Grand Junction, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Grand Junction's normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 95°F July afternoons, with 9.1 inches of precipitation and 18 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.8°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 35°C, 230 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGrand Junction Walker Field
- Station IDUSW00023066
- Location39.13°N 108.54°W
- Elevation4,858 ft (1,481 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population70,554
On October 23, the normal high in Grand Junction is 63°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Grand Junction.
- Jan 38° 17°
- Feb 46° 24°
- Mar 58° 32°
- Apr 66° 38°
- May 77° 47°
- Jun 89° 57°
- Jul 95° 64°
- Aug 91° 62°
- Sep 82° 53°
- Oct 67° 40°
- Nov 52° 28°
- Dec 39° 18°
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 Grand Junction each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in September (1.19 in), the least in June (0.41 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 | 38°F | 17°F | 27.7°F | 0.61 | 4.5 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 46°F | 24°F | 35.3°F | 0.53 | 2.9 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 58°F | 32°F | 45.0°F | 0.80 | 1.8 | 7 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 38°F | 51.9°F | 0.98 | 0.9 | 7 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 47°F | 62.0°F | 0.83 | 0.1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 89°F | 57°F | 73.0°F | 0.41 | 0.0 | 3 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 95°F | 64°F | 79.2°F | 0.59 | 0.0 | 5 | 26 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 91°F | 62°F | 76.3°F | 0.92 | 0.0 | 7 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 53°F | 67.1°F | 1.19 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 40°F | 53.2°F | 0.99 | 0.4 | 6 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 28°F | 39.6°F | 0.61 | 1.9 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 18°F | 28.4°F | 0.60 | 5.2 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 40°F | 53.2°F | 9.06 | 17.7 | 72 | 68 | 137 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −8°C | −2.4°C | 15 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 13 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 20 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 19°C | 3°C | 11.1°C | 25 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 25°C | 8°C | 16.7°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 14°C | 22.8°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 18°C | 26.2°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 16°C | 24.6°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 11°C | 19.5°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 25 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 11°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 15 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 4°C | −8°C | −2.0°C | 15 mm | 13 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023066; 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 Grand Junction?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USW00023066.
When is the last frost in Grand Junction?
In Grand Junction, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 16 in half of years and before October 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
- April 281 year in 10 after May 14; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 161 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 171 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 196 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 13 in half of springs and before October 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Grand Junction in zones 6b to 7a across its 5 ZIP code areas (6b in 81505, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Grand Junction's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023066; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Grand Junction ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Grand Junction's 5 ZIP code areas run from zone 6b to 7a: 1 in 6b and 4 in 7a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Grand Junction?
In a normal year in Grand Junction, 68 days a year reach 90°F (8 of them 100°F or more), 137 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 72 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 68a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 137a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 72a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in Grand Junction's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 107°F, on July 9, 2021; the lowest is −23°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1957, with 15.69 in; the snowiest season is 1919–20, with 65.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023066; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record GJTthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Grand Junction, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 42°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 46°F; the driest air comes in December (17°F). June is the windiest month (9.4 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (88%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 67% | 48% | 5.5 mph | 63% | 24% |
| February | 22°F | 53% | 33% | 7.3 mph | 58% | 25% |
| March | 24°F | 41% | 25% | 8.6 mph | 62% | 20% |
| April | 28°F | 35% | 20% | 8.7 mph | 66% | 15% |
| May | 32°F | 28% | 16% | 9.2 mph | 78% | 7% |
| June | 36°F | 23% | 13% | 9.4 mph | 88% | 3% |
| July | 46°F | 34% | 21% | 8.9 mph | 78% | 6% |
| August | 42°F | 34% | 20% | 8.6 mph | 79% | 6% |
| September | 34°F | 38% | 23% | 8.1 mph | 79% | 8% |
| October | 27°F | 51% | 32% | 6.5 mph | 70% | 17% |
| November | 20°F | 61% | 42% | 5.4 mph | 67% | 20% |
| December | 17°F | 72% | 55% | 5.0 mph | 61% | 28% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023066. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Grand Junction?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Grand Junction, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (74%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 111th (with 13 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.6 |
| February | 76% | 3.5 |
| March | 77% | 4.8 |
| April | 77% | 6.0 |
| May | 80% | 7.0 |
| June | 87% | 8.0 |
| July | 84% | 7.3 |
| August | 84% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 5.5 |
| October | 82% | 4.0 |
| November | 79% | 2.8 |
| December | 74% | 2.2 |
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 Grand Junction need?
A normal year in Grand Junction brings 5,497 heating degree days, 2% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,233 cooling degree days, 36% 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 3,634 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,156 | 0 |
| February | 833 | 0 |
| March | 620 | 0 |
| April | 394 | 3 |
| May | 150 | 56 |
| June | 18 | 257 |
| July | 0 | 440 |
| August | 1 | 350 |
| September | 59 | 122 |
| October | 371 | 5 |
| November | 761 | 0 |
| December | 1,134 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,497 | 1,233 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023066. 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 Grand Junction been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 57.0°F, 3.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.5°F | +1.3°F | 9.79 | 12.6 |
| 2022 | 53.6°F | +0.4°F | 9.33 | 17.4 |
| 2023 | 54.3°F | +1.1°F | 7.52 | 19.2 |
| 2024 | 57.7°F | +4.5°F | 9.25 | 14.3 |
| 2025 | 57.0°F | +3.8°F | 7.19 | 2.5 |
Over 120 complete years from 1900 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.1°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023066; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Grand Junction's climate compare?
Grand Junction is warmer than 115 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.2°F is warmer than 54%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Grand Junction 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.
Which places near Grand Junction share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Clifton, CO19,746 people · 6 mi SE
- Fruitvale, CO7,998 people · 4 mi SE
- Orchard Mesa, CO6,597 people · 7 mi S
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 Grand Junction's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Grand Junction. This page uses Grand Junction Walker Field; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Junction (6 mi ESE) USC00053489 | 6 mi SE | 4,760 ft | 54.0°F | 19°F | 93°F | 8.9 | 13 | April 23 |
| Grand Junction Weather Office USC00053486 | 3 mi NE | 4,826 ft | 54.6°F | 19°F | 95°F | 11.4 | – | April 14 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Grand Junction's climate
What is the coldest month in Grand Junction?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (95°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Grand Junction?
Yes: 18 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (5.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Grand Junction?
September, with 1.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Grand Junction in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Grand Junction in zones 6b to 7a across its 5 ZIP code areas (6b in 81505, the largest). By the same method at Grand Junction's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Grand Junction?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 14. Waiting until May 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Grand Junction in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fruita, CO10 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- Palisade, CO10 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Colorado National Monument, CO11 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Altenbern, CO27 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made