Paintsville, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Paintsville's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 46.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.9°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,173 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPaintsville (1 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00156136
- Location37.82°N 82.79°W
- Elevation630 ft (192 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population4,129
On October 23, the normal high in Paintsville is 68°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Paintsville.
- Jan 44° 23°
- Feb 49° 26°
- Mar 58° 32°
- Apr 70° 41°
- May 76° 51°
- Jun 83° 60°
- Jul 86° 65°
- Aug 86° 63°
- Sep 80° 56°
- Oct 70° 43°
- Nov 58° 32°
- Dec 48° 28°
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 Paintsville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.18 in), the least in November (3.00 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 23°F | 33.5°F | 3.35 | 10 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 26°F | 37.2°F | 3.21 | 10 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 32°F | 44.9°F | 4.41 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 41°F | 55.1°F | 3.82 | 10 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 51°F | 63.8°F | 4.43 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 60°F | 71.7°F | 4.79 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 65°F | 75.4°F | 5.18 | 10 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 63°F | 74.5°F | 3.63 | 9 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 56°F | 67.9°F | 3.35 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 43°F | 56.5°F | 3.19 | 8 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 32°F | 45.2°F | 3.00 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 28°F | 37.7°F | 3.83 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 43°F | 55.3°F | 46.19 | 118 | 25 | 110 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 85 mm |
| February | 9°C | −4°C | 2.9°C | 82 mm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 112 mm |
| April | 21°C | 5°C | 12.8°C | 97 mm |
| May | 25°C | 11°C | 17.7°C | 113 mm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.1°C | 122 mm |
| July | 30°C | 18°C | 24.1°C | 132 mm |
| August | 30°C | 17°C | 23.6°C | 92 mm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 19.9°C | 85 mm |
| October | 21°C | 6°C | 13.6°C | 81 mm |
| November | 15°C | 0°C | 7.3°C | 76 mm |
| December | 9°C | −2°C | 3.2°C | 97 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Dunlow (1 mi SW) (23 miles away), gets 17 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00156136; 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 Paintsville?
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 USC00156136.
When is the last frost in Paintsville?
In Paintsville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 11 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 191 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 211 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Paintsville in zone 7a in ZIP code 41240. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Paintsville's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (16 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 USC00156136; 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 Paintsville?
In a normal year in Paintsville, 25 days a year reach 90°F, 110 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 118 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 25a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 110a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 13high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 118a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00156136.
How sunny is Paintsville?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Paintsville, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (77%) and February the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 2.0 |
| February | 59% | 2.6 |
| March | 64% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 5.0 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 76% | 5.8 |
| August | 77% | 5.4 |
| September | 76% | 4.5 |
| October | 72% | 3.4 |
| November | 71% | 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 Paintsville need?
A normal year in Paintsville brings 4,604 heating degree days, 14% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,095 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 3,772 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 976 | 0 |
| February | 780 | 0 |
| March | 625 | 2 |
| April | 313 | 17 |
| May | 118 | 81 |
| June | 12 | 214 |
| July | 1 | 323 |
| August | 2 | 298 |
| September | 52 | 137 |
| October | 287 | 22 |
| November | 595 | 1 |
| December | 845 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,604 | 1,095 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00156136. 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 Paintsville been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.5°F, 0.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.3°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.7°F | +0.4°F | 41.74 |
| 2022 | 54.6°F | −0.7°F | 50.20 |
| 2023 | 56.1°F | +0.8°F | 36.72 |
| 2024 | 56.9°F | +1.6°F | 45.80 |
| 2025 | 55.5°F | +0.2°F | 50.86 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00156136. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Paintsville's climate compare?
Paintsville is warmer than 22 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 3. 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, Paintsville 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 Paintsville 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.
- West Van Lear, KY1,224 people · 2 mi S
- Auxier, KY795 people · 6 mi S
- Van Lear, KY520 people · 4 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 Paintsville's climate
What is the coldest month in Paintsville?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Paintsville?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Paintsville's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Dunlow (1 mi SW) (23 miles away), records 17 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Paintsville?
July, with 5.18 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Paintsville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Paintsville in zone 7a in ZIP code 41240. By the same method at Paintsville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Paintsville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; 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
- Charley (2 mi SW), KY10 miles from this station, 54.0°F a year
- Prestonsburg, KY11 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Inez, KY15 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Salyersville, KY16 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made