Bailey, Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Bailey's normal year runs from 9°F December nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 17.2 inches of precipitation and 83 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.1°C, December lows of −13°C, July highs of 26°C, 437 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBailey
- Station IDUSC00050454
- Location39.41°N 105.48°W
- Elevation7,752 ft (2,363 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Bailey is 55°F and the normal low 22°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bailey.
- Jan 38° 9°
- Feb 40° 10°
- Mar 48° 18°
- Apr 54° 23°
- May 63° 31°
- Jun 75° 38°
- Jul 79° 44°
- Aug 77° 43°
- Sep 71° 35°
- Oct 59° 25°
- Nov 45° 16°
- Dec 37° 9°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Bailey each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.71 in), the least in January (0.52 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 9°F | 23.2°F | 0.52 | 8.0 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 40°F | 10°F | 25.0°F | 0.65 | 10.3 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 48°F | 18°F | 32.9°F | 1.38 | 15.4 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 23°F | 38.5°F | 1.98 | 17.8 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 63°F | 31°F | 47.0°F | 2.03 | 4.2 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 75°F | 38°F | 56.6°F | 1.62 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| July | 79°F | 44°F | 61.9°F | 2.71 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 77°F | 43°F | 59.9°F | 2.52 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 71°F | 35°F | 52.8°F | 1.43 | 1.2 | 7 | <1 | 10 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 25°F | 41.6°F | 1.11 | 6.9 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 45°F | 16°F | 30.5°F | 0.69 | 9.4 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 9°F | 22.9°F | 0.57 | 9.4 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 25°F | 41.1°F | 17.21 | 82.6 | 84 | 1 | 235 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −13°C | −4.9°C | 13 mm | 20 cm |
| February | 4°C | −12°C | −3.9°C | 17 mm | 26 cm |
| March | 9°C | −8°C | 0.5°C | 35 mm | 39 cm |
| April | 12°C | −5°C | 3.6°C | 50 mm | 45 cm |
| May | 17°C | −1°C | 8.3°C | 52 mm | 11 cm |
| June | 24°C | 4°C | 13.7°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 7°C | 16.6°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 6°C | 15.5°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 2°C | 11.6°C | 36 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 15°C | −4°C | 5.3°C | 28 mm | 18 cm |
| November | 7°C | −9°C | −0.8°C | 18 mm | 24 cm |
| December | 3°C | −13°C | −5.1°C | 14 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050454; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Bailey?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050454.
When is the last frost at Bailey?
In Bailey, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 16 in half of years and after July 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 8 in half of years and before August 27 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- June 161 year in 10 after July 1; 9 in 10 after June 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 81 year in 10 before August 27; 9 in 10 before September 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 84 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 111 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 30 in half of springs and before September 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bailey in zone 5b in ZIP code 80421, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00050454; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Bailey?
In a normal year in Bailey, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 235 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 235a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 34high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1901) is 95°F, on June 23, 1954; the lowest is −48°F, on February 1, 1951.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1969, with 26.69 in; the snowiest season is 1969–70, with 184.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00050454; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00050454. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Bailey?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Bailey, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (82%) and May the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 2.7 |
| February | 82% | 3.8 |
| March | 79% | 4.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.6 |
| May | 71% | 6.2 |
| June | 78% | 7.0 |
| July | 75% | 6.4 |
| August | 75% | 5.8 |
| September | 81% | 5.2 |
| October | 80% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 2.8 |
| December | 79% | 2.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Bailey record?
A normal year at Bailey brings 8,719 heating degree days, 62% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 19 cooling degree days, 98% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,085 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,296 | 0 |
| February | 1,120 | 0 |
| March | 995 | 0 |
| April | 795 | 0 |
| May | 558 | 0 |
| June | 255 | 3 |
| July | 107 | 11 |
| August | 163 | 5 |
| September | 365 | 0 |
| October | 727 | 0 |
| November | 1,035 | 0 |
| December | 1,304 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,719 | 19 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050454. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Bailey been warmer than normal?
2021 averaged 41.7°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 41.1°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.7°F | +0.6°F | 18.38 | 103.7 |
Over 61 complete years from 1939 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.0°F per century (+0.05°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00050454; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bailey's climate compare?
Bailey is warmer than 21 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 84. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 41.1°F is warmer than 8%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bailey is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Questions about Bailey's climate
What is the coldest month at Bailey?
December, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 44°F at night).
Does it snow at Bailey?
Yes: 83 inches in a normal year, falling on 34 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (17.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Bailey?
July, with 2.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.52 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bailey in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bailey in zone 5b in ZIP code 80421, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Bailey?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 16; in one year in ten it comes after July 1. Waiting until July 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Grant, CO11 miles from this station, 38.7°F a year
- Cheesman, CO17 miles from this station, 47.2°F a year
- Evergreen, CO18 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Strontia Springs Dam, CO19 miles from this station, 47.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made