Durango, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Durango's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 13.5 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.0°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 30°C, 343 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDurango La Plata County Airport
- Station IDUSW00093005
- Location37.14°N 107.76°W
- Elevation6,660 ft (2,030 m)
- Population19,811
On October 23, the normal high in Durango is 61°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Durango.
- Jan 38° 10°
- Feb 43° 16°
- Mar 53° 23°
- Apr 62° 28°
- May 71° 35°
- Jun 83° 43°
- Jul 87° 52°
- Aug 84° 51°
- Sep 77° 43°
- Oct 64° 31°
- Nov 51° 21°
- Dec 39° 13°
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 Durango each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in September (1.99 in), the least in June (0.45 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 10°F | 23.7°F | 1.28 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 43°F | 16°F | 29.7°F | 1.11 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 53°F | 23°F | 37.9°F | 0.87 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 28°F | 44.7°F | 1.06 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 71°F | 35°F | 52.8°F | 0.74 | 5 | <1 | 10 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 83°F | 43°F | 62.7°F | 0.45 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 87°F | 52°F | 69.5°F | 1.23 | 10 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 51°F | 67.5°F | 1.37 | 10 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 43°F | 59.5°F | 1.99 | 7 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 31°F | 47.1°F | 1.41 | 7 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 21°F | 35.9°F | 1.13 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 39°F | 13°F | 26.0°F | 0.87 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 30°F | 46.4°F | 13.51 | 78 | 22 | 202 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −12°C | −4.6°C | 33 mm |
| February | 6°C | −9°C | −1.3°C | 28 mm |
| March | 12°C | −5°C | 3.3°C | 22 mm |
| April | 16°C | −2°C | 7.1°C | 27 mm |
| May | 22°C | 2°C | 11.6°C | 19 mm |
| June | 28°C | 6°C | 17.1°C | 11 mm |
| July | 30°C | 11°C | 20.8°C | 31 mm |
| August | 29°C | 11°C | 19.7°C | 35 mm |
| September | 25°C | 6°C | 15.3°C | 51 mm |
| October | 18°C | −1°C | 8.4°C | 36 mm |
| November | 10°C | −6°C | 2.2°C | 29 mm |
| December | 4°C | −11°C | −3.3°C | 22 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Durango's own co-op station Durango station does: 64 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093005; 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 Durango?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USW00093005.
When is the last frost in Durango?
In Durango, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 1 in half of years and after June 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 27 in half of years and before September 15 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
- June 11 year in 10 after June 15; 9 in 10 after May 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 271 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 116 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 140 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 18 in half of springs and before October 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Durango in zone 6b in ZIP code 81303, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Durango's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (24 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00093005; 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 Durango?
In a normal year in Durango, 22 days a year reach 90°F, 202 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 78 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 202a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 78a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 99°F, on July 10, 2021; the lowest is −27°F, on January 1, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 20.05 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093005; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093005. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Durango?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Durango, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.9 |
| February | 76% | 3.8 |
| March | 78% | 5.1 |
| April | 75% | 6.1 |
| May | 76% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.8 |
| July | 76% | 6.7 |
| August | 77% | 6.0 |
| September | 80% | 5.4 |
| October | 81% | 4.2 |
| November | 79% | 3.1 |
| December | 75% | 2.5 |
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 Durango need?
A normal year in Durango brings 7,032 heating degree days, 31% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 290 cooling degree days, 68% 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 2,011 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,279 | 0 |
| February | 988 | 0 |
| March | 840 | 0 |
| April | 609 | 0 |
| May | 378 | 1 |
| June | 106 | 36 |
| July | 6 | 147 |
| August | 18 | 96 |
| September | 174 | 10 |
| October | 553 | 0 |
| November | 873 | 0 |
| December | 1,207 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,032 | 290 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093005. 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 Durango been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.3°F, 2.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.6°F | +1.3°F | 13.24 |
| 2022 | 47.8°F | +1.4°F | 13.04 |
| 2023 | 46.3°F | −0.1°F | 10.34 |
| 2024 | 48.9°F | +2.5°F | 14.24 |
| 2025 | 49.3°F | +2.9°F | 11.67 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093005. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Durango's climate compare?
Durango is warmer than 46 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 34. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.4°F is warmer than 25%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Durango is Dsb: continental, dry-summer, warm 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 Durango share this climate record?
Cedar Hill has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Cedar Hill, NM835 people · 15 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Durango's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Durango. This page uses Durango La Plata County Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durango station USC00052441 | 12 mi NW | 6,761 ft | 47.4°F | 13°F | 85°F | 19.6 | 64 | May 21 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Durango's climate
What is the coldest month in Durango?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Durango?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Durango's NOAA station; Durango's own co-op station Durango station records 64 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Durango?
September, with 1.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.45 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Durango in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Durango in zone 6b in ZIP code 81303, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Durango's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Durango?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 1; in one year in ten it comes after June 15. Waiting until June 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Durango in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ignacio, CO13 miles from this station, 46.5°F a year
- Fort Lewis, CO17 miles from this station, 44.3°F a year
- Lemon Dam, CO17 miles from this station, 42.9°F a year
- Vallecito Reservoir, CO19 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made