Mount Vernon, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Mount Vernon's normal year runs from 25°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 51.4 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 −4°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,304 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Vernon
- Station IDUSC00155648
- Location37.35°N 84.34°W
- Elevation1,160 ft (354 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,458
On October 14, the normal high in Mount Vernon is 69°F and the normal low 45°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 Mount Vernon.
- Jan 42° 25°
- Feb 47° 27°
- Mar 56° 35°
- Apr 67° 44°
- May 75° 54°
- Jun 82° 62°
- Jul 84° 66°
- Aug 84° 64°
- Sep 79° 57°
- Oct 69° 45°
- Nov 56° 35°
- Dec 46° 29°
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 Vernon each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 25°F. The most precipitation falls in December (4.94 in), the least in November (3.50 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 25°F | 33.4°F | 4.22 | 3.1 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 47°F | 27°F | 37.0°F | 4.02 | 4.0 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 56°F | 35°F | 45.1°F | 4.86 | 2.0 | 13 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 44°F | 55.4°F | 4.79 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 54°F | 64.1°F | 4.86 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 82°F | 62°F | 71.7°F | 4.79 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 84°F | 66°F | 75.2°F | 4.59 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 64°F | 74.1°F | 3.65 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 57°F | 67.9°F | 3.54 | 0.0 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 45°F | 56.6°F | 3.59 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 3.50 | 0.2 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 29°F | 37.6°F | 4.94 | 1.6 | 13 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 45°F | 55.3°F | 51.35 | 10.9 | 131 | 13 | 101 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −4°C | 0.8°C | 107 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 8°C | −3°C | 2.8°C | 102 mm | 10 cm |
| March | 13°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 123 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 19°C | 7°C | 13.0°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 17.8°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.1°C | 122 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 19°C | 24.0°C | 117 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 2°C | 7.6°C | 89 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 8°C | −2°C | 3.1°C | 125 mm | 4 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00155648; 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 Vernon?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, 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 USC00155648.
When is the last frost in Mount Vernon?
In Mount Vernon, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 18 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 24 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 181 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 241 year in 10 before October 13; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 189 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 213 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Vernon in zone 7a in ZIP code 40456, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Mount Vernon's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (24 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 USC00155648; 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 Vernon?
In a normal year in Mount Vernon, 13 days a year reach 90°F, 101 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 101a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 102°F, on July 16, 1980; the lowest is −24°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1972, with 69.87 in; the snowiest season is 1995–96, with 41.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00155648; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00155648. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Mount Vernon?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Mount Vernon, 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 Mount Vernon need?
A normal year in Mount Vernon brings 4,600 heating degree days, 14% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,100 cooling degree days, 21% 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 3,839 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 980 | 0 |
| February | 786 | 0 |
| March | 621 | 4 |
| April | 313 | 25 |
| May | 116 | 88 |
| June | 14 | 216 |
| July | 1 | 317 |
| August | 3 | 283 |
| September | 52 | 140 |
| October | 283 | 24 |
| November | 585 | 2 |
| December | 848 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,600 | 1,100 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00155648. 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 Vernon been warmer than normal lately?
Over 51 complete years from 1957 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.3°F per century (+0.07°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 Mount Vernon's climate compare?
Mount Vernon is warmer than 22 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 33. 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, Mount Vernon 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 Mount Vernon 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.
- Brodhead, KY1,112 people · 6 mi NW
- Livingston, KY165 people · 8 mi SE
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 Vernon's climate
What is the coldest month in Mount Vernon?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 25°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Mount Vernon?
Yes: 11 inches in a normal year, falling on 7 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (4.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Mount Vernon?
December, with 4.94 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Vernon in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Vernon in zone 7a in ZIP code 40456, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Mount Vernon's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Mount Vernon?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 18; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Crab Orchard, KY11 miles from this station, 56.8°F a year
- Berea, KY16 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Somerset, KY22 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- London, KY24 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made