Louisville climate
Louisville is warmest in July, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -2.4 °C. April is the wettest month (129 mm) and August the driest (70 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Louisville averages 1,170 mm of rain, 131 days above 25 °C and 72 days below freezing.
United States · 142 m elevation · population 624,444 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 31 °C
- Coldest month January -2.4 °C
- Driest month August 70 mm
- Wettest month April 129 mm
- Least cloud September 46 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 41 °C
- Coldest on record January -30 °C
What to expectLouisville through the year
Louisville has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 5.7 °C in January to 31 °C in July, a swing of 24 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 131 days a year reach 25 °C, 54 of them reach 30 °C, 72 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 70 mm in August to 129 mm in April. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.7 °C | 91 mm | 67 % |
| February | 8.3 °C | 86 mm | 68 % |
| March | 13.4 °C | 111 mm | 64 % |
| April | 19.5 °C | 129 mm | 60 % |
| May | 24.1 °C | 126 mm | 61 % |
| June | 28.6 °C | 101 mm | 56 % |
| July | 30.5 °C | 103 mm | 52 % |
| August | 30.1 °C | 70 mm | 49 % |
| September | 26.7 °C | 78 mm | 46 % |
| October | 20.2 °C | 85 mm | 50 % |
| November | 13.0 °C | 88 mm | 58 % |
| December | 7.4 °C | 102 mm | 68 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.7 °C | -2.4 °C | 0.9 °C | 19.9 °C | -29.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| February | 8.3 °C | -1.1 °C | 2.8 °C | 24.5 °C | -22.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| March | 13.4 °C | 3.2 °C | 7.6 °C | 28.0 °C | -18.3 °C | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| April | 19.5 °C | 8.6 °C | 13.5 °C | 29.6 °C | -3.9 °C | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| May | 24.1 °C | 14.1 °C | 18.7 °C | 34.7 °C | 0.6 °C | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| June | 28.6 °C | 18.7 °C | 23.4 °C | 40.5 °C | 9.1 °C | 26 | 11 | 0 |
| July | 30.5 °C | 20.9 °C | 25.4 °C | 40.6 °C | 13.3 °C | 30 | 18 | 0 |
| August | 30.1 °C | 20.2 °C | 24.8 °C | 38.9 °C | 12.5 °C | 30 | 16 | 0 |
| September | 26.7 °C | 16.7 °C | 21.3 °C | 37.5 °C | 4.6 °C | 20 | 7 | 0 |
| October | 20.2 °C | 10.4 °C | 14.7 °C | 34.0 °C | -1.1 °C | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 13.0 °C | 4.4 °C | 8.0 °C | 27.6 °C | -11.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| December | 7.4 °C | -0.1 °C | 3.0 °C | 22.6 °C | -23.8 °C | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 91 mm | 10 | 9.8 h/day | 67 % | 70 % | 16 km/h |
| February | 86 mm | 10 | 11 h/day | 68 % | 69 % | 16 km/h |
| March | 111 mm | 12 | 12 h/day | 64 % | 68 % | 17 km/h |
| April | 129 mm | 12 | 13 h/day | 60 % | 69 % | 17 km/h |
| May | 126 mm | 13 | 14 h/day | 61 % | 74 % | 15 km/h |
| June | 101 mm | 12 | 15 h/day | 56 % | 73 % | 13 km/h |
| July | 103 mm | 11 | 15 h/day | 52 % | 73 % | 12 km/h |
| August | 70 mm | 9 | 14 h/day | 49 % | 71 % | 11 km/h |
| September | 78 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 46 % | 69 % | 12 km/h |
| October | 85 mm | 8 | 11 h/day | 50 % | 70 % | 14 km/h |
| November | 88 mm | 9 | 10 h/day | 58 % | 71 % | 16 km/h |
| December | 102 mm | 10 | 9.5 h/day | 68 % | 74 % | 16 km/h |
How Louisville compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 31 °C | -2.4 °C | 1,170 mm | 131 |
| Lexington · United States | 30 °C | -2.4 °C | 1,209 mm | 120 |
| Cincinnati · United States | 29 °C | -4.2 °C | 1,085 mm | 112 |
| Indianapolis · United States | 29 °C | -5.3 °C | 1,085 mm | 109 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Louisville.
QuestionsCommon questions about Louisville’s climate
When is the best time to visit Louisville?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and August the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Louisville get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 54 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -2.4 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 72 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Louisville?
April, averaging 129 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is August with 70 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,170 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Louisville rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.