Buena Vista, 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 Buena Vista's primary NOAA station, BUENA VISTA 2S.
The climate verdict for Buena Vista
Dryness leads the climate profile for Buena Vista, Colorado, with 9.9 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 45°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.
- 45°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 29/100
- comfort score, above 1% of station-mapped location scores
- 9.9"
- annual precipitation · 49" snow
- 119 days
- frost-free growing season
Buena Vista: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00051071 · Buena Vista, CO 45°F mean · 9.9" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 45°F
- RANK-COOL #1,235
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ El Vado Dam
- PRCP-ARID 9.9"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-LOW 29/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,521 HDD
- STN-1 USC00051071
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: El Vado Dam, NM (+ 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.
- Buena Vista (this station) 45°F
- Cold Winchester, ID 45°F
- Hot Koosharem, UT 45°F
- Near El Vado Dam, NM 45°F
- Near Priest Rvr, ID 45°F
Climate Living Index · Buena Vista
Buena Vista: 14/100 · grade F
Buena Vista publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Buena Vista, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 29/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 49.3 inches/year | 21/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.7°F · 22.8° from 67.5°F | 19/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 9.9 in · 25.1 from 35 in | 12/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 211 calendar days | 9/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 119 days/year | 7/100 · F |
Buena Vista · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Buena Vista'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
- 66.2°F
- Coldest month
- 25.7°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 Buena Vista sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Buena Vista's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 82%
- Among 6,861 stations, Buena Vista sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 94%
- Buena Vista's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 38th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Buena Vista compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Buena Vista'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
Buena Vista's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 55 complete annual observations from 1914 to 2025, BUENA VISTA 2S warmed at a fitted rate of 0.18°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Buena Vista primary station fitted change +0.18 °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 | 41°F (5°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 0.3" | 6.2" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 43°F (6°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.4" | 7.4" | 27.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 50°F (10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.6" | 8.2" | 29.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 1.0" | 8.1" | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 1.2" | 3.2" | 9.5 | 0.0 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| August | 80°F (27°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 0.9" | 0.4" | 3.5 | 0.0 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 0.8" | 3.1" | 21.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 50°F (10°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 0.4" | 5.1" | 28.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 40°F (5°C) | 11°F (-11°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.4" | 7.6" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 12, short of 90°F on every date, while 211 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 10°F near December 23.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 4, then returns to freezing around October 7, covering 211 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 July 30, when 44% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 12 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 84 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 20 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Buena Vista.
Where Buena Vista Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 211 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 10 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Buena Vista 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: 6.2"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.4"
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.2"
5.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.1"
6.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.2"
7.3 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
12.6 days with precipitation
12.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.1"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.1"
4.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.6"
4.8 days with precipitation
Buena Vista runs a summer-peaked wet season
38% of Buena Vista'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 August at 1.6", on a 40.5°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: August, July, May, taking 43% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 12% 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.
Buena Vista is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 84 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 23% of the calendar, and they carry 9.9" 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 July at about 13 wet days; the driest is January 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 Buena Vista
Buena Vista averages 49.3 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 30 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: 49.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 30 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 50% 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 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 27
50% probability date
Growing Season
119 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,521
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
131
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Buena Vista 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 (45°F here).
- Arlington, SD 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Canby, MN 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Flagstaff, AZ 45°F · 0.0°F off
- Glendo, WY 45°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (9.9" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Picacho, AZ 9.9" · 0.0" off
- Jeffrey City, WY 9.9" · 0.0" off
- Chino, CA 10.0" · 0.1" off
- Truth OR Consequences, NM 10.0" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Buena Vista
heating led · dry · mid swing
Buena Vista's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,521 annual heating degree days against 131 for cooling. Its 40.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 119 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. Buena Vista coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 26°F (-4°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Buena Vista typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Buena Vista snow peak
March
Buena Vista averages 49.3 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Buena Vista's climate
How much snow does Buena Vista get? ▼
How cold does Buena Vista get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Buena Vista? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Buena Vista's primary station: BUENA VISTA 2S (USC00051071). 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 0810105). Match rule for Buena Vista: 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 Buena Vista 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.