Shelbyville, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Shelbyville's normal year runs from 22°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 43.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.3°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,096 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationShelbyville Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00053866
- Location39.58°N 85.80°W
- Elevation804 ft (245 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population20,845
On October 22, the normal high in Shelbyville is 65°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Shelbyville.
- Jan 37° 22°
- Feb 42° 25°
- Mar 53° 34°
- Apr 66° 44°
- May 76° 55°
- Jun 83° 63°
- Jul 86° 65°
- Aug 85° 63°
- Sep 80° 55°
- Oct 67° 45°
- Nov 53° 35°
- Dec 42° 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 Shelbyville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.16 in), the least in February (2.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 22°F | 29.7°F | 3.05 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 25°F | 33.6°F | 2.34 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 34°F | 43.3°F | 3.45 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 4.54 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 55°F | 65.1°F | 4.62 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 63°F | 73.2°F | 5.16 | 13 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 65°F | 75.5°F | 3.87 | 11 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 63°F | 73.8°F | 3.19 | 12 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 55°F | 67.5°F | 3.14 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 45°F | 56.1°F | 3.20 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 35°F | 44.0°F | 3.61 | 10 | <1 | 13 | 10 h |
| December | 42°F | 27°F | 34.4°F | 2.97 | 12 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 44°F | 54.2°F | 43.14 | 135 | 22 | 106 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −5°C | −1.3°C | 77 mm |
| February | 6°C | −4°C | 0.9°C | 59 mm |
| March | 12°C | 1°C | 6.3°C | 88 mm |
| April | 19°C | 6°C | 12.5°C | 115 mm |
| May | 24°C | 13°C | 18.4°C | 117 mm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 131 mm |
| July | 30°C | 18°C | 24.2°C | 98 mm |
| August | 29°C | 17°C | 23.2°C | 81 mm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 80 mm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.4°C | 81 mm |
| November | 12°C | 2°C | 6.7°C | 92 mm |
| December | 5°C | −3°C | 1.3°C | 75 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Shelbyville's own co-op station Shelbyville Sewage Plant does: 15 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053866; 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 Shelbyville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (10).
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 USW00053866.
When is the last frost in Shelbyville?
In Shelbyville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 14 in half of years and after April 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 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 141 year in 10 after April 29; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 191 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 216 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 1 in half of springs and before November 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Shelbyville in zone 6a in ZIP code 46176, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Shelbyville's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (21 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 Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00053866; 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 Shelbyville?
In a normal year in Shelbyville, 22 days a year reach 90°F, 106 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 135 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 106a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 27high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 135a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 105°F, on July 7, 2012; the lowest is −22°F, on December 25, 2004.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2006, with 55.66 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00053866; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00053866. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Shelbyville?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Shelbyville, 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 | 60% | 1.8 |
| February | 62% | 2.6 |
| March | 66% | 3.6 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 79% | 6.2 |
| July | 80% | 6.1 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 79% | 4.5 |
| October | 73% | 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 Shelbyville need?
A normal year in Shelbyville brings 5,039 heating degree days, 6% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,149 cooling degree days, 27% 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 3,784 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,092 | 0 |
| February | 879 | 0 |
| March | 676 | 3 |
| April | 333 | 18 |
| May | 107 | 110 |
| June | 9 | 255 |
| July | 1 | 328 |
| August | 3 | 275 |
| September | 57 | 133 |
| October | 304 | 26 |
| November | 631 | 1 |
| December | 949 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,039 | 1,149 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053866. 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 Shelbyville been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 54.5°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56.4°F | +2.1°F | 47.86 |
| 2022 | 55.3°F | +1.1°F | 37.02 |
| 2023 | 57.3°F | +3.1°F | 33.72 |
| 2024 | 58.1°F | +3.9°F | 46.00 |
| 2025 | 54.5°F | +0.3°F | 40.70 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00053866. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Shelbyville's climate compare?
Shelbyville is warmer than 75 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 46. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.2°F is warmer than 58%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Shelbyville 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 Shelbyville share this climate record?
7 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.
- Waldron, IN729 people · 11 mi SE
- Boggstown, IN563 people · 6 mi W
- Fairland, IN540 people · 3 mi W
- Marion, IN361 people · 3 mi E
- Gwynneville, IN202 people · 10 mi NE
- Blue Ridge, IN201 people · 10 mi SE
- London, IN45 people · 7 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Shelbyville's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Shelbyville. This page uses Shelbyville Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelbyville Sewage Plant USC00127999 | 1 mi SW | 752 ft | 52.7°F | 20°F | 85°F | 44.0 | 15 | April 17 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Shelbyville's climate
What is the coldest month in Shelbyville?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow in Shelbyville?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Shelbyville's NOAA station; Shelbyville's own co-op station Shelbyville Sewage Plant records 15 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Shelbyville?
June, with 5.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Shelbyville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Shelbyville in zone 6a in ZIP code 46176, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Shelbyville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Shelbyville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 14; in one year in ten it comes after April 29. Waiting until April 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Greenfield, IN14 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Franklin, IN15 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Beech Grove, IN17 miles from this station, 51.8°F a year
- Rushville, IN19 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made