Blue Mesa Lake, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Blue Mesa Lake's primary NOAA station, BLUE MESA LAKE.
The climate verdict for Blue Mesa Lake
Dryness leads the climate profile for Blue Mesa Lake, Colorado, with 8.8 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 40°F. At 29/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 1% of scores.
- 40°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 29/100
- comfort score, above 1% of station-mapped location scores
- 8.8"
- annual precipitation · 50" snow
- 99 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Blue Mesa Lake: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00050797 · Blue Mesa Lake, CO 40°F mean · 8.8" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 40°F
- RANK-COOL #343
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Olney
- PRCP-ARID 8.8"
- SWING-WIDE 52°F
- COMF-LOW 29/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,272 HDD
- STN-1 USC00050797
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Olney, MT ( -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.
- Blue Mesa Lake (this station) 40°F
- Cold Grand Marais, MN 40°F
- Near Olney, MT 40°F
- Near Polebridge, MT 40°F
- Near St Mary, MT 40°F
Climate Living Index · Blue Mesa Lake
Blue Mesa Lake: 6/100 · grade F
Blue Mesa Lake publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Blue Mesa Lake, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 29/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 49.6 inches/year | 21/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 8.8 in · 26.2 from 35 in | 9/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.7°F · 27.8° from 67.5°F | 4/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 228 calendar days | 2/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 99 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Blue Mesa Lake · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Blue Mesa Lake's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 64.4°F
- Coldest month
- 12.2°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 Blue Mesa Lake sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Blue Mesa Lake's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 95%
- Among 6,861 stations, Blue Mesa Lake sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 96%
- Blue Mesa Lake's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 86%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Blue Mesa Lake is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Blue Mesa Lake compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Blue Mesa Lake's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
29 1st percentile score exceeds 1% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°F (-4°C) | -1°F (-18°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 0.7" | 12.4" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (-1°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 0.7" | 10.5" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (6°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 0.5" | 6.1" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 56°F (13°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 0.6" | 2.9" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 0.7" | 0.4" | 13.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 5.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 60°F (16°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 0.9" | 1.1" | 23.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.5" | 4.3" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 29°F (-2°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 0.8" | 11.9" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 83°F around July 18, short of 90°F on every date, while 228 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -2°F near January 12.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 16, then returns to freezing around October 2, covering 228 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 August 5, when 28% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 20 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 72 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 39°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Blue Mesa Lake.
Where Blue Mesa Lake Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 228 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 9 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Blue Mesa Lake earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 12.4"
7.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.5"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.1"
4.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.9"
5.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
5.1 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.3"
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.9"
6.8 days with precipitation
Blue Mesa Lake 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 25%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Blue Mesa Lake has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 52.2°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 1.1" and June 0.4". The three wettest months together take 34% 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.
Blue Mesa Lake is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 72 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 20% of the calendar, and they carry 8.8" between them. At roughly 0.12 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is August at about 9 wet days; the driest is June at about 4.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Blue Mesa Lake
Blue Mesa Lake averages 49.6 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 28 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 49.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 28 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 56% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 16
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 9
50% probability date
Growing Season
99 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,272
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
65
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Blue Mesa Lake 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 (40°F here).
- Butternut, WI 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Cloquet, MN 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Colebrook, NH 40°F · 0.0°F off
- Laona, WI 40°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (8.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Pavillion, WY 8.8" · 0.0" off
- Hermiston, OR 8.8" · 0.0" off
- Connell, WA 8.8" · 0.0" off
- Albuquerque, NM 8.8" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Blue Mesa Lake
heating led · dry · mid swing
Blue Mesa Lake's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,272 annual heating degree days against 65 for cooling. Its 52.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 99 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.
-
1. Blue Mesa Lake coldest normal
January
Averaging 12°F (-11°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Blue Mesa Lake typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Blue Mesa Lake snow peak
January
Blue Mesa Lake averages 49.6 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Blue Mesa Lake's climate
How much snow does Blue Mesa Lake get? ▼
How cold does Blue Mesa Lake get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Blue Mesa Lake? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Blue Mesa Lake's primary station: BLUE MESA LAKE (USC00050797). 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 Blue Mesa Lake; 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 Blue Mesa Lake 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.