Brighton, 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 Brighton's primary NOAA station, BRIGHTON 3 SE.
The climate verdict for Brighton
Dryness leads the climate profile for Brighton, Colorado, with 14.1 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 51°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 51°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 14.1"
- annual precipitation · 35" snow
- 157 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Brighton: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00050950 · Brighton, CO 51°F mean · 14.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #2,950
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Mansfield Lahm
- PRCP-DRY 14.1"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,964 HDD
- STN-1 USC00050950
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Mansfield Lahm Muni, OH (+ 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.
- Brighton (this station) 51°F
- Cold Coventry, RI 51°F
- Hot Mansfield Lahm, OH 51°F
- Near Greencastle, IN 51°F
- Near Poughkeepsie Du…, NY 51°F
Climate Living Index · Brighton
Brighton: 31/100 · grade F
Brighton publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Brighton, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 50.6°F · 16.9° from 67.5°F | 43/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 34.5 inches/year | 34/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 157 days/year | 31/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 14.1 in · 20.9 from 35 in | 25/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 185 calendar days | 22/100 · F |
Brighton · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Brighton'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
- 74.1°F
- Coldest month
- 30.2°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 Brighton sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Brighton's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 43rd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 85%
- Brighton's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 53rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Brighton compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Brighton's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Brighton's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 37 complete annual observations from 1975 to 2025, BRIGHTON 3 SE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.27°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Brighton primary station fitted change +0.27 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F (7°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.4" | 5.2" | 30.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 46°F (8°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.4" | 5.3" | 26.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 56°F (13°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.0" | 6.0" | 24.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.8" | 3.1" | 12.8 | 0.1 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 2.4" | 0.5" | 2.2 | 1.4 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 9.4 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.6 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 14.1 |
| September | 80°F (27°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.2" | 0.2" | 0.7 | 5.1 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.0" | 3.2" | 10.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 53°F (12°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.7" | 5.8" | 25.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 44°F (7°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.4" | 5.2" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Brighton works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 91°F by July 17 and hold at or above 90°F on 20 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 165 dates, bottoming at 15°F around December 23.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 9 through July 28, covering 20 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 12 to October 6.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 6, then returns to freezing around October 25, covering 165 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 May 10, when 26% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is December 28 at 12%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 67 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 28 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 33°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Brighton.
Where Brighton Stands Nationally
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 14 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 33°F between the normal high and low.
Brighton 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: 5.2"
3.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
4.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.0"
5.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
8.3 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
6.9 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.2"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.8"
4.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.2"
3.7 days with precipitation
Brighton spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 35% of the annual total and December through February 9%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Brighton has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 2.4" and December 0.4". The three wettest months together take 42% 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.
How Brighton's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 67 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 14.1" between them, or roughly 0.21 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Brighton
Brighton averages 34.5 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 22 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: 34.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 22 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 24% 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
October 7
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 3
50% probability date
Growing Season
157 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,964
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
753
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Brighton 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 (51°F here).
- Bellefontaine, OH 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Bridgeport, NE 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Delta, UT 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Detroit, MI 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Missoula, MT 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Pine Bluffs, WY 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Levan, UT 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Wheatland, WY 14.1" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Brighton
heating led · dry · mid swing
Brighton's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,964 annual heating degree days against 753 for cooling. Its 43.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Brighton's frost-free season lasts about 157 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Brighton coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Brighton typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Brighton snow peak
March
Brighton averages 34.5 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Brighton's climate
How much snow does Brighton get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Brighton get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Brighton? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Brighton's primary station: BRIGHTON 3 SE (USC00050950). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 0808675). Match rule for Brighton: 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 Brighton 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.