Kentucky climate: Statewide normals, its places and each month, NOAA 1991-2020
Kentucky's statewide normal is 56.3°F a year with 50.4 inches of precipitation (NOAA nClimDiv, 1991-2020); it has warmed 0.8°F per century since 1895, and 2024 was its warmest year.
- Statewide normal temperature
- 56.3°Fyear, 1991-2020
- Statewide normal precipitation
- 50.4 inyear, 1991-2020
- Last five years against normal
- +1.1°F2021-2025 mean 57.5°F
- Places with normals
- 9668 Census places, 28 other stations
What is Kentucky's weather like each month?
Statewide, July is the warmest month and January the coldest. Each month has its own page with the warmest and coolest places that month:
- Jan43°25°
- Feb48°28°
- Mar58°35°
- Apr69°44°
- May77°54°
- Jun84°62°
- Jul87°66°
- Aug86°64°
- Sep81°57°
- Oct70°45°
- Nov57°35°
- Dec47°29°
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 25°F | 34.4°F | 3.74 |
| February | 48°F | 28°F | 38.2°F | 3.86 |
| March | 58°F | 35°F | 46.4°F | 4.68 |
| April | 69°F | 44°F | 56.4°F | 4.73 |
| May | 77°F | 54°F | 65.2°F | 5.09 |
| June | 84°F | 62°F | 73.0°F | 4.72 |
| July | 87°F | 66°F | 76.4°F | 4.86 |
| August | 86°F | 64°F | 75.3°F | 3.62 |
| September | 81°F | 57°F | 68.8°F | 3.59 |
| October | 70°F | 45°F | 57.6°F | 3.50 |
| November | 57°F | 35°F | 46.2°F | 3.54 |
| December | 47°F | 29°F | 38.1°F | 4.43 |
Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv statewide series (Climate at a Glance); data files. Statewide values are area-weighted from a 5 km grid of station data, so they differ from the simple average of a state's stations.
Has Kentucky been warmer than normal?
4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the 1991-2020 statewide normal of 56.3°F. The record since 1895 rises at a fitted 0.8°F per century; the warmest year was 2024 (58.9°F).
| Year | Mean | Against normal |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.0°F | +0.6°F |
| 2022 | 56.3°F | at normal |
| 2023 | 58.1°F | +1.8°F |
| 2024 | 58.9°F | +2.5°F |
| 2025 | 57.1°F | +0.8°F |
Source: NOAA NCEI nClimDiv statewide annual series.
Where is it warmest, wettest and snowiest in Kentucky?
Among the places PlainClimate covers, Eddyville has the warmest year (60.9°F) and Olive Hill the coolest (52.3°F); Murray is the wettest (58.1 in) and Calhoun the driest (45.6 in), and Jackson gets the most snow (23 in).
| Place | Year | July high | January low | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 58.9°F | 89°F | 28°F | 48.3 | 13 | March 31 |
| Lexington | 56.3°F | 87°F | 25°F | 49.8 | 15 | April 13 |
| Bowling Green | 59.1°F | 90°F | 28°F | 50.1 | 9 | April 5 |
| Richmond | 55.7°F | 87°F | 25°F | – | – | April 15 |
| Elizabethtown | 55.5°F | 86°F | 24°F | 54.4 | 5 | April 16 |
| Hopkinsville | 58.3°F | 88°F | 27°F | 51.8 | 5 | April 4 |
| Frankfort | 56.5°F | 88°F | 25°F | 47.3 | – | April 15 |
| Henderson | 56.6°F | 88°F | 24°F | 47.6 | 1 | April 9 |
