Kit Carson, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kit Carson's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 15.4 inches of precipitation and 16 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.5°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 33°C, 392 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKit Carson
- Station IDUSC00054603
- Location38.76°N 102.80°W
- Elevation4,302 ft (1,311 m)
- Population246
On October 23, the normal high in Kit Carson is 66°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 9%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Kit Carson.
- Jan 45° 12°
- Feb 48° 14°
- Mar 58° 24°
- Apr 66° 32°
- May 75° 43°
- Jun 87° 54°
- Jul 92° 59°
- Aug 89° 58°
- Sep 82° 47°
- Oct 69° 33°
- Nov 55° 21°
- Dec 45° 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 Kit Carson each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.71 in), the least in January (0.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 12°F | 28.6°F | 0.26 | 2.4 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 48°F | 14°F | 31.1°F | 0.35 | 3.0 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 58°F | 24°F | 40.6°F | 0.65 | 3.0 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 32°F | 48.8°F | 1.32 | 0.9 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 43°F | 59.2°F | 2.24 | 0.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 87°F | 54°F | 70.2°F | 2.25 | 0.0 | 6 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 92°F | 59°F | 75.7°F | 2.65 | 0.0 | 7 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 89°F | 58°F | 73.3°F | 2.71 | 0.0 | 7 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 82°F | 47°F | 64.8°F | 0.90 | 0.0 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 33°F | 50.9°F | 1.25 | 0.2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 21°F | 38.2°F | 0.42 | 2.4 | 2 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 13°F | 29.2°F | 0.42 | 4.0 | 2 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 34°F | 50.9°F | 15.42 | 15.9 | 49 | 62 | 178 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −11°C | −1.9°C | 7 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 9°C | −10°C | −0.5°C | 9 mm | 8 cm |
| March | 14°C | −5°C | 4.8°C | 17 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 19°C | 0°C | 9.3°C | 34 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 24°C | 6°C | 15.1°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 12°C | 21.2°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 15°C | 24.3°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 14°C | 22.9°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 8°C | 18.2°C | 23 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 1°C | 10.5°C | 32 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 13°C | −6°C | 3.4°C | 11 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 7°C | −11°C | −1.6°C | 11 mm | 10 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00054603; 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 Kit Carson?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00054603.
When is the last frost in Kit Carson?
In Kit Carson, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 20 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 101 year in 10 after May 24; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 20; 9 in 10 before October 12
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 142 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 9 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kit Carson in zone 5b in ZIP code 80825, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Kit Carson's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (21 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 USC00054603; 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 Kit Carson?
In a normal year in Kit Carson, 62 days a year reach 90°F (11 of them 100°F or more), 178 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 49 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 62a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 178a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 20high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 49a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1939) is 109°F, on June 20, 1954; the lowest is −32°F, on January 5, 1942.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 26.42 in; the snowiest season is 1946–47, with 47.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00054603; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00054603. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Kit Carson?
Over a year 84% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kit Carson, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (90%) and February the cloudiest (76%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.7 |
| February | 76% | 3.5 |
| March | 80% | 4.9 |
| April | 80% | 6.0 |
| May | 82% | 6.9 |
| June | 88% | 7.6 |
| July | 90% | 7.5 |
| August | 89% | 6.6 |
| September | 87% | 5.5 |
| October | 83% | 4.1 |
| November | 83% | 3.0 |
| December | 78% | 2.3 |
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 Kit Carson need?
A normal year in Kit Carson brings 6,029 heating degree days, 12% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 917 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 3,151 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,130 | 0 |
| February | 949 | 0 |
| March | 757 | 0 |
| April | 487 | 1 |
| May | 212 | 34 |
| June | 30 | 187 |
| July | 4 | 336 |
| August | 5 | 264 |
| September | 98 | 92 |
| October | 440 | 3 |
| November | 806 | 0 |
| December | 1,111 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,029 | 917 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00054603. 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 Kit Carson been warmer than normal lately?
Over 38 complete years from 1941 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.7°F per century (+0.26°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Kit Carson's climate compare?
Kit Carson is warmer than 92 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 62. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.9°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kit Carson 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.
What do Kit Carson's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Kit Carson. This page uses Kit Carson; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Carson (9 mi NNE) USC00054606 | 10 mi NE | 4,346 ft | 50.6°F | 12°F | 91°F | 15.9 | 18 | May 7 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Kit Carson's climate
What is the coldest month in Kit Carson?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Kit Carson?
Yes: 16 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Kit Carson?
August, with 2.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kit Carson in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kit Carson in zone 5b in ZIP code 80825, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Kit Carson's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Kit Carson?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 24. Waiting until May 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wild Horse (6 mi N), CO16 miles from this station, 51.0°F a year
- Eads, CO20 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Cheyenne Wells, CO26 miles from this station, 52.7°F a year
- Sheridan Lake, CO34 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made