Lake City, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lake City's normal year runs from 1°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 14.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.6°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 25°C, 362 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLake City
- Station IDUSC00054734
- Location38.02°N 107.31°W
- Elevation8,667 ft (2,642 m)
- Population413
On October 23, the normal high in Lake City is 57°F and the normal low 26°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lake City.
- Jan 34° 1°
- Feb 38° 8°
- Mar 46° 17°
- Apr 53° 25°
- May 65° 33°
- Jun 74° 40°
- Jul 77° 47°
- Aug 74° 45°
- Sep 69° 38°
- Oct 60° 28°
- Nov 46° 15°
- Dec 34° 3°
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 Lake City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 1°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.45 in), the least in February (0.65 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 1°F | 17.4°F | 0.83 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 38°F | 8°F | 22.8°F | 0.65 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 46°F | 17°F | 31.5°F | 0.76 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 25°F | 39.1°F | 1.02 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 65°F | 33°F | 48.7°F | 1.06 | 5 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 40°F | 57.1°F | 0.71 | 5 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 77°F | 47°F | 61.7°F | 2.12 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 74°F | 45°F | 59.5°F | 2.45 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 69°F | 38°F | 53.4°F | 1.56 | 9 | <1 | 6 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 28°F | 43.8°F | 1.27 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 46°F | 15°F | 30.5°F | 0.88 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 34°F | 3°F | 18.5°F | 0.96 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 25°F | 40.3°F | 14.27 | 86 | <1 | 224 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −17°C | −8.1°C | 21 mm |
| February | 3°C | −13°C | −5.1°C | 17 mm |
| March | 8°C | −8°C | −0.3°C | 19 mm |
| April | 12°C | −4°C | 3.9°C | 26 mm |
| May | 18°C | 0°C | 9.3°C | 27 mm |
| June | 23°C | 5°C | 13.9°C | 18 mm |
| July | 25°C | 8°C | 16.5°C | 54 mm |
| August | 23°C | 7°C | 15.3°C | 62 mm |
| September | 21°C | 3°C | 11.9°C | 40 mm |
| October | 15°C | −2°C | 6.6°C | 32 mm |
| November | 8°C | −9°C | −0.8°C | 22 mm |
| December | 1°C | −16°C | −7.5°C | 24 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Ouray station (19 miles away), gets 126 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00054734; 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 Lake City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00054734.
When is the last frost in Lake City?
In Lake City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 8 in half of years and after June 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 17 in half of years and before September 6 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 81 year in 10 after June 24; 9 in 10 after May 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 171 year in 10 before September 6; 9 in 10 before September 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 101 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 124 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 25 in half of springs and before September 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lake City in zone 5a in ZIP code 81235, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lake City's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (19 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 USC00054734; 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 Lake City?
In a normal year in Lake City, a 90°F day is rare, 224 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 224a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 38high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1905) is 92°F, on July 6, 1989; the lowest is −38°F, on January 4, 1974.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1964, with 19.30 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 138.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00054734; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00054734. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lake City?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lake City, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.7 |
| February | 74% | 3.6 |
| March | 79% | 5.1 |
| April | 76% | 6.0 |
| May | 76% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.9 |
| July | 80% | 7.0 |
| August | 79% | 6.2 |
| September | 82% | 5.4 |
| October | 81% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| December | 74% | 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 Lake City need?
A normal year in Lake City brings 8,982 heating degree days, 67% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 11 cooling degree days, 99% 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 1,080 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,474 | 0 |
| February | 1,182 | 0 |
| March | 1,039 | 0 |
| April | 779 | 0 |
| May | 504 | 0 |
| June | 238 | 1 |
| July | 110 | 8 |
| August | 172 | 2 |
| September | 350 | 0 |
| October | 659 | 0 |
| November | 1,035 | 0 |
| December | 1,441 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,982 | 11 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00054734. 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 Lake City's climate compare?
Lake City is warmer than 17 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.3°F is warmer than 6%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lake City 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.
Which places near Lake City share this climate record?
Cathedral 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.
- Cathedral, CO26 people · 16 mi E
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 Lake City's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Lake City. This page uses Lake City; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake City (1 mi NNE) USC00054736 | 2 mi N | 8,714 ft | 38.3°F | −1°F | 77°F | 17.1 | – | June 9 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Lake City's climate
What is the coldest month in Lake City?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 1°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 47°F at night).
Does it snow in Lake City?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Lake City's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Ouray station (19 miles away), records 126 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Lake City?
August, with 2.45 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.65 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lake City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lake City in zone 5a in ZIP code 81235, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Lake City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Lake City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 8; in one year in ten it comes after June 24. Waiting until June 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
- Santa Maria Reservoir, CO18 miles from this station, 36.3°F a year
- Ouray, CO19 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Rio Grande Reservoir, CO21 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- Hermit (8 mi SE), CO22 miles from this station, 38.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made