| Paducah | 58.8°F | 90°F | 27°F | 50.3 | 9 | April 5 |
| Ashland | 53.8°F | 85°F | 23°F | 46.7 | – | April 22 |
| Madisonville | 59.5°F | 89°F | 28°F | 52.2 | – | April 2 |
| Murray | 58.8°F | 89°F | 27°F | 58.1 | 7 | April 5 |
| Shelbyville | 53.5°F | 88°F | 20°F | 49.8 | – | May 1 |
| Danville | 55.4°F | 87°F | 23°F | 47.9 | – | April 9 |
| Berea | 58.3°F | 87°F | 29°F | – | – | April 5 |
| Glasgow | 59.5°F | 90°F | 29°F | 54.9 | 6 | April 9 |
| Bardstown | 56.8°F | 87°F | 26°F | 51.6 | 12 | April 13 |
| Somerset | 58.3°F | 87°F | 29°F | 53.3 | 5 | April 5 |
| Versailles | 55.2°F | 84°F | 25°F | 48.1 | – | April 12 |
| Maysville | 54.7°F | 87°F | 23°F | 48.3 | – | April 18 |
| Mount Sterling | 53.8°F | 87°F | 22°F | 48.5 | 9 | April 24 |
| London | 56.9°F | 86°F | 27°F | 51.3 | – | April 15 |
| Russellville | 57.0°F | 88°F | 26°F | 53.9 | – | April 9 |
| Leitchfield | 53.8°F | 86°F | 21°F | 49.8 | 9 | April 26 |
| Cynthiana | 54.8°F | 87°F | 23°F | 47.7 | – | April 18 |
| Crestwood | 55.2°F | 88°F | 23°F | 52.9 | – | April 12 |
| Princeton | 58.6°F | 89°F | 27°F | 50.9 | 9 | April 11 |
| Monticello | 56.4°F | 86°F | 26°F | 52.5 | 14 | April 18 |
| Williamsburg | 55.6°F | 87°F | 25°F | 52.0 | 11 | April 21 |
| Benton | 56.9°F | 90°F | 23°F | – | – | April 9 |
| Scottsville | 57.0°F | 87°F | 26°F | 54.0 | 8 | April 15 |
| Paintsville | 55.3°F | 86°F | 23°F | 46.2 | – | April 19 |
| Williamstown | 56.4°F | 87°F | 25°F | 45.9 | 16 | April 11 |
| Grayson | 54.0°F | 87°F | 22°F | 46.1 | 18 | April 27 |
| Prestonsburg | 54.8°F | 86°F | 23°F | – | – | April 23 |
| Beaver Dam | 56.9°F | 88°F | 24°F | 52.0 | – | April 10 |
| Hodgenville | 56.7°F | 86°F | 25°F | – | – | April 16 |
| West Liberty | 54.1°F | 86°F | 22°F | 46.9 | 12 | April 29 |
| Stanton | 54.6°F | 84°F | 23°F | 53.2 | 12 | April 19 |
| Barbourville | 56.0°F | 87°F | 25°F | 53.8 | – | April 19 |
| Flemingsburg | 54.6°F | 86°F | 23°F | 49.8 | 9 | April 12 |
| Brandenburg | 55.2°F | 86°F | 23°F | 53.3 | – | April 19 |
| Providence | 57.5°F | 90°F | 25°F | 48.5 | – | April 7 |
| Mount Vernon | 55.3°F | 84°F | 25°F | 51.4 | 11 | April 18 |
| Eddyville | 60.9°F | 90°F | 30°F | 53.1 | – | March 27 |
| Elkton | 57.4°F | 88°F | 24°F | 52.1 | – | April 3 |
| Greensburg | 56.9°F | 88°F | 26°F | 51.7 | – | April 15 |
| Beattyville | 55.3°F | 84°F | 24°F | 51.0 | 16 | April 12 |
| Jackson | 57.2°F | 85°F | 27°F | 51.9 | 23 | April 6 |
| Jamestown | 55.4°F | 86°F | 25°F | 57.0 | 5 | April 18 |
| Warsaw | 55.2°F | 86°F | 23°F | 47.8 | 7 | April 17 |
| Whitesburg | 53.9°F | 82°F | 24°F | 50.5 | – | April 21 |
| Olive Hill | 52.3°F | 82°F | 21°F | 49.8 | 18 | April 24 |
| Stearns | 54.9°F | 85°F | 24°F | 56.1 | – | April 24 |
| Salyersville | 54.7°F | 86°F | 23°F | – | – | April 25 |
| Manchester | 55.3°F | 87°F | 22°F | – | – | April 29 |
| Taylorsville | 55.9°F | 90°F | 22°F | 52.5 | – | April 23 |
| Augusta | 55.2°F | 87°F | 23°F | 47.5 | – | April 11 |
