Princeton, 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 Princeton's primary NOAA station, PRINCETON 1 SE.
The climate verdict for Princeton
Water is the standout signal in Princeton, Kentucky: 50.9 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 59°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 59°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 50.9"
- annual precipitation · 9" snow
- 196 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Princeton: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00156580 · Princeton, KY 59°F mean · 50.9" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 59°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,871
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fayetteville NW…
- PRCP-WET 50.9"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,853 HDD
- STN-1 USC00156580
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fayetteville NW AR, AR (+ 0 °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.
- Princeton (this station) 59°F
- Hot Old Hickory, TN 59°F
- Near Fayetteville NW…, AR 59°F
- Near Plainview Wtr P…, TX 59°F
- Near Dover, TN 59°F
Climate Living Index · Princeton
Princeton: 68/100 · grade C
Princeton publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Princeton, 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 | 79 calendar days | 83/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 58.6°F · 8.9° from 67.5°F | 72/100 · B |
| Snowfall burden | 8.5 inches/year | 65/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 196 days/year | 61/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 50.9 in · 15.9 from 35 in | 44/100 · D |
Princeton · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Princeton is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 36.7°F and warmest-month mean 78.5°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
- 78.5°F
- Coldest month
- 36.7°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 Princeton sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Princeton's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 29% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Princeton sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 17% wettest
- Princeton's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 43rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Princeton compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Princeton'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
Princeton's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 45 complete annual observations from 1966 to 2019, PRINCETON 1 SE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.29°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Princeton primary station fitted change +0.29 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F (8°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 3.7" | 2.6" | 20.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 51°F (11°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 4.0" | 2.7" | 16.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 61°F (16°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 4.8" | 1.4" | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 72°F (22°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 5.1" | 0.0" | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 79°F (26°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 4.8" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| June | 86°F (30°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 9.6 |
| July | 89°F (32°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 16.6 |
| August | 89°F (31°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 3.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.9 |
| September | 83°F (29°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 3.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.5 |
| October | 73°F (23°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 4.1" | 0.1" | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| November | 60°F (15°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 4.1" | 0.1" | 10.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 49°F (10°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 4.5" | 1.6" | 17.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 20, short of 90°F on every date, while 79 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 27°F near January 18.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 23, then returns to freezing around December 7, covering 79 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 April 27, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is September 11 at 21%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 113 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 26°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Princeton.
Where Princeton Stands Nationally
The normal water year runs well above the national norm at roughly 51 inches.
Princeton 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: 2.6"
9.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.7"
9.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
11.1 days with precipitation
10.5 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
10.2 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
8.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
9.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.6"
10.7 days with precipitation
Princeton spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 25% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Princeton has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.8°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: April averages 5.1" and September 3.3". 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 Princeton, it arrives in quantity
50.9" of precipitation falls across only about 113 wet days here, averaging 0.45 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 113 a year, 31% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.45 inches
- Most wet days
- March, about 11
- Fewest wet days
- September, about 7
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.
Snow reaches Princeton, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 8.5 inches of snow a year here, most likely in February. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 4 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 24
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
196 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,853
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,551
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside KY closest to Princeton 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 (59°F here).
- Alva, OK 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Billings, OK 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Chase City, VA 59°F · 0.0°F off
- Clarkesville, GA 59°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (50.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bartow, FL 50.9" · 0.0" off
- Whiteville, NC 50.9" · 0.0" off
- Wilburton, OK 50.9" · 0.0" off
- Jackson, NC 50.9" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Princeton's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Princeton's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,853 annual heating degree days against 1,551 for cooling. Its 41.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Princeton's frost-free season lasts about 196 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Princeton's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 41.8°F. The annual average is 59°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Princeton carries 50.9 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Annual snowfall totals 8.5 inches. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Princeton's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Princeton, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Princeton's climate
How much rain does Princeton get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Princeton get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Princeton? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Princeton's primary station: PRINCETON 1 SE (USC00156580). 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 2163138). Match rule for Princeton: 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 Princeton 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.