Briggsdale, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Briggsdale's normal year runs from 9°F December nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 13.4 inches of precipitation and 19 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.7°C, December lows of −13°C, July highs of 32°C, 341 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBriggsdale
- Station IDUSC00050945
- Location40.63°N 104.33°W
- Elevation4,862 ft (1,482 m)
- Population (census place)86
On October 23, the normal high in Briggsdale is 62°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Briggsdale.
- Jan 41° 10°
- Feb 44° 13°
- Mar 55° 21°
- Apr 62° 30°
- May 71° 41°
- Jun 83° 50°
- Jul 90° 56°
- Aug 87° 54°
- Sep 79° 44°
- Oct 65° 31°
- Nov 51° 18°
- Dec 41° 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 in Briggsdale each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.08 in), the least in January (0.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 10°F | 25.5°F | 0.15 | 2.4 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 44°F | 13°F | 28.4°F | 0.23 | 2.3 | 2 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 21°F | 38.1°F | 0.76 | 3.8 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 30°F | 45.9°F | 1.49 | 1.2 | 5 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 71°F | 41°F | 56.0°F | 2.08 | 0.3 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 50°F | 66.7°F | 2.08 | 0.0 | 7 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 90°F | 56°F | 73.1°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 7 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 87°F | 54°F | 70.4°F | 1.98 | 0.0 | 7 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 44°F | 61.2°F | 1.26 | 0.1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 31°F | 47.9°F | 0.87 | 1.6 | 4 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 18°F | 34.5°F | 0.43 | 2.8 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 9°F | 25.1°F | 0.35 | 4.3 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 31°F | 47.7°F | 13.43 | 18.8 | 58 | 44 | 184 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −12°C | −3.6°C | 4 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 7°C | −11°C | −2.0°C | 6 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 13°C | −6°C | 3.4°C | 19 mm | 10 cm |
| April | 17°C | −1°C | 7.7°C | 38 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 22°C | 5°C | 13.3°C | 53 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 28°C | 10°C | 19.3°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 13°C | 22.8°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 12°C | 21.3°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 6°C | 16.2°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | −1°C | 8.8°C | 22 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 10°C | −8°C | 1.4°C | 11 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 5°C | −13°C | −3.8°C | 9 mm | 11 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050945; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Briggsdale?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00050945.
When is the last frost in Briggsdale?
In Briggsdale, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 15 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
- May 121 year in 10 after May 25; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 135 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 153 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 3 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Briggsdale in zone 5a in ZIP code 80611, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Briggsdale's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (22 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00050945; 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 in Briggsdale?
In a normal year in Briggsdale, 44 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 184 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 58 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 184a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 23high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 58a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1963) is 106°F, on July 5, 2007; the lowest is −38°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 19.81 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 58.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00050945; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00050945. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Briggsdale?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Briggsdale, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (85%) and April the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.4 |
| February | 76% | 3.3 |
| March | 78% | 4.6 |
| April | 75% | 5.6 |
| May | 75% | 6.3 |
| June | 83% | 7.3 |
| July | 84% | 7.0 |
| August | 84% | 6.2 |
| September | 85% | 5.2 |
| October | 80% | 3.8 |
| November | 79% | 2.7 |
| December | 76% | 2.1 |
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 much heating and cooling does Briggsdale need?
A normal year in Briggsdale brings 6,855 heating degree days, 28% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 600 cooling degree days, 34% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,561 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,223 | 0 |
| February | 1,023 | 0 |
| March | 834 | 0 |
| April | 573 | 0 |
| May | 290 | 11 |
| June | 60 | 112 |
| July | 5 | 256 |
| August | 15 | 182 |
| September | 152 | 38 |
| October | 529 | 0 |
| November | 915 | 0 |
| December | 1,237 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,855 | 600 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00050945. 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.
Has Briggsdale been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 47.6°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 47.7°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.9°F | +1.2°F | 11.88 | 27.0 |
| 2022 | 47.6°F | −0.1°F | 10.02 | 29.6 |
Over 31 complete years from 1964 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.5°F per century (+0.25°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00050945; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Briggsdale's climate compare?
Briggsdale is warmer than 55 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.7°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Briggsdale 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 Briggsdale's climate
What is the coldest month in Briggsdale?
December, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Briggsdale?
Yes: 19 inches in a normal year, falling on 10 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Briggsdale?
May, with 2.08 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Briggsdale in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Briggsdale in zone 5a in ZIP code 80611, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Briggsdale's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Briggsdale?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 25. Waiting until May 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Greeley, CO25 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Nunn, CO25 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- New Raymer, CO25 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Carpenter, WY31 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made