Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area, Utah climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 95°F July afternoons, with 8.6 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.6°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 35°C, 218 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area
- Station IDUSC00422173
- Location40.44°N 109.31°W
- Elevation4,802 ft (1,464 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area is 62°F and the normal low 32°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 Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area.
- Jan 30° 8°
- Feb 39° 16°
- Mar 55° 27°
- Apr 64° 35°
- May 75° 44°
- Jun 88° 52°
- Jul 95° 59°
- Aug 92° 57°
- Sep 82° 47°
- Oct 65° 35°
- Nov 48° 24°
- Dec 33° 12°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in September (1.20 in), the least in November (0.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 8°F | 19.0°F | 0.61 | 3.6 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 39°F | 16°F | 27.2°F | 0.64 | 2.2 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 27°F | 41.3°F | 0.61 | 0.4 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 35°F | 49.8°F | 0.69 | 0.3 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 44°F | 59.5°F | 0.91 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 88°F | 52°F | 69.8°F | 0.54 | 0.0 | 4 | 16 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 95°F | 59°F | 76.6°F | 0.65 | 0.0 | 3 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 92°F | 57°F | 74.1°F | 0.59 | 0.0 | 4 | 24 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 82°F | 47°F | 64.2°F | 1.20 | 0.0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 35°F | 50.1°F | 1.09 | 0.1 | 5 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 24°F | 36.1°F | 0.47 | 1.2 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| December | 33°F | 12°F | 22.5°F | 0.57 | 4.5 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 35°F | 49.2°F | 8.57 | 12.3 | 53 | 76 | 175 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −13°C | −7.2°C | 15 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 4°C | −9°C | −2.7°C | 16 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 13°C | −3°C | 5.2°C | 15 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 18°C | 2°C | 9.9°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 7°C | 15.3°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 11°C | 21.0°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 15°C | 24.8°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 14°C | 23.4°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 8°C | 17.9°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 2°C | 10.1°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 9°C | −5°C | 2.3°C | 12 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 0°C | −11°C | −5.3°C | 14 mm | 11 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00422173; 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.
Which months are mildest at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, September and October. Of those, May 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 USC00422173.
When is the last frost at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
In Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 25 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 11 year in 10 after May 23; 9 in 10 after April 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 182 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 17 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area in zone 5b in ZIP code 84035, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Utah · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00422173; 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 at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
In a normal year in Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area, 76 days a year reach 90°F (13 of them 100°F or more), 175 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 53 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 76a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 175a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 53a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1916) is 110°F, on July 29, 2001; the lowest is −40°F, on February 7, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1997, with 12.33 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 51.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00422173; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00422173. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.4 |
| February | 74% | 3.3 |
| March | 74% | 4.5 |
| April | 76% | 5.8 |
| May | 79% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.7 |
| July | 84% | 7.2 |
| August | 84% | 6.4 |
| September | 86% | 5.4 |
| October | 83% | 3.9 |
| November | 78% | 2.6 |
| December | 71% | 2.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area record?
A normal year at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area brings 6,645 heating degree days, 24% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 916 cooling degree days, 1% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,094 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,426 | 0 |
| February | 1,058 | 0 |
| March | 733 | 0 |
| April | 455 | 1 |
| May | 199 | 27 |
| June | 30 | 174 |
| July | 1 | 360 |
| August | 4 | 286 |
| September | 91 | 68 |
| October | 463 | 1 |
| November | 867 | 0 |
| December | 1,319 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,645 | 916 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00422173. 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.
Have recent years at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 53.8°F, 4.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.2°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.6°F | +1.4°F | 10.87 | 17.0 |
| 2022 | 50.1°F | +0.9°F | 9.79 | 21.5 |
| 2024 | 52.9°F | +3.7°F | 7.42 | 5.6 |
| 2025 | 53.8°F | +4.5°F | 5.45 | 3.8 |
Over 38 complete years from 1963 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.4°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00422173; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area's climate compare?
Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area is warmer than 44 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Utah, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.2°F is warmer than 37%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area 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.
Questions about Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area's climate
What is the coldest month at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (95°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
September, with 1.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is November with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area in zone 5b in ZIP code 84035, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Dinosaur National Monument-Quarry Area?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 23. Waiting until May 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Utah climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Jensen, UT6 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Vernal, UT11 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Maeser, UT21 miles from this station, 46.6°F a year
- Dinosaur, CO22 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made