How extreme does Lexington-Fayette's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Lexington-Fayette has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Lexington Bluegrass Ap station 14 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Lexington-Fayette has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

105°F Jul 7, 2012

That is about 18°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Lexington-Fayette (typical high near 87°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 105°F Jul 7, 2012

2 103°F Aug 20, 1983

3 103°F Jul 9, 1988

❄️ Coldest night

-20°F Jan 19, 1994

About 45°F colder than a normal January night in Lexington-Fayette (typical low near 25°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -20°F Jan 19, 1994

2 -19°F Dec 22, 1989

3 -18°F Jan 20, 1985

🌧️ Most rain in one day

5.56 in Mar 1, 1997

More rain in a single day than Lexington-Fayette usually gets in the whole month of March (typical March total about 4.5 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 5.56 in Mar 1, 1997

2 5.38 in Aug 10, 2014

3 5.17 in Apr 3, 2015

⛄ Most snow in one day

11.0 in Feb 4, 1998

Close to a whole typical February's snow in one day (Lexington-Fayette averages about 5 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 11.0 in Feb 4, 1998

2 10.2 in Feb 16, 2015

3 10.0 in Jan 17, 1994

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Lexington-Fayette's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 105°F is about 18°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Lexington-Fayette's warmest days reach the high 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the mid-20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 105°F and as low as −20°F. A single day has delivered over 6 inches of rain or close to 11 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Lexington Bluegrass AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00093820), about 14 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

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