Climate and average weather in Elizabethtown

In Elizabethtown, the summers are humid, hot, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early September to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Elizabethtown typically varies from 28°F to 87°F, and is rarely below 10°F or above 94°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Elizabethtown for warm-weather activities are from late April to early June and early September to late October.

Hottest
Jul
87°
Coldest
Jan
28°
Wettest
Apr
5.1 in
Driest
Aug
3.2 in
Rain / yr
48.5 in
127 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
725 ft
37.7°N
Clearest
Sep
49% cloud

Elizabethtown is county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States.

Density
413/km²
people per km²
Founded
1797

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Elizabethtown weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early September to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Elizabethtown, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.4 months, from May 17 to September 28, with daily high temperatures above 76°F. The hottest month of the year in Elizabethtown is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 69°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 29 to February 27, with daily high temperatures below 51°F. The coldest month of the year in Elizabethtown is January, with an average low of 28°F and high of 43°F.

Days typically run about 18°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 20°F) in September.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4328
Feb4731
Mar5738
Apr6748
May7658
Jun8466
Jul8769
Aug8668
Sep8060
Oct6949
Nov5639
Dec4632

How hot and cold Elizabethtown really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Elizabethtown feels like about 90°F (around July 20). About 17 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 20°F (around January 19), with roughly 112 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan43432128
Feb47472431
Mar57573338
Apr67674648
May76765858
Jun85846666
Jul90877069
Aug88866868
Sep80806060
Oct68694749
Nov56563439
Dec46462632

Average hourly temperature in Elizabethtown

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 87°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 28°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Elizabethtown weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan43° / 28°3.7102.69.70.5
Feb47° / 31°3.69.72.610.51.5
Mar57° / 38°4.711.91.311.73.8
Apr67° / 48°5.1120.112.95.8
May76° / 58°5.013.10146.3
Jun84° / 66°4.212.5014.65.3
Jul87° / 69°4.112.1014.34.6
Aug86° / 68°3.29.9013.55.1
Sep80° / 60°3.58.1012.36.8
Oct69° / 49°3.57.90116.8
Nov56° / 39°3.69.20.5103.9
Dec46° / 32°4.310.61.69.41.3

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Elizabethtown gets about 48.5 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.7 months, from around Feb 17 to Aug 9, peaking in May at about 44% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 5.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 5.1 in over about 12 wet days; August is the driest, with 3.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 1 · 44%Oct 5 · 24%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3310
Feb3410
Mar3712
Apr4112
May4213
Jun4213
Jul3812
Aug3210
Sep278
Oct268
Nov309
Dec3511

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Elizabethtown collects about 48.5 in of rain across 127 wet days — roughly 4.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 5.1 in, while August is the driest at just 3.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3.73.64.75.15.04.24.13.23.53.53.64.3
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3.7103
Feb3.6103
Mar4.7121
Apr5.1120
May5.0130
Jun4.2130
Jul4.1120
Aug3.2100
Sep3.580
Oct3.580
Nov3.691
Dec4.3112

Snow in Elizabethtown

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Elizabethtown averages about 9 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 17 to Mar 27 — about 4.3 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 5 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 18 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 8
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan36
Feb35
Mar13
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov11
Dec22

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Elizabethtown, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 5 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around November 15. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 16 and lasts for 6.6 months, ending around June 4. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 30 · 62%Feb 17 · 32%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3763
Feb3466
Mar3862
Apr4159
May4159
Jun5050
Jul5347
Aug5644
Sep6040
Oct5644
Nov4555
Dec3565

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.78:035:43
Feb10.57:416:15
Mar11.77:026:44
Apr12.96:157:13
May14.05:397:40
Jun14.65:268:01
Jul14.35:388:00
Aug13.56:047:31
Sep12.36:316:45
Oct11.06:585:59
Nov10.07:315:27
Dec9.47:575:22

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Elizabethtown averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 14 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Jun 25 to Nov 24. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is February, down near 7 sunny days — about 46% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightOct 114 daysFeb 177 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan8Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar8Gloomy
Apr8Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun9Mixed
Jul10Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep13Mixed
Oct13Mixed
Nov10Mixed
Dec8Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Elizabethtown, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around May 10 to September 27. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 88% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 28 to May 9, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 8 · 100%Jul 18 · 10%oppressivemuggydryhumidcomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9820000
Feb9910000
Mar9541000
Apr80128000
May4319191810
Jun12152137150
Jul391832361
Aug6132332261
Sep3119222170
Oct73158310
Nov9361000
Dec9730000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Elizabethtown is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.9 months, from around Oct 17 to May 13. The windiest month is April, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 14 to Oct 16, with July the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeApr 10 · 7 mphJul 30 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov7calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Elizabethtown

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Elizabethtown throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid October, Elizabethtown is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Elizabethtown for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to late May and again from early September to late October, with a peak score in the first week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 1 · 7.5

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.5poor
Feb1.5poor
Mar3.8fair
Apr5.8good
May6.2good
Jun5.3fair
Jul4.6fair
Aug5.1fair
Sep6.8good
Oct6.7good
Nov3.9fair
Dec1.3poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Elizabethtown for hot-weather activities is from late May to early October, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 4 · 7.3

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Elizabethtown, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 87°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 43°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Elizabethtown sees daytime highs around 87°F and nights near 69°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Elizabethtown by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Elizabethtown peaks around June 23 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 9Dec 23UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar5High
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep7High
Oct4Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Elizabethtown

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb2.50
Mar50
Apr6.51.5
May7.53.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul85.5
Aug7.54.5
Sep62
Oct40
Nov20
Dec00

Air quality in Elizabethtown by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Elizabethtown is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.8× the cleanest month (November, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1518 µg/m³Nov 217 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr11Good
May14Moderate
Jun16Moderate
Jul19Moderate
Aug14Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Elizabethtown typically lasts about 300 days, from around February 20 to December 16 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 6 to October 28.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2050%Apr 690%Oct 2890%Dec 1650%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan3831
Feb4628
Mar7331
Apr943
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct961
Nov7530
Dec5131

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Elizabethtown banks about 4,102 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar13
Apr236
May522
Jun750
Jul871
Aug829
Sep604
Oct267
Nov8
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Elizabethtown receives about 4.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.8 and 6.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 28. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.8 kWh/m² — roughly 70% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 236.3 kWhDec 171.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.1Moderate
Feb3.0Moderate
Mar4.0Bright
Apr5.2Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.2Intense
Jul6.1Intense
Aug5.6Bright
Sep4.6Bright
Oct3.5Moderate
Nov2.4Moderate
Dec1.8Dim

Where is Elizabethtown?

Elizabethtown sits at 37.7°N, 85.9°W, 725 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Radcliff, 11 mi away.

Topography around Elizabethtown

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Elizabethtown.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Elizabethtown has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 226 ft around an average of 761 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 623 ft; within 50 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,027 ft.

The land around Elizabethtown is covered by trees (37%), grassland (29%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, trees (41%), grassland (28%) and cropland (27%) within 10 miles, and trees (57%) and grassland (27%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
226 ft
10 miles
623 ft
50 miles
1,027 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Radcliff 11 mi · Valley Station 29 mi · Pleasure Ridge Park 31 mi · Okolona 32 mi · Highview 34 mi · Newburg 34 mi · Shively 35 mi · Fern Creek 35 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Elizabethtown (37.694°, -85.8591°, elevation 725 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).