Blue Mesa Lake, Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Blue Mesa Lake's normal year runs from −1°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 8.8 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.3°C, January lows of −18°C, July highs of 28°C, 224 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBlue Mesa Lake
- Station IDUSC00050797
- Location38.47°N 107.17°W
- Elevation7,568 ft (2,307 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Blue Mesa Lake is 57°F and the normal low 24°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Blue Mesa Lake.
- Jan 26° -1°
- Feb 31° 3°
- Mar 44° 15°
- Apr 56° 24°
- May 66° 32°
- Jun 77° 39°
- Jul 83° 46°
- Aug 80° 45°
- Sep 73° 37°
- Oct 60° 27°
- Nov 44° 16°
- Dec 29° 3°
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 Blue Mesa Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −1°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.13 in), the least in June (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F | −1°F | 12.2°F | 0.69 | 12.4 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 31°F | 3°F | 16.9°F | 0.73 | 10.5 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 44°F | 15°F | 29.3°F | 0.53 | 6.1 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 24°F | 39.8°F | 0.59 | 2.9 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 66°F | 32°F | 48.8°F | 0.66 | 0.4 | 5 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 77°F | 39°F | 58.0°F | 0.43 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 83°F | 46°F | 64.4°F | 0.86 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 80°F | 45°F | 62.6°F | 1.13 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 73°F | 37°F | 54.7°F | 1.01 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 5 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 27°F | 43.4°F | 0.88 | 1.1 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 44°F | 16°F | 29.8°F | 0.49 | 4.3 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 29°F | 3°F | 16.0°F | 0.81 | 11.9 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 24°F | 39.7°F | 8.81 | 49.6 | 72 | 5 | 220 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4°C | −18°C | −11.0°C | 18 mm | 31 cm |
| February | −1°C | −16°C | −8.4°C | 19 mm | 27 cm |
| March | 6°C | −9°C | −1.5°C | 13 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 13°C | −4°C | 4.3°C | 15 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 19°C | 0°C | 9.3°C | 17 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 25°C | 4°C | 14.4°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 8°C | 18.0°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 7°C | 17.0°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 3°C | 12.6°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | −3°C | 6.3°C | 22 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 7°C | −9°C | −1.2°C | 12 mm | 11 cm |
| December | −2°C | −16°C | −8.9°C | 21 mm | 30 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050797; 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 Blue Mesa Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00050797.
When is the last frost at Blue Mesa Lake?
In Blue Mesa Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 9 in half of years and after June 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 16 in half of years and before September 3 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 91 year in 10 after June 24; 9 in 10 after May 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 161 year in 10 before September 3; 9 in 10 before September 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 96 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 122 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 25 in half of springs and before September 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Blue Mesa Lake in zone 5b in ZIP code 81243, 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 −20°F (21 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 USC00050797; 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 Blue Mesa Lake?
In a normal year in Blue Mesa Lake, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 220 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 72 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 220a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 63high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 72a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00050797.
How sunny is it at Blue Mesa Lake?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Blue Mesa Lake, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.7 |
| February | 74% | 3.6 |
| March | 79% | 5.1 |
| April | 76% | 6.0 |
| May | 76% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.9 |
| July | 80% | 7.0 |
| August | 79% | 6.2 |
| September | 82% | 5.4 |
| October | 81% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| December | 74% | 2.3 |
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 Blue Mesa Lake record?
A normal year at Blue Mesa Lake brings 9,272 heating degree days, 73% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 65 cooling degree days, 93% 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 1,327 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,638 | 0 |
| February | 1,345 | 0 |
| March | 1,107 | 0 |
| April | 755 | 0 |
| May | 502 | 0 |
| June | 215 | 4 |
| July | 59 | 40 |
| August | 95 | 20 |
| September | 308 | 0 |
| October | 670 | 0 |
| November | 1,058 | 0 |
| December | 1,521 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,272 | 65 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050797. 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 Blue Mesa Lake been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 39.3°F, 0.4°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 39.7°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.9°F | +2.2°F | 6.89 | 33.9 |
| 2023 | 39.3°F | −0.4°F | 8.00 | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00050797. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Blue Mesa Lake's climate compare?
Blue Mesa Lake is warmer than 15 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 6. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.7°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Blue Mesa Lake is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Blue Mesa Lake's climate
What is the coldest month at Blue Mesa Lake?
January, with a normal high of 26°F and a normal low of −1°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow at Blue Mesa Lake?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (12.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Blue Mesa Lake?
August, with 1.13 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Blue Mesa Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Blue Mesa Lake in zone 5b in ZIP code 81243, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Blue Mesa Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 9; in one year in ten it comes after June 24. Waiting until June 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gunnison, CO12 miles from this station, 37.7°F a year
- Cimarron, CO21 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Cochetopa Creek, CO22 miles from this station, 38.0°F a year
- Black Canyon Of The Gunnison, CO29 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made