Russellville, Kentucky climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Russellville's normal year runs from 26°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 53.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.9°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,370 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRussellville
- Station IDUSC00157049
- Location36.85°N 86.89°W
- Elevation570 ft (174 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population7,431
On October 23, the normal high in Russellville is 68°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Russellville.
- Jan 44° 26°
- Feb 48° 29°
- Mar 58° 36°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 55°
- Jun 85° 64°
- Jul 88° 68°
- Aug 87° 65°
- Sep 81° 58°
- Oct 70° 46°
- Nov 57° 36°
- Dec 47° 30°
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 Russellville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.52 in), the least in November (3.83 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 26°F | 35.1°F | 4.16 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 29°F | 38.6°F | 4.22 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 36°F | 47.0°F | 4.77 | 12 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 5.31 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 55°F | 66.0°F | 5.52 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 64°F | 74.1°F | 4.77 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 68°F | 77.6°F | 4.24 | 9 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 76.1°F | 4.11 | 8 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 58°F | 69.3°F | 4.20 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 46°F | 58.1°F | 4.08 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 36°F | 46.7°F | 3.83 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 30°F | 38.6°F | 4.73 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 46°F | 57.0°F | 53.94 | 118 | 44 | 91 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −3°C | 1.7°C | 106 mm |
| February | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 107 mm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 121 mm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 135 mm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 18.9°C | 140 mm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.4°C | 121 mm |
| July | 31°C | 20°C | 25.3°C | 108 mm |
| August | 31°C | 18°C | 24.5°C | 104 mm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.7°C | 107 mm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.5°C | 104 mm |
| November | 14°C | 2°C | 8.2°C | 97 mm |
| December | 8°C | −1°C | 3.7°C | 120 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 USC00157049; 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 Russellville?
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 USC00157049.
When is the last frost in Russellville?
In Russellville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 9 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 28 in half of years and before October 14 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 91 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 281 year in 10 before October 14; 9 in 10 before November 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 200 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 223 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 29 in half of springs and before November 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Russellville in zone 7a in ZIP code 42276, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Russellville's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (20 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Kentucky · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00157049; 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 Russellville?
In a normal year in Russellville, 44 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 91 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 118 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 91a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 118a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 108°F, on July 28, 1930; the lowest is −22°F, on February 13, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1950, with 75.21 in; the snowiest season is 2002–03, with 15.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00157049; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00157049. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Russellville?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Russellville, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (81%) and February the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 2.2 |
| February | 62% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.9 |
| April | 74% | 5.2 |
| May | 75% | 5.7 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.6 |
| November | 73% | 2.6 |
| December | 64% | 1.9 |
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 Russellville need?
A normal year in Russellville brings 4,259 heating degree days, 21% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,375 cooling degree days, 51% 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 4,214 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 928 | 0 |
| February | 741 | 0 |
| March | 564 | 5 |
| April | 274 | 27 |
| May | 88 | 121 |
| June | 7 | 280 |
| July | 0 | 392 |
| August | 2 | 346 |
| September | 40 | 169 |
| October | 246 | 33 |
| November | 552 | 2 |
| December | 817 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,259 | 1,375 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00157049. 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 Russellville been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 58.4°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.0°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.1°F | +0.1°F | 56.44 |
| 2022 | 55.8°F | −1.2°F | 53.78 |
| 2023 | 57.6°F | +0.6°F | 51.04 |
| 2024 | 58.4°F | +1.4°F | 65.58 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00157049. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Russellville's climate compare?
Russellville is warmer than 50 of the other 67 places with their own NOAA record in Kentucky, and wetter than 53. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.0°F is warmer than 66%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Russellville 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 Russellville 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.
- Auburn, KY1,674 people · 10 mi E
- Lewisburg, KY776 people · 10 mi N
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 Russellville's climate
What is the coldest month in Russellville?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 68°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Russellville?
May, with 5.52 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 3.83 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Russellville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Russellville in zone 7a in ZIP code 42276, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Russellville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Russellville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 9; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kentucky climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Elkton, KY15 miles from this station, 57.4°F a year
- Rochester, KY25 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Springfield, TN27 miles from this station, 58.1°F a year
- Bowling Green, KY27 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