Coal Creek, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Coal Creek's normal year runs from 15°F December nights to 73°F July afternoons, with 25.8 inches of precipitation and 195 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.4°C, December lows of −10°C, July highs of 23°C, 656 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCoal Creek Canyon
- Station IDUSC00051681
- Location39.90°N 105.38°W
- Elevation8,950 ft (2,728 m)
- Population (census place)2,357
On October 14, the normal high in Coal Creek is 52°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 26%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Coal Creek.
- Jan 33° 16°
- Feb 34° 15°
- Mar 41° 20°
- Apr 46° 24°
- May 55° 33°
- Jun 67° 41°
- Jul 73° 48°
- Aug 71° 46°
- Sep 64° 39°
- Oct 52° 30°
- Nov 41° 21°
- Dec 33° 15°
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 Coal Creek each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 73°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in April (3.79 in), the least in January (1.00 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 16°F | 24.5°F | 1.00 | 17.4 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 34°F | 15°F | 24.4°F | 1.32 | 23.2 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 41°F | 20°F | 30.7°F | 2.68 | 35.6 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 46°F | 24°F | 35.2°F | 3.79 | 42.0 | 14 | <1 | 26 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 55°F | 33°F | 44.0°F | 3.24 | 16.6 | 14 | <1 | 15 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 67°F | 41°F | 54.0°F | 2.19 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 15 h |
| July | 73°F | 48°F | 60.3°F | 2.89 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 71°F | 46°F | 58.6°F | 2.84 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 64°F | 39°F | 51.7°F | 1.86 | 2.7 | 10 | <1 | 5 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 52°F | 30°F | 40.8°F | 1.66 | 16.1 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 41°F | 21°F | 31.0°F | 1.23 | 18.4 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h |
| December | 33°F | 15°F | 24.0°F | 1.13 | 21.8 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 51°F | 29°F | 39.9°F | 25.83 | 194.7 | 136 | <1 | 211 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −9°C | −4.2°C | 25 mm | 44 cm |
| February | 1°C | −10°C | −4.2°C | 34 mm | 59 cm |
| March | 5°C | −7°C | −0.7°C | 68 mm | 90 cm |
| April | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 96 mm | 107 cm |
| May | 13°C | 0°C | 6.7°C | 82 mm | 42 cm |
| June | 19°C | 5°C | 12.2°C | 56 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 23°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 47 mm | 7 cm |
| October | 11°C | −1°C | 4.9°C | 42 mm | 41 cm |
| November | 5°C | −6°C | −0.6°C | 31 mm | 47 cm |
| December | 1°C | −10°C | −4.4°C | 29 mm | 55 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00051681; 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 Coal Creek?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USC00051681.
When is the last frost in Coal Creek?
In Coal Creek, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 5 in half of years and after June 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 16 in half of years and before September 2 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
- June 51 year in 10 after June 19; 9 in 10 after May 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 161 year in 10 before September 2; 9 in 10 before September 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 103 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 126 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 21 in half of springs and before September 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Coal Creek in zone 5b in ZIP code 80471, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Coal Creek's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (28 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 USC00051681; 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 Coal Creek?
In a normal year in Coal Creek, a 90°F day is rare, 211 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 136 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
- 211a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 54high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 136a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1984) is 89°F, on July 16, 2003; the lowest is −36°F, on February 5, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 34.93 in; the snowiest season is 1997–98, with 296.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00051681; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00051681. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Coal Creek?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Coal Creek, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (82%) and May the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 2.7 |
| February | 82% | 3.8 |
| March | 79% | 4.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.6 |
| May | 71% | 6.2 |
| June | 78% | 7.0 |
| July | 75% | 6.4 |
| August | 75% | 5.8 |
| September | 81% | 5.2 |
| October | 80% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 2.8 |
| December | 79% | 2.4 |
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 Coal Creek need?
A normal year in Coal Creek brings 9,135 heating degree days, 70% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 19 cooling degree days, 98% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 917 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,256 | 0 |
| February | 1,135 | 0 |
| March | 1,063 | 0 |
| April | 896 | 0 |
| May | 653 | 0 |
| June | 334 | 2 |
| July | 159 | 12 |
| August | 201 | 4 |
| September | 398 | 0 |
| October | 750 | 0 |
| November | 1,020 | 0 |
| December | 1,271 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,135 | 19 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00051681. 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 Coal Creek been warmer than normal lately?
Over 32 complete years from 1985 to 2018, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.3°F per century (+0.29°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Coal Creek's climate compare?
Coal Creek is warmer than 15 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 118. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.9°F is warmer than 5%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Coal Creek is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Coal Creek share this climate record?
5 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.
- Nederland, CO1,487 people · 8 mi NW
- Central, CO793 people · 10 mi SW
- Eldora, CO440 people · 11 mi W
- Rollinsville, CO294 people · 7 mi W
- Black Hawk, CO120 people · 9 mi SW
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 Coal Creek's climate
What is the coldest month in Coal Creek?
December, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (73°F by day, 48°F at night).
Does it snow in Coal Creek?
Yes: 195 inches in a normal year, falling on 80 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (42.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Coal Creek?
April, with 3.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.00 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Coal Creek in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Coal Creek in zone 5b in ZIP code 80471, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Coal Creek's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Coal Creek?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 5; in one year in ten it comes after June 19. Waiting until June 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gross Reservoir, CO3 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Boulder, CO9 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Ralston Reservoir, CO9 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Wheat Ridge, CO17 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made