Dillon, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dillon's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 75°F July afternoons, with 14.9 inches of precipitation and 116 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 1.9°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 24°C, 378 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDillon (1 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00052281
- Location39.63°N 106.04°W
- Elevation9,065 ft (2,763 m)
- Population1,013
On October 23, the normal high in Dillon is 51°F and the normal low 19°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dillon.
- Jan 31° 2°
- Feb 33° 4°
- Mar 41° 11°
- Apr 48° 18°
- May 58° 26°
- Jun 69° 33°
- Jul 75° 38°
- Aug 73° 37°
- Sep 66° 30°
- Oct 54° 21°
- Nov 41° 11°
- Dec 32° 3°
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 Dillon each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.91 in), the least in December (0.87 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 2°F | 16.3°F | 0.95 | 18.0 | 12 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 33°F | 4°F | 18.5°F | 0.99 | 17.0 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 41°F | 11°F | 25.5°F | 1.15 | 17.5 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 48°F | 18°F | 32.8°F | 1.42 | 17.3 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 58°F | 26°F | 41.8°F | 1.34 | 6.4 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 69°F | 33°F | 50.8°F | 1.13 | 0.7 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 15 h |
| July | 75°F | 38°F | 56.6°F | 1.87 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 73°F | 37°F | 54.7°F | 1.91 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 66°F | 30°F | 47.9°F | 1.40 | 1.1 | 10 | <1 | 19 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 54°F | 21°F | 37.4°F | 0.98 | 7.1 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 41°F | 11°F | 26.2°F | 0.88 | 14.6 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| December | 32°F | 3°F | 17.3°F | 0.87 | 15.8 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 19°F | 35.5°F | 14.89 | 115.5 | 127 | <1 | 274 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −17°C | −8.7°C | 24 mm | 46 cm |
| February | 1°C | −16°C | −7.5°C | 25 mm | 43 cm |
| March | 5°C | −12°C | −3.6°C | 29 mm | 44 cm |
| April | 9°C | −8°C | 0.4°C | 36 mm | 44 cm |
| May | 14°C | −3°C | 5.4°C | 34 mm | 16 cm |
| June | 21°C | 0°C | 10.4°C | 29 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 24°C | 3°C | 13.7°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 3°C | 12.6°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | −1°C | 8.8°C | 36 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 12°C | −6°C | 3.0°C | 25 mm | 18 cm |
| November | 5°C | −11°C | −3.2°C | 22 mm | 37 cm |
| December | 0°C | −16°C | −8.2°C | 22 mm | 40 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00052281; 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 Dillon?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00052281.
How hot and how cold does it get in Dillon?
In a normal year in Dillon, a 90°F day is rare, 274 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 127 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
- 274a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 127a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 47a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1910) is 89°F, on July 15, 1939; the lowest is −46°F, on December 24, 1924.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1945, with 26.26 in; the snowiest season is 1951–52, with 216.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00052281; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00052281. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dillon?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dillon, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (81%) and May the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.7 |
| February | 78% | 3.7 |
| March | 81% | 5.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.8 |
| May | 70% | 6.3 |
| June | 81% | 7.5 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 76% | 5.9 |
| September | 80% | 5.2 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| December | 74% | 2.3 |
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 Dillon need?
A normal year in Dillon brings 10,736 heating degree days, 100% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 0 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Eleven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 483 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,510 | 0 |
| February | 1,302 | 0 |
| March | 1,225 | 0 |
| April | 966 | 0 |
| May | 721 | 0 |
| June | 425 | 0 |
| July | 262 | 0 |
| August | 319 | 0 |
| September | 512 | 0 |
| October | 856 | 0 |
| November | 1,163 | 0 |
| December | 1,477 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,736 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00052281. 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 Dillon been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 38.3°F, 2.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 35.5°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37.3°F | +1.8°F | 15.84 | 86.9 |
| 2022 | 35.0°F | −0.5°F | 16.23 | 115.1 |
| 2023 | 35.5°F | at normal | 15.69 | 94.0 |
| 2024 | 37.4°F | +1.9°F | 18.22 | 168.0 |
| 2025 | 38.3°F | +2.8°F | 13.05 | 97.0 |
Over 92 complete years from 1914 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.9°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00052281; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dillon's climate compare?
Dillon is warmer than 4 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 48. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 35.5°F is warmer than 2%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dillon is Dfc: continental, no dry season, cool 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 Dillon share this climate record?
5 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.
- Silverthorne, CO5,220 people · 4 mi NW
- Breckenridge, CO4,892 people · 9 mi S
- Frisco, CO2,732 people · 4 mi SW
- Keystone, CO1,111 people · 6 mi SE
- Montezuma, CO71 people · 9 mi E
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 Dillon's climate
What is the coldest month in Dillon?
January, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (75°F by day, 38°F at night).
Does it snow in Dillon?
Yes: 116 inches in a normal year, falling on 62 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (18.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dillon?
August, with 1.91 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.87 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dillon in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dillon in zone 5a in ZIP code 80435, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Dillon's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −19°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Vail, CO17 miles from this station, 37.9°F a year
- Cabin Creek, CO17 miles from this station, 37.5°F a year
- Georgetown, CO19 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- Climax, CO20 miles from this station, 32.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made