Estes Park, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Estes Park's normal year runs from 16°F December nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 17.4 inches of precipitation and 104 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.1°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 442 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEstes Park (3 mi SSE)
- Station IDUSC00052761
- Location40.35°N 105.52°W
- Elevation7,812 ft (2,381 m)
- Population5,795
On October 23, the normal high in Estes Park is 54°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 Estes Park.
- Jan 37° 16°
- Feb 38° 16°
- Mar 45° 21°
- Apr 52° 26°
- May 61° 35°
- Jun 74° 43°
- Jul 80° 48°
- Aug 78° 46°
- Sep 70° 39°
- Oct 57° 30°
- Nov 44° 24°
- Dec 36° 16°
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 Estes Park each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.55 in), the least in December (0.67 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 16°F | 26.6°F | 0.82 | 9.8 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 38°F | 16°F | 26.6°F | 0.68 | 13.3 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 45°F | 21°F | 33.1°F | 1.58 | 18.8 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 26°F | 38.8°F | 2.26 | 19.3 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 61°F | 35°F | 47.9°F | 2.27 | 9.5 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 74°F | 43°F | 58.3°F | 1.37 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 80°F | 48°F | 64.2°F | 2.55 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 78°F | 46°F | 62.0°F | 1.71 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 70°F | 39°F | 54.4°F | 1.65 | 0.5 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 57°F | 30°F | 43.4°F | 1.12 | 9.1 | 7 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 44°F | 24°F | 33.8°F | 0.74 | 11.0 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| December | 36°F | 16°F | 26.3°F | 0.67 | 12.7 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 30°F | 43.0°F | 17.42 | 104.0 | 113 | 2 | 184 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −9°C | −3.0°C | 21 mm | 25 cm |
| February | 3°C | −9°C | −3.0°C | 17 mm | 34 cm |
| March | 7°C | −6°C | 0.6°C | 40 mm | 48 cm |
| April | 11°C | −3°C | 3.8°C | 57 mm | 49 cm |
| May | 16°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 58 mm | 24 cm |
| June | 23°C | 6°C | 14.6°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 9°C | 17.9°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 8°C | 16.7°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 4°C | 12.4°C | 42 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 14°C | −1°C | 6.3°C | 28 mm | 23 cm |
| November | 7°C | −5°C | 1.0°C | 19 mm | 28 cm |
| December | 2°C | −9°C | −3.2°C | 17 mm | 32 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00052761; 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 Estes Park?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00052761.
When is the last frost in Estes Park?
In Estes Park, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 30 in half of years and after June 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 17 in half of years and before September 3 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 301 year in 10 after June 14; 9 in 10 after May 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 171 year in 10 before September 3; 9 in 10 before October 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 109 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 134 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 16 in half of springs and before September 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Estes Park in zone 5a in ZIP code 80517, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Estes Park's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (19 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 USC00052761; 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 Estes Park?
In a normal year in Estes Park, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 184 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 113 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 184a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 113a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 26a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00052761.
How sunny is Estes Park?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Estes Park, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (80%) and May the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.5 |
| February | 79% | 3.5 |
| March | 77% | 4.7 |
| April | 71% | 5.4 |
| May | 69% | 6.0 |
| June | 78% | 7.0 |
| July | 77% | 6.6 |
| August | 76% | 5.8 |
| September | 80% | 5.0 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 76% | 2.6 |
| December | 76% | 2.1 |
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 Estes Park need?
A normal year in Estes Park brings 8,095 heating degree days, 51% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 85 cooling degree days, 91% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,377 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,191 | 0 |
| February | 1,074 | 0 |
| March | 989 | 0 |
| April | 786 | 0 |
| May | 529 | 1 |
| June | 217 | 14 |
| July | 69 | 44 |
| August | 115 | 23 |
| September | 321 | 3 |
| October | 670 | 0 |
| November | 936 | 0 |
| December | 1,200 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,095 | 85 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00052761. 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.
How does Estes Park's climate compare?
Estes Park is warmer than 29 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 86. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.0°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Estes Park is Dfb: continental, no dry season, 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.
Questions about Estes Park's climate
What is the coldest month in Estes Park?
December, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 48°F at night).
Does it snow in Estes Park?
Yes: 104 inches in a normal year, falling on 58 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (19.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Estes Park?
July, with 2.55 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.67 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Estes Park in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Estes Park in zone 5a in ZIP code 80517, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Estes Park's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Estes Park?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 30; in one year in ten it comes after June 14. Waiting until June 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Estes Park in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Allenspark, CO8 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
- Waterdale, CO17 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Hourglass Reservoir, CO17 miles from this station, 37.4°F a year
- Grand Lake, CO17 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made