Cochetopa Creek, 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 Cochetopa Creek's primary NOAA station, COCHETOPA CREEK.
The climate verdict for Cochetopa Creek
Dryness leads the climate profile for Cochetopa Creek, Colorado, with 10.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 38°F. At 34/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 2% of scores.
- 38°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 34/100
- comfort score, above 2% of station-mapped location scores
- 10.6"
- annual precipitation · 54" snow
- 76 days
- frost-free growing season
Cochetopa Creek: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00051713 · Cochetopa Creek, CO 38°F mean · 10.6" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 38°F
- RANK-COOL #206
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hermit
- PRCP-ARID 10.6"
- SWING-WIDE 50°F
- COMF-LOW 34/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,832 HDD
- STN-1 USC00051713
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Hermit, CO (+ 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.
- Cochetopa Creek (this station) 38°F
- Cold Jackson, WY 38°F
- Hot Pahaska, WY 38°F
- Near Hermit, CO 38°F
- Near Crater Lake Nps…, OR 38°F
Climate Living Index · Cochetopa Creek
Cochetopa Creek: 5/100 · grade F
Cochetopa Creek publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Cochetopa Creek, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 34/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 54.3 inches/year | 19/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 10.6 in · 24.4 from 35 in | 14/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 38.0°F · 29.5° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 76 days/year | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 252 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
Cochetopa Creek · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Cochetopa Creek is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 11.6°F and warmest-month mean 61.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 61.6°F
- Coldest month
- 11.6°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 Cochetopa Creek sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Cochetopa Creek's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 97%
- Among 6,861 stations, Cochetopa Creek sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 92%
- Cochetopa Creek's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 81%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Cochetopa Creek is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Cochetopa Creek compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Cochetopa Creek's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
34 2nd percentile score exceeds 2% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Cochetopa Creek's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 68 complete annual observations from 1949 to 2025, COCHETOPA CREEK warmed at a fitted rate of 0.16°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Cochetopa Creek primary station fitted change +0.16 °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 | 28°F (-2°C) | -4°F (-20°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 0.7" | 10.8" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 32°F (0°C) | 2°F (-17°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 0.7" | 9.6" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (7°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.7" | 6.7" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 55°F (13°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 38°F (4°C) | 0.9" | 5.9" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 65°F (18°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.0" | 1.4" | 20.5 | 0.0 |
| June | 75°F (24°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 0.6" | 0.1" | 6.0 | 0.1 |
| July | 80°F (26°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| August | 78°F (25°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.6 | 0.2 |
| September | 72°F (22°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 1.1" | 0.3" | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| October | 60°F (15°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 0.7" | 1.9" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 11°F (-11°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 0.6" | 6.4" | 29.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 30°F (-1°C) | -1°F (-18°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 0.8" | 11.2" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 80°F around July 16, short of 90°F on every date, while 252 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -5°F near January 4.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 28, then returns to freezing around September 20, covering 252 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 29, when 36% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is October 28 at 19%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 90 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 15 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 39°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Cochetopa Creek.
Where Cochetopa Creek Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 252 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Cochetopa Creek 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: 10.8"
7.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.6"
7.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.7"
7.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.9"
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
5.5 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
7.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.9"
5.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.4"
5.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.2"
7.2 days with precipitation
Cochetopa Creek spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 33% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Cochetopa Creek has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 50°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 1.5" and November 0.6". The three wettest months together take 38% 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.
Cochetopa Creek is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 90 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 25% of the calendar, and they carry 10.6" 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 August at about 11 wet days; the driest is June at about 6.
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 Cochetopa Creek
Cochetopa Creek averages 54.3 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 41 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: 54.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 41 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 51% 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 5
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 21
50% probability date
Growing Season
76 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,832
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
14
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Cochetopa Creek 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 (38°F here).
- Cook, MN 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Wright, MN 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Cavalier, ND 38°F · 0.1°F off
- Ely, MN 38°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (10.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Alamogordo, NM 10.6" · 0.0" off
- Bend, OR 10.6" · 0.0" off
- Tucson, AZ 10.6" · 0.0" off
- Glenns Ferry, ID 10.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Cochetopa Creek
heating led · dry · mid swing
Cochetopa Creek's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,832 annual heating degree days against 14 for cooling. Its 50.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 76 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. Cochetopa Creek coldest normal
January
Averaging 12°F (-11°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Cochetopa Creek typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Cochetopa Creek snow peak
December
Cochetopa Creek averages 54.3 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Cochetopa Creek's climate
How much snow does Cochetopa Creek get? ▼
How cold does Cochetopa Creek get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Cochetopa Creek? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Cochetopa Creek's primary station: COCHETOPA CREEK (USC00051713). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Cochetopa Creek; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Cochetopa Creek 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.