Your nature year
Bowling Green, Kentuckythrough the year
Also for Owensboro, KY, Elizabethtown, KY: the same nearby places.
When do frost, green-up and fall color come to Bowling Green?
At some 523 feet up, Bowling Green is on low ground. The USA-NPN spring index puts first leaf here around Mar 4 and first bloom around Apr 7. Spring takes about 5 weeks to go from leaf to bloom. Frost usually lets go around Apr 5 and comes back around Oct 31, according to the nearest NOAA station, Bowling Green Warren Co Airport: roughly 209 days without it. For a day trip, Mammoth Cave is 23 miles off; its fall foliage is Oct 21–31 (local timing). For wildflowers, the nearest is Mammoth Cave (23 mi, Mar 1–May 31 (local timing)). Within 150 miles we follow 5 places, out to Natchez Trace Parkway 121 miles to the southwest. Across Kentucky, fall color is usually well under way by late October.
Updated Sep 28. Sources: US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer (places) ↗ (opens in a new tab), US Census Bureau, city and town population estimates, 2024 ↗ (opens in a new tab), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal) ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Bowling Green's year at a glance
- Frost possible
- Frost-free, ~Apr 5 to ~Oct 31
- First leaf ~Mar 4
- First bloom ~Apr 7
- Fall color under way ~Oct 25 (KY)
- Today
Near Bowling Green right now
- Fall color is usually well under way by late October in KentuckyStatewide · USA-NPN volunteer observations, 2020–2025 · not a forecast~4 weeks
- First fall frost usually around Oct 31 · last spring frost around Apr 5NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Bowling Green Warren Co Airport (1 mi, 50% dates)~5 weeks
- Fall foliage · Mammoth Cave · 23 miLocal timing: Oct 21–31~3 weeks
Bowling Green's nature year
- Wildflowers · Mammoth CaveMar–May
- Spring green-upMar
- Last spring frostApr
- Fall color (KY)Oct
- First fall frostOct
Nearby, season by season
Fall foliage
- Mammoth Cave · 23 miLocal timing: Oct 21–31~3 weeks
- Hoosier National Forest · 79 miStatewide: usually well under way by late October~3 weeks
- Big South Fork · 104 miStatewide: usually well under way by late October~3 weeks
Wildflowers
- Mammoth Cave · 23 miLocal timing: Mar 1–May 31~5 months
Frost and green-up
Last spring frost
Apr 5
Average (50% date)
First fall frost
Oct 31
About 209 days without frost between
Spring green-up
Mar 4
First bloom around Apr 7
Frost: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals at Bowling Green Warren Co Airport (1 mi from Bowling Green), the day a 32 °F night is as likely as not. Green-up: the USA-NPN Spring Index, 1991–2020 average at the town.
Questions people ask
When is the first frost in Bowling Green?
On average around Oct 31, and the last spring frost around Apr 5: about 209 days without frost between. These are NOAA's 1991–2020 normals at Bowling Green Warren Co Airport, 1 miles away (the day a 32 °F night is as likely as not).
When does spring green-up reach Bowling Green?
The USA-NPN Spring Index puts first leaf around Mar 4 and first bloom around Apr 7, on average for 1991–2020 at the town.
Where can I see fall foliage near Bowling Green?
Mammoth Cave, 23 miles (local timing: Oct 21–31); Hoosier National Forest, 79 miles (statewide: usually well under way by late October); Big South Fork, 104 miles (statewide: usually well under way by late October). Distances are straight-line.
Where can I see wildflowers near Bowling Green?
Mammoth Cave, 23 miles (local timing: Mar 1–May 31). Distances are straight-line.
How we know
US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer (places) (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · US Census Bureau, city and town population estimates, 2024 (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (annual/seasonal) (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · USA National Phenology Network, Spring Index 1991–2020 averages (opens in a new tab) (Sep 27) · USA National Phenology Network, colored leaves observations (opens in a new tab) (Sep 28)