Del Norte, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Del Norte's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 9.7 inches of precipitation and 39 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.6°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 27°C, 246 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDel Norte (3 mi ENE)
- Station IDUSC00052184
- Location37.69°N 106.31°W
- Elevation7,845 ft (2,391 m)
- Population1,410
On October 22, the normal high in Del Norte is 60°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Del Norte.
- Jan 35° 7°
- Feb 40° 13°
- Mar 52° 21°
- Apr 59° 27°
- May 68° 36°
- Jun 78° 44°
- Jul 81° 50°
- Aug 79° 49°
- Sep 73° 40°
- Oct 63° 30°
- Nov 49° 18°
- Dec 36° 9°
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 Del Norte each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.66 in), the least in January (0.36 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 7°F | 20.9°F | 0.36 | 5.3 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 40°F | 13°F | 26.6°F | 0.39 | 5.7 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 52°F | 21°F | 36.1°F | 0.72 | 8.2 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 27°F | 43.3°F | 0.79 | 5.0 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 68°F | 36°F | 52.1°F | 0.80 | 1.3 | 6 | <1 | 10 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 78°F | 44°F | 60.6°F | 0.60 | 0.0 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 81°F | 50°F | 65.0°F | 1.50 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 79°F | 49°F | 63.5°F | 1.66 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 73°F | 40°F | 56.6°F | 1.06 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 30°F | 46.2°F | 0.81 | 2.5 | 5 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 49°F | 18°F | 33.1°F | 0.48 | 4.8 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 36°F | 9°F | 22.6°F | 0.51 | 5.8 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 29°F | 43.9°F | 9.68 | 38.6 | 72 | <1 | 213 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −14°C | −6.2°C | 9 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 5°C | −11°C | −3.0°C | 10 mm | 14 cm |
| March | 11°C | −6°C | 2.3°C | 18 mm | 21 cm |
| April | 15°C | −3°C | 6.3°C | 20 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 20°C | 2°C | 11.2°C | 20 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 25°C | 6°C | 15.9°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 10°C | 18.3°C | 38 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 9°C | 17.5°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 5°C | 13.7°C | 27 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | −1°C | 7.9°C | 21 mm | 6 cm |
| November | 9°C | −8°C | 0.6°C | 12 mm | 12 cm |
| December | 2°C | −13°C | −5.2°C | 13 mm | 15 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00052184; 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 Del Norte?
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 (5).
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 USC00052184.
When is the last frost in Del Norte?
In Del Norte, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 23 in half of years and after June 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 13 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 231 year in 10 after June 8; 9 in 10 after May 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 123 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 145 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 9 in half of springs and before October 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Del Norte in zone 5b in ZIP code 81132, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Del Norte's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (29 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 USC00052184; 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 Del Norte?
In a normal year in Del Norte, a 90°F day is rare, 213 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 72 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
- 213a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 39high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 72a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 93°F, on July 27, 2023; the lowest is −34°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1969, with 16.85 in; the snowiest season is 1974–75, with 76.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00052184; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00052184. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Del Norte?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Del Norte, 5.2 kWh per square metre a day. January is the sunniest month (85%) and July the cloudiest (77%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.2 |
| February | 83% | 4.1 |
| March | 83% | 5.4 |
| April | 79% | 6.4 |
| May | 80% | 7.1 |
| June | 85% | 7.8 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 77% | 6.1 |
| September | 82% | 5.5 |
| October | 84% | 4.4 |
| November | 83% | 3.3 |
| December | 82% | 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 Del Norte need?
A normal year in Del Norte brings 7,753 heating degree days, 44% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 81 cooling degree days, 91% 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 1,586 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,367 | 0 |
| February | 1,077 | 0 |
| March | 898 | 0 |
| April | 650 | 0 |
| May | 400 | 0 |
| June | 145 | 13 |
| July | 40 | 41 |
| August | 71 | 24 |
| September | 254 | 2 |
| October | 583 | 0 |
| November | 957 | 0 |
| December | 1,313 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,753 | 81 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00052184. 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 Del Norte been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 44.5°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.9°F. 1 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43.4°F | −0.5°F | 7.29 | 28.3 |
| 2022 | 42.9°F | −1.0°F | 10.50 | 31.0 |
| 2023 | 42.8°F | −1.1°F | 5.39 | 20.8 |
| 2024 | 43.9°F | at normal | 13.06 | 47.9 |
| 2025 | 44.5°F | +0.6°F | 9.84 | 27.4 |
Over 69 complete years from 1920 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.3°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00052184; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Del Norte's climate compare?
Del Norte is warmer than 35 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 9. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.9°F is warmer than 15%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Del Norte is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Del Norte share this climate record?
3 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.
- South Fork, CO504 people · 18 mi W
- Gerrard, CO359 people · 15 mi W
- Alpine, CO99 people · 15 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 Del Norte's climate
What is the coldest month in Del Norte?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow in Del Norte?
Yes: 39 inches in a normal year, falling on 23 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (8.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Del Norte?
August, with 1.66 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Del Norte in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Del Norte in zone 5b in ZIP code 81132, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Del Norte's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Del Norte?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 23; in one year in ten it comes after June 8. Waiting until June 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Center, CO9 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Monte Vista, CO10 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Waverly (1 mi W), CO24 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Saguache, CO29 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made