Colorado National Monument, 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 Colorado National Monument's primary NOAA station, COLORADO NM.
The climate verdict for Colorado National Monument
Dryness leads the climate profile for Colorado National Monument, Colorado, with 11.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 53°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.
- 53°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 11.2"
- annual precipitation · 22" snow
- 173 days
- frost-free growing season
Colorado National Monument: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00051772 · Colorado National Monument, CO 53°F mean · 11.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 53°F
- RANK-MID #3,705
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Holly
- PRCP-ARID 11.2"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,442 HDD
- STN-1 USC00051772
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Holly, 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.
- Colorado Nation… (this station) 53°F
- Cold Goblin Valley S…, UT 53°F
- Hot Syracuse, KS 53°F
- Near Holly, CO 53°F
- Near Dayton Mcd, OH 53°F
Climate Living Index · Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument: 39/100 · grade F
Colorado National Monument publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Colorado National Monument, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 53.3°F · 14.2° from 67.5°F | 54/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 21.8 inches/year | 47/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 173 days/year | 44/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 168 calendar days | 34/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 11.2 in · 23.8 from 35 in | 16/100 · F |
Colorado National Monument · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Colorado National Monument'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
- 78.7°F
- Coldest month
- 29.7°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 Colorado National Monument sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Colorado National Monument's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 54th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 91%
- Colorado National Monument's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 78%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Colorado National Monument is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Colorado National Monument compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Colorado National Monument'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
Colorado National Monument's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 39 complete annual observations from 1941 to 2019, COLORADO NM 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.
- Colorado National Monument 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 | 39°F (4°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 6.2" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.6" | 3.9" | 23.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 56°F (13°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.9" | 2.1" | 14.6 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 1.1" | 0.7" | 7.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 74°F (23°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.2" | 0.1" | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| June | 87°F (30°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.8 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 24.3 |
| August | 90°F (32°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.3 |
| September | 80°F (27°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 1.3" | 0.0" | 0.5 | 4.3 |
| October | 66°F (19°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 1.3" | 0.6" | 4.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 51°F (10°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 0.8" | 2.8" | 18.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.8" | 5.4" | 28.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Colorado National Monument works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 93°F by July 15 and hold at or above 90°F on 51 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 117 dates, bottoming at 20°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 26 through August 15, covering 51 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 8 to October 7.
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 March 8, then returns to freezing around November 13, covering 117 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 August 4, when 24% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 16 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 71 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 25 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 29°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Colorado National Monument.
Where Colorado National Monument Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Colorado National Monument earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 6.2"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.9"
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
6.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
6.2 days with precipitation
3.5 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.8"
5.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.4"
5.9 days with precipitation
Colorado National Monument spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 22% of the annual total and December through February 20%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Colorado National Monument has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 49°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 1.3" and February 0.6". The three wettest months together take 33% 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.
Colorado National Monument is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 71 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 19% of the calendar, and they carry 11.2" between them. At roughly 0.16 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 7 wet days; the driest is June 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 Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument averages 21.8 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 16 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: 21.8 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 16 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 19% 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 16
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 26
50% probability date
Growing Season
173 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,442
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,208
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Colorado National Monument 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 (53°F here).
- Bowling Green, MO 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Corona, NM 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Lancaster, PA 53°F · 0.0°F off
- Perry, IL 53°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (11.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Madera, CA 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Payette, ID 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Waterville, WA 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Northway, AK 11.3" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Colorado National Monument
heating led · dry · mid swing
Colorado National Monument's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,442 annual heating degree days against 1,208 for cooling. Its 49.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Colorado National Monument's frost-free season lasts about 173 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Colorado National Monument 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. Colorado National Monument typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Colorado National Monument snow peak
January
Colorado National Monument averages 21.8 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Colorado National Monument's climate
How much snow does Colorado National Monument get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Colorado National Monument get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Colorado National Monument? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Colorado National Monument's primary station: COLORADO NM (USC00051772). 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 Colorado National Monument; 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 Colorado National Monument 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.