Denver-stapleton, 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 Denver-stapleton's primary NOAA station, DENVER-STAPLETON.
The climate verdict for Denver-stapleton
Dryness leads the climate profile for Denver-stapleton, Colorado, with 15.4 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 51°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.
- 51°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.4"
- annual precipitation · 49" snow
- 157 days
- frost-free growing season
Denver-stapleton: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00023062 · Denver-stapleton, CO 51°F mean · 15.4" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 51°F
- RANK-MID #3,156
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fillmore
- PRCP-DRY 15.4"
- SWING-MID 43°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,765 HDD
- STN-1 USW00023062
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fillmore, UT (+ 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.
- Denver-stapleton (this station) 51°F
- Cold Williamsport, PA 51°F
- Hot Lima Allen Coun…, OH 51°F
- Near Fillmore, UT 51°F
- Near Cedar City, UT 51°F
Climate Living Index · Denver-stapleton
Denver-stapleton: 31/100 · grade F
Denver-stapleton publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Denver-stapleton, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 51.3°F · 16.2° from 67.5°F | 46/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 157 days/year | 31/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 15.4 in · 19.6 from 35 in | 30/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 49.0 inches/year | 22/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 189 calendar days | 20/100 · F |
Denver-stapleton · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Denver-stapleton'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
- 74.8°F
- Coldest month
- 31.8°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 Denver-stapleton sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Denver-stapleton's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 46th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 82%
- Denver-stapleton's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 49th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Denver-stapleton compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Denver-stapleton'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
Denver-stapleton's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 143 complete annual observations from 1873 to 2025, DENVER-STAPLETON warmed at a fitted rate of 0.14°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Denver-stapleton primary station fitted change +0.15 °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 | 47°F (8°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.5" | 6.4" | 29.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 48°F (9°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 0.5" | 7.6" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 56°F (14°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 1.1" | 8.8" | 22.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.7" | 6.2" | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 2.3" | 1.4" | 2.2 | 0.7 |
| June | 84°F (29°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.2 |
| July | 90°F (32°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 2.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 16.8 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 1.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 12.5 |
| September | 80°F (27°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.5" | 0.8" | 0.5 | 3.9 |
| October | 67°F (19°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 1.0" | 3.9" | 9.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 55°F (13°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.7" | 7.3" | 24.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 46°F (8°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.5" | 6.6" | 29.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Denver-stapleton works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 91°F by July 16 and hold at or above 90°F on 24 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 165 dates, bottoming at 17°F around December 23.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 8 through July 31, covering 24 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 13 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 April 8, then returns to freezing around October 27, covering 165 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 May 20, when 34% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 1 at 15%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 84 wet dates a year.
The widest day
September 12 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Denver-stapleton.
Where Denver-stapleton Stands Nationally
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Denver-stapleton 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: 6.4"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.6"
5.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.8"
6.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.2"
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
11.0 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
9.0 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
6.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.9"
5.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.3"
5.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.6"
4.7 days with precipitation
Denver-stapleton runs a summer-peaked wet season
37% of Denver-stapleton's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is May at 2.3", on a 43°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: May, July, August, taking 41% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.5".
- Winter share: 10% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Denver-stapleton is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 84 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 23% of the calendar, and they carry 15.4" between them. At roughly 0.18 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 May at about 11 wet days; the driest is December at about 5.
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 Denver-stapleton
Denver-stapleton averages 49.0 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 31 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: 49.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 31 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 32% 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 8
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 4
50% probability date
Growing Season
157 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,765
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
813
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Denver-stapleton 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 (51°F here).
- Aurora, NE 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Barnesville, OH 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Cashtown, PA 51°F · 0.0°F off
- Danbury, CT 51°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Elgin, AZ 15.4" · 0.0" off
- Bynum, MT 15.3" · 0.0" off
- Carpenter, WY 15.3" · 0.0" off
- Healy, AK 15.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Denver-stapleton
heating led · dry · mid swing
Denver-stapleton's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,765 annual heating degree days against 813 for cooling. Its 43.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Denver-stapleton's frost-free season lasts about 157 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Denver-stapleton coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 32°F (0°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Denver-stapleton typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Denver-stapleton snow peak
March
Denver-stapleton averages 49.0 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Denver-stapleton's climate
How much snow does Denver-stapleton get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Denver-stapleton get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Denver-stapleton? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Denver-stapleton's primary station: DENVER-STAPLETON (USW00023062). 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 Denver-stapleton; 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 Denver-stapleton 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.