Durango La Plata County, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Durango La Plata County's primary NOAA station, DURANGO LA PLATA CO AP.
The climate verdict for Durango La Plata County
Dryness leads the climate profile for Durango La Plata County, Colorado, with 13.5 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 46°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.
- 46°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 13.5"
- yearly precipitation total
- 118 days
- frost-free growing season
Durango La Plata County: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00093005 · Durango La Plata County, CO 46°F mean · 13.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 46°F
- RANK-COOL #1,715
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Libby Dam
- PRCP-DRY 13.5"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,032 HDD
- STN-1 USW00093005
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Libby Dam, MT (+ 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.
- Hot Plummer, ID 47°F
- Durango La Plat… (this station) 46°F
- Cold Lindrith, NM 46°F
- Near Libby Dam, MT 46°F
- Near Northport, WA 46°F
Climate Living Index · Durango La Plata County
Durango La Plata County: 17/100 · grade F
Durango La Plata County publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Durango La Plata County, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 46.4°F · 21.1° from 67.5°F | 25/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 13.5 in · 21.5 from 35 in | 23/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 205 calendar days | 11/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 118 days/year | 6/100 · F |
Durango La Plata County · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Durango La Plata County is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 23.7°F and warmest-month mean 69.5°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 69.5°F
- Coldest month
- 23.7°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 Durango La Plata County sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Durango La Plata County's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 75%
- Among 6,861 stations, Durango La Plata County sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 86%
- Durango La Plata County's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 63rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Durango La Plata County compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Durango La Plata County'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 | 38°F (3°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 1.3" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 43°F (6°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.1" | 27.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 53°F (12°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.9" | 29.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (16°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.1" | 22.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 71°F (22°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 0.7" | 10.1 | 0.2 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.5" | 1.2 | 5.0 |
| July | 87°F (30°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 1.2" | 0.0 | 11.4 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.4" | 0.0 | 4.6 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 2.0" | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.4" | 18.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 51°F (10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.1" | 28.5 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 0.9" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 205 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 9°F near January 8.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 3, then returns to freezing around October 12, covering 205 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 August 1, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 10 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 79 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 13 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 41°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Durango La Plata County.
Where Durango La Plata County Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 205 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 41°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Durango La Plata County earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
6.6 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
4.9 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
3.0 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
10.3 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
5.0 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
Durango La Plata County spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 23% of the annual total and December through February 24%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Durango La Plata County has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a wide 45.8°F gap between its warmest and coldest month.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 2.0" and June 0.5". The three wettest months together take 35% 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.
Durango La Plata County is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 78 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 21% of the calendar, and they carry 13.5" between them. At roughly 0.17 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 August at about 10 wet days; the driest is June at about 3.
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
September 27
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
118 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,032
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
290
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Durango La Plata County 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 (46°F here).
- Bad Axe, MI 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Bickleton, WA 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Bridgewater, SD 46°F · 0.0°F off
- Camp Crook, SD 46°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (13.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Anaheim, CA 13.5" · 0.0" off
- Dufur, OR 13.5" · 0.0" off
- Martinsdale, MT 13.5" · 0.0" off
- Scobey, MT 13.5" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Durango La Plata County's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Durango La Plata County's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,032 annual heating degree days against 290 for cooling. Its 45.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 118 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Durango La Plata County's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 45.8°F. The annual average is 46°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Durango La Plata County's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 13.5 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.
Durango La Plata County wettest normal
September
September concentrates the scarce annual total (13.5 inches).
Durango La Plata County driest normal
June
June is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Durango La Plata County's climate
How dry is Durango La Plata County? ▼
How cold does Durango La Plata County get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Durango La Plata County? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Durango La Plata County's primary station: DURANGO LA PLATA CO AP (USW00093005). 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 Durango La Plata County; 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 Durango La Plata County 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.