Dinosaur, 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 Dinosaur's primary NOAA station, DINOSAUR 2 E.
The climate verdict for Dinosaur
Dryness leads the climate profile for Dinosaur, Colorado, with 11.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 49°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 49°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 11.2"
- annual precipitation
- 165 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Dinosaur: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00094082 · Dinosaur, CO 49°F mean · 11.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,401
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Creston
- PRCP-ARID 11.2"
- SWING-WIDE 54°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,729 HDD
- STN-1 USW00094082
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Creston, IA (+ 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.
- Dinosaur (this station) 49°F
- Cold Burwell, NE 49°F
- Hot Perry, IA 49°F
- Near Creston, IA 49°F
- Near Bellevue L&d, IA 49°F
Climate Living Index · Dinosaur
Dinosaur: 28/100 · grade F
Dinosaur publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Dinosaur, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 165 days/year | 38/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 48.8°F · 18.7° from 67.5°F | 35/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 182 calendar days | 24/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 11.2 in · 23.9 from 35 in | 16/100 · F |
Dinosaur · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Dinosaur'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
- 75.9°F
- Coldest month
- 22.3°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 Dinosaur sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Dinosaur's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 35th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 92%
- Dinosaur's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 90%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Dinosaur is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Dinosaur compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Dinosaur's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 0.8" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | 20°F (-6°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.8" | 25.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 50°F (10°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.9" | 21.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (16°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.1" | 11.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 71°F (21°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 1.2" | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 10.0 |
| July | 91°F (33°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 0.7" | 0.0 | 21.9 |
| August | 88°F (31°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 0.9" | 0.0 | 13.9 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.3" | 0.5 | 2.0 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.3" | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| November | 45°F (7°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.8" | 20.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 32°F (0°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.8" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Dinosaur works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 92°F by July 16 and hold at or above 90°F on 32 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 150 dates, bottoming at 13°F around January 3.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 5 through August 5, covering 32 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 15 to September 29.
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 31, then returns to freezing around November 3, covering 150 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 4, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 26 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 89 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 10 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Dinosaur.
Where Dinosaur Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Dinosaur 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
8.3 days with precipitation
7.0 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
5.0 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
Dinosaur spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 21% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Dinosaur has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 53.6°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 1.3" and July 0.7". The three wettest months together take 34% 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.
Dinosaur is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 89 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 25% of the calendar, and they carry 11.1" between them. At roughly 0.12 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 10 wet days; the driest is June 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 14
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 2
50% probability date
Growing Season
165 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,729
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
859
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Dinosaur 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 (49°F here).
- Arthur, NE 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Buffalo, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Canandaigua, NY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Coeur D'alene, ID 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (11.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Klamath Falls, OR 11.1" · 0.0" off
- Baggs, WY 11.2" · 0.0" off
- Gildford, MT 11.1" · 0.0" off
- Madras, OR 11.2" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Dinosaur's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Dinosaur's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,729 annual heating degree days against 859 for cooling. Its 53.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Dinosaur's frost-free season lasts about 165 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Dinosaur's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 53.6°F. The annual average is 49°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Dinosaur's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 11.2 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Dinosaur wettest normal
September
September concentrates the scarce annual total (11.2 inches).
Dinosaur driest normal
July
July is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Dinosaur's climate
How dry is Dinosaur? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Dinosaur get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Dinosaur? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Dinosaur's primary station: DINOSAUR 2 E (USW00094082). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 0820495). Match rule for Dinosaur: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Dinosaur 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.