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Average Weather in Cave City Kentucky, United States

In Cave City, the summers are warm and muggy, the winters are short and very cold, and it is wet and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 27°F to 87°F and is rarely below 12°F or above 93°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Cave City for warm-weather activities is from late May to late September.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 25 to September 21, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest day of the year is July 21, with an average high of 87°F and low of 67°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 30 to February 27, with an average daily high temperature below 52°F. The coldest day of the year is January 29, with an average low of 27°F and high of 44°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Lavezzola, Italy (4,824 miles away); Miravci, Macedonia (5,388 miles); and Bagratashen, Armenia (6,199 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Cave City (view comparison).

In Cave City, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Cave City begins around June 16 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around November 9. On August 23, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 68% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 32% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 9 and lasts for 7.2 months, ending around June 16. On January 2, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Cave City varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from March 21 to August 10, with a greater than 33% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 42% on May 28.

The drier season lasts 7.4 months, from August 10 to March 21. The smallest chance of a wet day is 24% on October 11.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 42% on May 28.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cave City experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Cave City. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around May 3, with an average total accumulation of 5.0 inches.

The least rain falls around August 22, with an average total accumulation of 2.9 inches.

Snowfall

We report snowfall in liquid-equivalent terms. The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount, assuming the ground is frozen. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cave City experiences some seasonal variation in monthly liquid-equivalent snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from November 29 to March 20, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least 0.1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around January 30, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.4 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.3 months, from March 20 to November 29. The least snow falls around July 24, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Cave City varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2019, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 36 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 43 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:23 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 46 minutes later at 7:08 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:26 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 42 minutes later at 8:07 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Cave City during 2019, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Cave City experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from May 19 to September 24, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 19% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is July 25, with muggy conditions 76% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is January 29, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Cave City experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from October 26 to May 14, with average wind speeds of more than 6.8 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is February 25, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.4 months, from May 14 to October 26. The calmest day of the year is July 31, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Cave City varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 2.6 weeks, from January 18 to February 5; for 1.0 weeks, from February 12 to February 19; and for 1.4 months, from June 29 to August 10, with a peak percentage of 37% on July 13. The wind is most often from the south for 1.0 weeks, from February 5 to February 12; for 4.3 months, from February 19 to June 29; and for 5.3 months, from August 10 to January 18, with a peak percentage of 40% on May 15.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Cave City throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cave City for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cave City for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Cave City typically lasts for 6.6 months (202 days), from around April 8 to around October 27, rarely starting before March 23 or after April 25, and rarely ending before October 10 or after November 14.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Cave City should appear around March 7, only rarely appearing before February 15 or after March 26.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from April 20 to September 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest day of the year is July 20, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 9 to February 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.0 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 25, with an average of 2.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cave City are 37.137 deg latitude, -85.957 deg longitude, and 686 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cave City contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 341 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 675 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (600 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (997 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Cave City is covered by cropland (88%) and trees (10%), within 10 miles by cropland (66%) and trees (32%), and within 50 miles by cropland (55%) and trees (43%).