Aspen Pitkin County, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Aspen Pitkin County's primary NOAA station, ASPEN PITKIN CO AP.
The climate verdict for Aspen Pitkin County
Dryness leads the climate profile for Aspen Pitkin County, Colorado, with 14.9 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 43°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 14.9"
- precipitation, annual total
- 115 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Aspen Pitkin County: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00093073 · Aspen Pitkin County, CO 43°F mean · 14.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #755
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Montrose
- PRCP-DRY 14.9"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,142 HDD
- STN-1 USW00093073
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Montrose, CO ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every CO station list.
- Aspen Pitkin Co… (this station) 43°F
- Cold Montrose, CO 43°F
- Hot Government Camp, OR 43°F
- Near Denio, NV 43°F
- Near Burris, WY 43°F
Climate Living Index · Aspen Pitkin County
Aspen Pitkin County: 13/100 · grade F
Aspen Pitkin County publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Aspen Pitkin County, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 14.9 in · 20.1 from 35 in | 28/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 42.8°F · 24.7° from 67.5°F | 12/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 210 calendar days | 9/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 115 days/year | 5/100 · F |
Aspen Pitkin County · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Aspen Pitkin County is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 21.7°F and warmest-month mean 65.2°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 65.2°F
- Coldest month
- 21.7°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Aspen Pitkin County sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Aspen Pitkin County's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 89%
- Among 6,861 stations, Aspen Pitkin County sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 83%
- Aspen Pitkin County's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 51st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Aspen Pitkin County compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Aspen Pitkin County's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F (1°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 1.1" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (3°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 0.9" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 46°F (8°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.0" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.8" | 24.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.5" | 11.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 0.9" | 1.4 | 0.3 |
| July | 82°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.6" | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| August | 80°F (26°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 1.5" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.4" | 3.8 | 0.0 |
| October | 60°F (15°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.3" | 21.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 45°F (7°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 1.0" | 29.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 34°F (1°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 0.8" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 13, short of 90°F on every date, while 210 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 8°F near December 27.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 3, then returns to freezing around October 7, covering 210 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 27, when 41% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 12 at 22%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 120 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 24 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Aspen Pitkin County.
Where Aspen Pitkin County Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 210 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Aspen Pitkin County earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
10.6 days with precipitation
10.9 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
10.0 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
12.0 days with precipitation
11.7 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
Aspen Pitkin County spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 27% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Aspen Pitkin County has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: April averages 1.8" and December 0.8". The three wettest months together take 33% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Rain reaches Aspen Pitkin County in small, frequent amounts
Aspen Pitkin County records about 120 days with measurable precipitation a year and 14.9" in total, which works out to roughly 0.12 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 33% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: July, about 12 of them.
- Fewest: June, about 6.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.12 inches.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 31
50% probability date
Growing Season
115 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,142
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
90
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Aspen Pitkin County on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (43°F here).
- Cooperstown, NY 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Denton, MT 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Elfin Cove, AK 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Farmington, ME 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Broadus, MT 14.9" · 0.0" off
- Hysham, MT 14.9" · 0.0" off
- Kanab, UT 14.9" · 0.0" off
- Westby, MT 14.9" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Aspen Pitkin County's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Aspen Pitkin County's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,142 annual heating degree days against 90 for cooling. Its 43.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 115 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Aspen Pitkin County's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 43.5°F. The annual average is 43°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Aspen Pitkin County's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 14.9 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Aspen Pitkin County wettest normal
April
April concentrates the scarce annual total (14.9 inches).
Aspen Pitkin County driest normal
December
December is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Aspen Pitkin County's climate
How dry is Aspen Pitkin County? ▼
How cold does Aspen Pitkin County get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Aspen Pitkin County? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Aspen Pitkin County's primary station: ASPEN PITKIN CO AP (USW00093073). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Aspen Pitkin County; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Aspen Pitkin County comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.