Climax, Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Climax's normal year runs from 3°F January nights to 67°F July afternoons, with 25.2 inches of precipitation and 295 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 0.1°C, January lows of −16°C, July highs of 19°C, 641 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationClimax
- Station IDUSC00051660
- Location39.37°N 106.19°W
- Elevation11,344 ft (3,458 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Climax is 44°F and the normal low 19°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Climax.
- Jan 27° 3°
- Feb 29° 3°
- Mar 35° 8°
- Apr 40° 15°
- May 49° 25°
- Jun 61° 34°
- Jul 67° 40°
- Aug 64° 39°
- Sep 58° 32°
- Oct 47° 21°
- Nov 35° 11°
- Dec 27° 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 Climax each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 67°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 3°F. The most precipitation falls in April (2.90 in), the least in June (1.10 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 3°F | 14.8°F | 2.34 | 44.5 | 15 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 29°F | 3°F | 16.0°F | 2.05 | 40.5 | 15 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 35°F | 8°F | 21.9°F | 2.38 | 42.5 | 14 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 40°F | 15°F | 27.6°F | 2.90 | 46.6 | 14 | <1 | 30 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 49°F | 25°F | 36.7°F | 1.97 | 18.9 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 61°F | 34°F | 47.7°F | 1.10 | 2.4 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 15 h |
| July | 67°F | 40°F | 53.4°F | 2.41 | 0.2 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 2.55 | 0.1 | 16 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 58°F | 32°F | 45.0°F | 1.80 | 4.2 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 47°F | 21°F | 33.9°F | 1.69 | 22.4 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 35°F | 11°F | 23.2°F | 1.99 | 33.9 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| December | 27°F | 3°F | 14.8°F | 2.05 | 38.5 | 15 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 45°F | 20°F | 32.2°F | 25.23 | 294.7 | 151 | <1 | 269 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −16°C | −9.6°C | 59 mm | 113 cm |
| February | −2°C | −16°C | −8.9°C | 52 mm | 103 cm |
| March | 2°C | −13°C | −5.6°C | 60 mm | 108 cm |
| April | 5°C | −9°C | −2.4°C | 74 mm | 118 cm |
| May | 9°C | −4°C | 2.6°C | 50 mm | 48 cm |
| June | 16°C | 1°C | 8.7°C | 28 mm | 6 cm |
| July | 19°C | 4°C | 11.9°C | 61 mm | 1 cm |
| August | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 46 mm | 11 cm |
| October | 8°C | −6°C | 1.1°C | 43 mm | 57 cm |
| November | 2°C | −11°C | −4.9°C | 51 mm | 86 cm |
| December | −3°C | −16°C | −9.6°C | 52 mm | 98 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00051660; 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 Climax?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in July.
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 USC00051660.
How hot and how cold does it get at Climax?
In a normal year in Climax, a 90°F day is rare, 269 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 151 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 269a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 100high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 151a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 82a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1895) is 85°F, on July 7, 1981; the lowest is −33°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2014, with 32.81 in; the snowiest season is 2010–11, with 418.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00051660; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00051660. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Climax?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Climax, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (81%) and May the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.7 |
| February | 78% | 3.7 |
| March | 81% | 5.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.8 |
| May | 70% | 6.3 |
| June | 81% | 7.5 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 76% | 5.9 |
| September | 80% | 5.2 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| 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 Climax record?
A normal year at Climax brings 11,932 heating degree days, 2.2 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 0 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Twelve months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 270 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,556 | 0 |
| February | 1,371 | 0 |
| March | 1,338 | 0 |
| April | 1,120 | 0 |
| May | 877 | 0 |
| June | 519 | 0 |
| July | 360 | 0 |
| August | 419 | 0 |
| September | 600 | 0 |
| October | 966 | 0 |
| November | 1,253 | 0 |
| December | 1,555 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 11,932 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00051660. 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 Climax been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 34.0°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 32.2°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32.9°F | +0.7°F | 25.58 | 266.9 |
| 2022 | 31.7°F | −0.5°F | 28.33 | 238.6 |
| 2023 | 31.9°F | −0.3°F | 18.47 | 216.1 |
| 2024 | 33.2°F | +1.0°F | 32.16 | 345.6 |
| 2025 | 34.0°F | +1.8°F | 19.82 | 186.8 |
Over 41 complete years from 1958 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.0°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00051660; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Climax's climate compare?
Climax is warmer than 0 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 117. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 32.2°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Climax is Dfc: continental, no dry season, cool summer. 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.
Which places near Climax share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Blue River, CO836 people · 10 mi NE
- Copper Mountain, CO321 people · 8 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Climax's climate
What is the coldest month at Climax?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 3°F. The warmest is July (67°F by day, 40°F at night).
Does it snow at Climax?
Yes: 295 inches in a normal year, falling on 103 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (46.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Climax?
April, with 2.90 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 1.10 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Climax in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Climax in zone 5a in ZIP code 80420, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Leadville, CO12 miles from this station, 34.6°F a year
- Sugarloaf Reservoir, CO12 miles from this station, 35.2°F a year
- Fairplay, CO14 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Dillon, CO20 miles from this station, 35.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made