Rochester, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Rochester's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 50.8 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.3°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 32°C, 1,291 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRochester Ferry
- Station IDUSC00156882
- Location37.22°N 86.89°W
- Elevation390 ft (119 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population113
On October 14, the normal high in Rochester is 72°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rochester.
- Jan 44° 24°
- Feb 48° 26°
- Mar 58° 34°
- Apr 69° 43°
- May 78° 53°
- Jun 86° 61°
- Jul 89° 65°
- Aug 88° 63°
- Sep 82° 56°
- Oct 71° 43°
- Nov 58° 34°
- Dec 48° 27°
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 Rochester each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in April (5.06 in), the least in January (3.40 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 24°F | 33.6°F | 3.40 | 1.3 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 26°F | 37.3°F | 3.96 | 1.4 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 34°F | 45.9°F | 4.17 | 0.5 | 11 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 43°F | 56.0°F | 5.06 | 0.2 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 78°F | 53°F | 65.2°F | 5.06 | 0.0 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 61°F | 73.3°F | 4.73 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 89°F | 65°F | 77.1°F | 4.65 | 0.0 | 9 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 88°F | 63°F | 75.5°F | 3.89 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 56°F | 68.7°F | 3.56 | 0.0 | 7 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 43°F | 57.0°F | 4.09 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 34°F | 45.6°F | 3.78 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 48°F | 27°F | 37.5°F | 4.47 | 1.0 | 10 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 44°F | 56.0°F | 50.82 | 4.4 | 109 | 47 | 97 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −5°C | 0.9°C | 86 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 9°C | −3°C | 2.9°C | 101 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 15°C | 1°C | 7.7°C | 106 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 21°C | 6°C | 13.3°C | 129 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 129 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 16°C | 22.9°C | 120 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 18°C | 25.1°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 17°C | 24.2°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 13°C | 20.4°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 22°C | 6°C | 13.9°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 9°C | −3°C | 3.1°C | 114 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00156882; 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 Rochester?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00156882.
When is the last frost in Rochester?
In Rochester, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 15 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 9 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 151 year in 10 after May 3; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 9; 9 in 10 before October 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 187 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 211 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rochester in zone 7a in ZIP code 42273, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kentucky · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00156882; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Rochester?
In a normal year in Rochester, 47 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 97 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 109 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 47a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 97a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 109a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00156882.
How sunny is Rochester?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Rochester, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 63% | 2.0 |
| February | 62% | 2.7 |
| March | 66% | 3.8 |
| April | 73% | 5.1 |
| May | 74% | 5.7 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.5 |
| November | 72% | 2.5 |
| December | 62% | 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 Rochester need?
A normal year in Rochester brings 4,498 heating degree days, 16% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,263 cooling degree days, 39% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,018 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 975 | 0 |
| February | 776 | 0 |
| March | 596 | 2 |
| April | 293 | 22 |
| May | 92 | 98 |
| June | 8 | 256 |
| July | 1 | 376 |
| August | 2 | 327 |
| September | 44 | 154 |
| October | 275 | 27 |
| November | 583 | 2 |
| December | 854 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,498 | 1,263 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00156882. 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.
How does Rochester's climate compare?
Rochester is warmer than 33 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 29. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.0°F is warmer than 64%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rochester 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 Rochester share this climate record?
9 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.
- Central City, KY5,744 people · 14 mi NW
- Greenville, KY4,353 people · 16 mi W
- Morgantown, KY2,510 people · 11 mi E
- Beechmont, KY940 people · 9 mi W
- Powderly, KY787 people · 14 mi W
- Drakesboro, KY473 people · 9 mi W
- Dunmor, KY230 people · 11 mi SW
- Woodbury, KY77 people · 14 mi E
- Cleaton, KY59 people · 11 mi W
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 Rochester's climate
What is the coldest month in Rochester?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Rochester?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 3 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (1.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Rochester?
April, with 5.06 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 3.40 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rochester in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rochester in zone 7a in ZIP code 42273, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Rochester?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 15; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Beaver Dam, KY16 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Russellville, KY25 miles from this station, 57.0°F a year
- Calhoun, KY30 miles from this station, 57.2°F a year
- Bowling Green, KY31 miles from this station, 59.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made