Climateby Month

Lexington, KY climate by month

NOAA 1991-2020 normals · 1,004 ft elevation

Lexington has warm and humid summers and chilly winters. Highs peak at 87°F in July and fall to 42°F in January. Wet days are spread through the year, from about 8 to 13 a month. Normal snowfall is about 15 in a year. By our comfort score the best months are April, May and October.

Warmest month
87°F
July normal high
Coldest month
25°F
January normal low
Wet days a year
134
49.8 in of precipitation
Snow a year
14.5 in
normal snowfall

How warm is Lexington?

Normal highs range from 42°F in January to 87°F in July.

20°40°60°80°100° January: normal high 42°F (6°C), low 25°F (-4°C) 42° 25° February: normal high 47°F (8°C), low 28°F (-2°C) March: normal high 56°F (13°C), low 36°F (2°C) April: normal high 67°F (19°C), low 45°F (7°C) May: normal high 76°F (24°C), low 55°F (13°C) June: normal high 84°F (29°C), low 63°F (17°C) July: normal high 87°F (31°C), low 67°F (19°C) 87° 67° August: normal high 86°F (30°C), low 65°F (18°C) September: normal high 80°F (27°C), low 58°F (14°C) October: normal high 69°F (21°C), low 47°F (8°C) November: normal high 56°F (13°C), low 36°F (2°C) December: normal high 46°F (8°C), low 30°F (-1°C) JFMAMJJASOND

Bars run from the normal low to the normal high for each month.

How rainy is Lexington?

March has the most wet days (about 13); the year brings about 50 in of precipitation.

January: 13 wet days February: 12 wet days March: 13 wet days 13 April: 13 wet days May: 13 wet days June: 12 wet days July: 11 wet days August: 10 wet days September: 8 wet days 8 October: 9 wet days November: 10 wet days December: 13 wet days JFMAMJJASOND

Wet day: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow, counted from daily records 1991-2020.

How much does it snow?

Normal snowfall is 14.5 in a year, most of it in January.

January: 4.7 in of snow 4.7 February: 4.5 in of snow March: 2.8 in of snow April: 0.2 in of snow May: 0.0 in of snow 0.0 June: 0.0 in of snow July: 0.0 in of snow August: 0.0 in of snow September: 0.0 in of snow October: 0.0 in of snow November: 0.4 in of snow December: 1.9 in of snow JFMAMJJASOND

How humid is Lexington?

Muggy days peak in July, at about 20 days.

January: 0 muggy days 0 February: 0 muggy days March: 0 muggy days April: 0 muggy days May: 3 muggy days June: 13 muggy days July: 20 muggy days 20 August: 16 muggy days September: 6 muggy days October: 1 muggy days November: 0 muggy days December: 0 muggy days JFMAMJJASOND

Muggy day: daily mean dew point of 65°F or higher, from hourly observations 1991-2020 at Blue Grass Airport, 8.4 mi W of the city center.

How much daylight?

Daylight ranges from about 9.6 hours in December to 14.8 hours in June.

January: 9.9 hours of daylight February: 10.8 hours of daylight March: 12.0 hours of daylight April: 13.2 hours of daylight May: 14.2 hours of daylight June: 14.8 hours of daylight 14.8 July: 14.5 hours of daylight August: 13.6 hours of daylight September: 12.4 hours of daylight October: 11.2 hours of daylight November: 10.1 hours of daylight December: 9.6 hours of daylight 9.6 JFMAMJJASOND
See all numbers
Monthly climate normals and day counts for Lexington, 1991-2020
MonthHighLowPrecip.Wet daysSnowMuggy daysDaylight
January 42°F25°F 3.4 in13 4.7 in 0 9.9 h
February 47°F28°F 3.6 in12 4.5 in 0 10.8 h
March 56°F36°F 4.5 in13 2.8 in 0 12.0 h
April 67°F45°F 4.4 in13 0.2 in 0 13.2 h
May 76°F55°F 5.4 in13 0.0 in 3 14.2 h
June 84°F63°F 5.0 in12 0.0 in 13 14.8 h
July 87°F67°F 5.1 in11 0.0 in 20 14.5 h
August 86°F65°F 3.7 in10 0.0 in 16 13.6 h
September 80°F58°F 3.4 in8 0.0 in 6 12.4 h
October 69°F47°F 3.7 in9 0.0 in 1 11.2 h
November 56°F36°F 3.4 in10 0.4 in 0 10.1 h
December 46°F30°F 4.2 in13 1.9 in 0 9.6 h

High and low: NOAA 1991-2020 normal daily high and low. Wet days: at least 0.01 in of rain or melted snow. Muggy days: daily mean dew point 65°F or higher.

Best months to visit Lexington

By our comfort score, the best months are April, May and October.

Comfort score by month (0-100) and its parts, in days per month
MonthScoreComfortableNotable rainHot or cold
Jan 341715
Feb 392711
Mar 53784
Apr 681580
May 681390
Jun 57584
Jul 49289
Aug 49278
Sep 611054
Oct 651560
Nov 49663
Dec 352811

Score = 40 × share of comfortable days + 25 × share of days without notable rain + 20 × share of days neither hot (90°F+) nor cold (high 40°F or below) + 15 × daylight. How the score works.

Frost dates in Lexington

The last spring frost typically comes around Apr 13, and the first fall frost around Oct 28, leaving 196 frost-free days in a typical year.

Frost and freeze dates for Lexington
Typical date1 year in 10
Last spring frost (32°F)Apr 13after May 1
First fall frost (32°F)Oct 28before Oct 16
Last hard freeze (28°F)Mar 31after Apr 16
First hard freeze (28°F)Nov 6before Oct 25
Frost-free season196 daysunder 175 days

"Typical" is the date with a 50% chance of a later spring frost (or earlier fall frost). Planting after the "1 year in 10" spring date gives a 90% chance of no further frost. The Old Farmer's Almanac publishes 30% dates, which fall between our typical and 1-in-10 dates.

Station: Lexington Bluegrass Airport (USW00093820), NOAA 1991-2020 freeze probabilities. Frost dates for every city in Kentucky.

Hottest and coldest readings, 1991-2020

The highest reading was 105°F (July 7, 2012); the lowest was -20°F (January 19, 1994).

From the temperature station's daily records with NOAA quality flags removed. Not an all-time record.

Near Lexington

Similar climates elsewhere

Where the numbers come from

  • Temperature, rain, snowfall, snow depth, frost dates, humidity and wind by hour and cloud cover: Lexington Bluegrass Airport (USW00093820), 8.0 mi W of the city center, 980 ft . NOAA normals and daily records, 1991-2020.
  • Daily humidity and wind: Blue Grass Airport (724220-93820), 8.4 mi W of the city center, 962 ft . Hourly observations, 1991-2020.

Distances from the city center (USGS). Methodology · Report an error