5°C | 1.4°C | 93 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 13°C | −1°C | 6.2°C | 111 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 19°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 112 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.3°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 15°C | 21.8°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 17°C | 23.8°C | 137 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 16°C | 22.8°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 5°C | 12.8°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 86 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 7°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 109 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00155640; 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 Mount Sterling?
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 (9).
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 USC00155640.
When is the last frost in Mount Sterling?
In Mount Sterling, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 18 in half of years and before October 6 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 241 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 181 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 198 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 13 in half of springs and before October 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Sterling in zone 6b in ZIP code 40353, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Mount Sterling's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (15 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 USC00155640; 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 Mount Sterling?
In a normal year in Mount Sterling, 28 days a year reach 90°F, 116 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 134 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 28a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 116a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 134a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1892) is 110°F, on July 16, 1988; the lowest is −27°F, on February 21, 2015.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 71.42 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 28.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00155640; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00155640. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Mount Sterling?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Mount Sterling, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 60% | 1.9 |
| February | 61% | 2.6 |
| March | 65% | 3.7 |
| April | 71% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 78% | 6.2 |
| July | 78% | 5.9 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.6 |
| October | 73% | 3.3 |
| November | 70% | 2.3 |
| December | 59% | 1.6 |
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 Mount Sterling need?
A normal year in Mount Sterling brings 5,046 heating degree days, 6% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 989 cooling degree days, 9% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,553 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,032 | 0 |
| February | 853 | 0 |
| March | 681 | 2 |
| April | 364 | 13 |
| May | 135 | 76 |
| June | 16 | 202 |
| July | 2 | 306 |
| August | 5 | 258 |
| September | 69 | 117 |
| October | 324 | 16 |
| November | 643 | 1 |
| December | 924 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,046 | 989 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00155640. 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 Mount Sterling been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 54.7°F, 0.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.8°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 55.5°F | +1.7°F | 40.93 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 56.5°F | +2.7°F | 48.86 | 7.6 |
| 2025 | 54.7°F | +0.9°F | 59.75 | 10.5 |
Over 87 complete years from 1893 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00155640; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mount Sterling's climate compare?
Mount Sterling is warmer than 3 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.8°F is warmer than 56%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling share this climate record?
6 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.
- Winchester, KY19,413 people · 15 mi W
- Jeffersonville, KY1,772 people · 7 mi SE
- Owingsville, KY1,589 people · 11 mi NE
- Camargo, KY1,048 people · 5 mi SE
- North Middletown, KY608 people · 11 mi NW
- Sharpsburg, KY366 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 Mount Sterling's climate
What is the coldest month in Mount Sterling?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Mount Sterling?
Yes: 9 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Mount Sterling?
July, with 5.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is October with 3.22 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Sterling in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Sterling in zone 6b in ZIP code 40353, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Mount Sterling's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Mount Sterling?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Stanton, KY14 miles from this station, 54.6°F a year
- Cressy, KY17 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Cave Run Lake, KY22 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Flemingsburg, KY29 miles from this station, 54.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made