| Crab Orchard | 56.8°F | 86°F | 27°F | 50.5 | 7 | April 18 |
| Calhoun | 57.2°F | 87°F | 26°F | 45.6 | 4 | April 2 |
| Bardwell | 58.2°F | 90°F | 27°F | – | – | April 6 |
| Inez | 55.0°F | 86°F | 24°F | 47.7 | – | April 20 |
| Glencoe | 53.0°F | 85°F | 19°F | 47.7 | – | April 23 |
| Summer Shade | 56.9°F | 90°F | 24°F | 49.6 | 7 | April 26 |
| Bradfordsville | 55.6°F | 88°F | 24°F | 52.4 | 15 | April 22 |
| Oneida | 56.1°F | 85°F | 25°F | 51.5 | 9 | April 16 |
| Rochester | 56.0°F | 89°F | 24°F | 50.8 | 4 | April 15 |
| Buckhorn | 56.0°F | 87°F | 25°F | 51.5 | – | April 19 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
What are Kentucky's all-time weather records?
The official state records, reviewed by NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee: from 114°F to −37°F.
| Record | Value | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest temperature | 114°F | Greensburg | July 28, 1930 |
| Lowest temperature | −37°F | Shelbyville | January 19, 1994 |
| Most precipitation in 24 hours | 11.28 in | Mayfield 6SW | July 18, 2023 |
| Most snow in 24 hours | 26 in | Simers | March 3, 1942 |
| Deepest snow on the ground | 31 in | La Grange | January 20, 1978 |
Source: NOAA NCEI State Climate Extremes Committee records.
Which large cities in Kentucky have no climate record of their own?
This city of 50,000 or more has no NOAA record with 1991-2020 normals under its own name; each page compares the nearest records, with their distance and elevation.
- Owensboro60,675 people
Which other NOAA stations in Kentucky keep normals?
28 stations in Kentucky that are not a town's own record keep 1991-2020 normals too: reservoirs and dams, parks and forests, research farms, remote sites and the second stations of towns (those are shown on the town's page). Each with its normal yearly mean:
- Barren River Lake57.4°F
- Baxter55.9°F
- Bernheim Forest57.2°F
- Booneville (12 mi SW)54.9°F
- Bowling Green (21 mi NNE)57.5°F
- Cave Run Lake54.8°F
- Charley (2 mi SW)54.0°F
- Corners54.4°F
- Cressy54.7°F
- Dix Dam57.0°F
- Gimlet (9 mi N)54.9°F
- Grayson (3 mi SW)53.5°F
- Heidelberg55.6°F
- Henderson (8 mi SSW)57.1°F
- Kenlake Resort59.1°F
- Knob Lick (4 mi S)56.9°F
- Louisville Bowman Field57.8°F
- Louisville McAlpine58.0°F
- Louisville Weather Office57.1°F
- Mammoth Cave60.2°F
- McDaniels55.4°F
- Millerstown (4 mi E)54.8°F
- Nolin River Lake57.0°F
- Quicksand54.5°F
- Rough River Lake56.7°F
- Skyline (1 mi SE)56.0°F
- Warnock 254.5°F
- West Paducah (2 mi W)58.2°F
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station.
Next
- Frost dates in KentuckyLast spring and first autumn frost at every station
- Every stateCompare the statewide normals
- Eddyville60.9°F a year, 53.1 in of precipitation
- Olive Hill52.3°F a year, 49.8 in of precipitation
- Murray58.8°F a year, 58.1 in of precipitation
- Jackson57.2°F a year, 51.9 in of precipitation
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