Black Forest, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Black Forest's primary NOAA station, BLACK FOREST 6WNW.
The climate verdict for Black Forest
Dryness leads the climate profile for Black Forest, Colorado, with 19.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 49°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 49°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.6"
- precipitation, annual total
- 148 days
- frost-free growing season
Black Forest: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00050756 · Black Forest, CO 49°F mean · 19.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,470
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Kooskia
- PRCP-DRY 19.6"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,183 HDD
- STN-1 USC00050756
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Kooskia, ID (+ 0 °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.
- Black Forest (this station) 49°F
- Hot Kodachrome Basi…, UT 49°F
- Near Kooskia, ID 49°F
- Near Marysvale, UT 49°F
- Near Window Rock, AZ 49°F
Climate Living Index · Black Forest
Black Forest: 32/100 · grade F
Black Forest publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Black Forest, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 19.6 in · 15.4 from 35 in | 46/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 49.2°F · 18.3° from 67.5°F | 37/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 148 days/year | 24/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 185 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
Black Forest · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Black Forest is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfb
Coldest-month mean 32.0°F and warmest-month mean 70.2°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, warm summer climates (Cfb). Class Cfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfb
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 70.2°F
- Coldest month
- 32.0°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 Black Forest sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Black Forest's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 36th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 73%
- Black Forest's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 72%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Black Forest is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Black Forest compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Black Forest's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | 45°F (7°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.6" | 28.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 45°F (7°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.8" | 24.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 54°F (12°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 1.4" | 23.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (15°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 2.1" | 17.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (20°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 2.4" | 6.8 | 0.1 |
| June | 80°F (27°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 2.0" | 0.0 | 5.8 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 3.1" | 0.0 | 9.6 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 3.1" | 0.0 | 5.6 |
| September | 76°F (24°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.7" | 0.9 | 2.2 |
| October | 65°F (18°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.0" | 10.5 | 0.1 |
| November | 53°F (12°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 0.8" | 21.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 45°F (7°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.6" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 85°F around July 16, short of 90°F on every date, while 185 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 18°F near December 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 23, covering 185 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.
The widest day
June 21 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Black Forest.
Where Black Forest Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 185 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Black Forest earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Black Forest runs a summer-peaked wet season
41% of Black Forest's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is July at 3.1", on a 38.2°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: July, August, May, taking 44% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.6".
- Winter share: 10% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 6
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
148 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,183
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
440
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Black Forest 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 (49°F here).
- Battle Creek, MI 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Beaconsfield, IA 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Council, ID 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Dansville, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Big Spring, TX 19.6" · 0.0" off
- Interior, SD 19.6" · 0.0" off
- Hershey, NE 19.6" · 0.0" off
- Carrizo Springs, TX 19.6" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Black Forest's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Black Forest's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,183 annual heating degree days against 440 for cooling. Its 38.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 148 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 Black Forest's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 38.2°F. The annual average is 49°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Black Forest's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 19.6 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.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Black Forest's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Black Forest, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Black Forest's climate
How much rain does Black Forest get? ▼
How cold does Black Forest get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Black Forest? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Black Forest's primary station: BLACK FOREST 6WNW (USC00050756). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 0806970), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Black Forest: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Black Forest 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.