Crestone, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Crestone's normal year runs from 9°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 12.4 inches of precipitation and 59 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.4°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 28°C, 316 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCrestone (2 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00051964
- Location37.98°N 105.69°W
- Elevation8,004 ft (2,440 m)
- Population140
On October 23, the normal high in Crestone is 57°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Crestone.
- Jan 33° 9°
- Feb 39° 15°
- Mar 49° 22°
- Apr 57° 28°
- May 67° 36°
- Jun 78° 45°
- Jul 82° 50°
- Aug 79° 48°
- Sep 72° 42°
- Oct 60° 31°
- Nov 45° 19°
- Dec 33° 10°
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 Crestone each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 9°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.11 in), the least in February (0.48 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | 9°F | 21.1°F | 0.50 | 8.0 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 39°F | 15°F | 26.6°F | 0.48 | 7.7 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 49°F | 22°F | 35.5°F | 0.99 | 9.3 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 28°F | 42.3°F | 1.07 | 10.8 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 67°F | 36°F | 51.4°F | 1.15 | 2.5 | 8 | <1 | 9 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 78°F | 45°F | 61.4°F | 0.83 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 82°F | 50°F | 65.5°F | 2.11 | 0.0 | 13 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 79°F | 48°F | 63.4°F | 1.91 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 72°F | 42°F | 56.7°F | 1.24 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 31°F | 45.2°F | 0.91 | 3.9 | 6 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 45°F | 19°F | 32.1°F | 0.66 | 7.0 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 33°F | 10°F | 21.5°F | 0.58 | 9.4 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 30°F | 43.6°F | 12.43 | 58.6 | 86 | 6 | 201 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −13°C | −6.1°C | 13 mm | 20 cm |
| February | 4°C | −10°C | −3.0°C | 12 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 9°C | −5°C | 1.9°C | 25 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 14°C | −2°C | 5.7°C | 27 mm | 27 cm |
| May | 19°C | 2°C | 10.8°C | 29 mm | 6 cm |
| June | 25°C | 7°C | 16.3°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 10°C | 18.6°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 9°C | 17.4°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 5°C | 13.7°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | −1°C | 7.3°C | 23 mm | 10 cm |
| November | 7°C | −7°C | 0.1°C | 17 mm | 18 cm |
| December | 1°C | −12°C | −5.8°C | 15 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00051964; 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 Crestone?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00051964.
When is the last frost in Crestone?
In Crestone, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 26 in half of years and after June 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 14 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
- May 261 year in 10 after June 9; 9 in 10 after May 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 14; 9 in 10 before October 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 120 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 142 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 13 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Crestone in zone 5a in ZIP code 81131, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Crestone's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (29 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00051964; 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 Crestone?
In a normal year in Crestone, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 201 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 201a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 31high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1982) is 98°F, on July 20, 2005; the lowest is −22°F, on February 3, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 19.15 in; the snowiest season is 2008–09, with 99.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00051964; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00051964. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Crestone?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Crestone, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (86%) and April the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.1 |
| February | 85% | 4.2 |
| March | 81% | 5.2 |
| April | 80% | 6.3 |
| May | 82% | 7.2 |
| June | 85% | 7.8 |
| July | 80% | 6.9 |
| August | 82% | 6.4 |
| September | 86% | 5.7 |
| October | 86% | 4.5 |
| November | 85% | 3.3 |
| December | 83% | 2.7 |
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 Crestone need?
A normal year in Crestone brings 7,896 heating degree days, 47% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 103 cooling degree days, 89% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,613 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,361 | 0 |
| February | 1,075 | 0 |
| March | 913 | 0 |
| April | 681 | 0 |
| May | 424 | 1 |
| June | 130 | 20 |
| July | 36 | 53 |
| August | 76 | 26 |
| September | 251 | 2 |
| October | 614 | 0 |
| November | 989 | 0 |
| December | 1,347 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,896 | 103 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00051964. 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 Crestone been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.3°F, 2.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.6°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.7°F | +1.1°F | 10.56 | 54.7 |
| 2022 | 43.8°F | +0.2°F | 12.42 | 42.3 |
| 2023 | 44.3°F | +0.7°F | 10.76 | 48.9 |
| 2024 | 45.3°F | +1.7°F | 13.56 | 58.0 |
| 2025 | 46.3°F | +2.7°F | 12.21 | 52.3 |
Over 36 complete years from 1983 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.4°F per century (+0.35°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00051964; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Crestone's climate compare?
Crestone is warmer than 31 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 25. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.6°F is warmer than 14%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Crestone 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 Crestone share this climate record?
Moffat has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Moffat, CO106 people · 12 mi W
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 Crestone's climate
What is the coldest month in Crestone?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of 9°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow in Crestone?
Yes: 59 inches in a normal year, falling on 34 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (10.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Crestone?
July, with 2.11 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.48 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Crestone in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Crestone in zone 5a in ZIP code 81131, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Crestone's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Crestone?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 26; in one year in ten it comes after June 9. Waiting until June 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Westcliffe, CO16 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, CO20 miles from this station, 44.5°F a year
- Saguache, CO26 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Sheep Mountain, CO31 miles from this station, 45.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made