Richmond, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Richmond's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 42.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.3°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,089 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRichmond Water Works
- Station IDUSC00127370
- Location39.85°N 84.88°W
- Elevation1,005 ft (306 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population35,561
On October 14, the normal high in Richmond is 66°F and the normal low 44°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 Richmond.
- Jan 36° 20°
- Feb 40° 22°
- Mar 51° 31°
- Apr 64° 41°
- May 74° 52°
- Jun 82° 60°
- Jul 85° 64°
- Aug 84° 62°
- Sep 78° 54°
- Oct 66° 43°
- Nov 52° 33°
- Dec 40° 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 Richmond each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in June (4.80 in), the least in February (2.25 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 20°F | 27.9°F | 3.20 | 13 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 40°F | 22°F | 31.2°F | 2.25 | 11 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 31°F | 40.8°F | 3.42 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 41°F | 52.2°F | 4.27 | 12 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 52°F | 62.6°F | 4.63 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 82°F | 60°F | 71.1°F | 4.80 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 85°F | 64°F | 74.2°F | 4.32 | 11 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 62°F | 72.7°F | 3.27 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 54°F | 65.9°F | 3.12 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 43°F | 54.2°F | 3.16 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 33°F | 42.2°F | 3.32 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| December | 40°F | 25°F | 32.6°F | 3.10 | 12 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 42°F | 52.3°F | 42.86 | 131 | 16 | 117 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −7°C | −2.3°C | 81 mm |
| February | 5°C | −5°C | −0.4°C | 57 mm |
| March | 10°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 87 mm |
| April | 18°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 108 mm |
| May | 23°C | 11°C | 17.0°C | 118 mm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 122 mm |
| July | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 110 mm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 22.6°C | 83 mm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.8°C | 79 mm |
| October | 19°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 80 mm |
| November | 11°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 84 mm |
| December | 5°C | −4°C | 0.3°C | 79 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127370; 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 Richmond?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, August 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 USC00127370.
When is the last frost in Richmond?
In Richmond, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 24 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 7 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 10; 9 in 10 after April 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 202 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 10 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Richmond in zone 6a in ZIP code 47374. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Richmond's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (21 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00127370; 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 Richmond?
In a normal year in Richmond, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 117 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 117a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 31high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1968) is 102°F, on July 6, 2012; the lowest is −27°F, on January 19, 1994.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2006, with 55.35 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 39.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00127370; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00127370. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Richmond?
Over a year 72% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Richmond, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (58%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 59% | 1.8 |
| February | 62% | 2.6 |
| March | 65% | 3.6 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 78% | 6.2 |
| July | 79% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 79% | 4.6 |
| October | 72% | 3.2 |
| November | 69% | 2.2 |
| December | 58% | 1.5 |
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 Richmond need?
A normal year in Richmond brings 5,535 heating degree days, 3% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 941 cooling degree days, 4% 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 3,399 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,150 | 0 |
| February | 945 | 0 |
| March | 752 | 1 |
| April | 392 | 10 |
| May | 150 | 76 |
| June | 20 | 202 |
| July | 2 | 286 |
| August | 6 | 244 |
| September | 80 | 107 |
| October | 350 | 15 |
| November | 684 | 0 |
| December | 1,006 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,535 | 941 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00127370. 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 Richmond been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.6°F, 0.7°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 52.3°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.4°F | +0.1°F | 41.62 |
| 2022 | 51.0°F | −1.3°F | 34.31 |
| 2023 | 52.9°F | +0.6°F | 35.07 |
| 2024 | 54.0°F | +1.7°F | 49.74 |
| 2025 | 51.6°F | −0.7°F | 43.10 |
Over 47 complete years from 1969 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.6°F per century (+0.37°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00127370; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Richmond's climate compare?
Richmond is warmer than 60 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 45. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.3°F is warmer than 51%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Richmond 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 Richmond share this climate record?
15 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.
- Centerville, IN2,769 people · 7 mi W
- Lewisburg, OH1,737 people · 18 mi E
- New Paris, OH1,486 people · 5 mi E
- New Madison, OH834 people · 12 mi NE
- Fountain City, IN698 people · 7 mi N
- Williamsburg, IN473 people · 9 mi NW
- Eldorado, OH455 people · 11 mi E
- West Manchester, OH413 people · 14 mi E
- Verona, OH401 people · 20 mi E
- Spring Grove, IN332 people · 1 mi SW
- Hollansburg, OH241 people · 11 mi NE
- Gordon, OH230 people · 20 mi E
- Webster, IN149 people · 5 mi NW
- Castine, OH106 people · 14 mi E
- Ithaca, OH92 people · 18 mi E
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 Richmond's climate
What is the coldest month in Richmond?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 64°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Richmond?
June, with 4.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.25 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Richmond in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Richmond in zone 6a in ZIP code 47374. By the same method at Richmond's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Richmond?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 24; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Richmond in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eaton, OH16 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Cambridge City, IN16 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Greenville, OH21 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Winchester, IN22 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made