Lakewood, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lakewood's normal year runs from 20°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 17.5 inches of precipitation and 58 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, December lows of −7°C, July highs of 30°C, 446 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLakewood
- Station IDUSC00054762
- Location39.75°N 105.12°W
- Elevation5,640 ft (1,719 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population156,868
On October 23, the normal high in Lakewood is 61°F and the normal low 34°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lakewood.
- Jan 45° 21°
- Feb 45° 22°
- Mar 53° 29°
- Apr 59° 35°
- May 68° 44°
- Jun 80° 54°
- Jul 86° 60°
- Aug 84° 58°
- Sep 76° 49°
- Oct 63° 37°
- Nov 52° 28°
- Dec 45° 20°
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 Lakewood each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.62 in), the least in December (0.53 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 | 45°F | 21°F | 32.9°F | 0.64 | 8.0 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 22°F | 33.5°F | 0.77 | 8.6 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 29°F | 41.0°F | 1.33 | 9.2 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 35°F | 47.2°F | 2.36 | 9.1 | 7 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 56.0°F | 2.62 | 1.7 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 80°F | 54°F | 66.7°F | 2.06 | 0.0 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 60°F | 72.8°F | 2.00 | 0.0 | 9 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 84°F | 58°F | 70.6°F | 1.89 | 0.0 | 10 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 49°F | 62.4°F | 1.38 | 0.3 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 37°F | 50.0°F | 1.14 | 5.2 | 6 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 28°F | 40.0°F | 0.82 | 9.2 | 4 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| December | 45°F | 20°F | 32.3°F | 0.53 | 6.7 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 38°F | 50.4°F | 17.54 | 58.0 | 81 | 31 | 154 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −6°C | 0.5°C | 16 mm | 20 cm |
| February | 7°C | −6°C | 0.8°C | 20 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 12°C | −2°C | 5.0°C | 34 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 60 mm | 23 cm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.3°C | 67 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 27°C | 12°C | 19.3°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.7°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 14°C | 21.4°C | 48 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 9°C | 16.9°C | 35 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 17°C | 3°C | 10.0°C | 29 mm | 13 cm |
| November | 11°C | −2°C | 4.4°C | 21 mm | 23 cm |
| December | 7°C | −7°C | 0.2°C | 13 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00054762; 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 Lakewood?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00054762.
When is the last frost in Lakewood?
In Lakewood, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 3 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 24 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 31 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 155 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 176 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 22 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lakewood in zone 6a across its 7 ZIP code areas (6a in 80228, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lakewood's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (15 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 USC00054762; 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 Lakewood ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Lakewood's 7 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. 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 Lakewood?
In a normal year in Lakewood, 31 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 154 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 81 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 154a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 81a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 17a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1962) is 104°F, on June 27, 1994; the lowest is −26°F, on January 12, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 27.45 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 119.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00054762; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00054762. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lakewood?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lakewood, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. February is the sunniest month (82%) and May the cloudiest (71%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 243rd (with 32 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 2.7 |
| February | 82% | 3.8 |
| March | 79% | 4.9 |
| April | 73% | 5.6 |
| May | 71% | 6.2 |
| June | 78% | 7.0 |
| July | 75% | 6.4 |
| August | 75% | 5.8 |
| September | 81% | 5.2 |
| October | 80% | 3.9 |
| November | 79% | 2.8 |
| December | 79% | 2.4 |
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 Lakewood need?
A normal year in Lakewood brings 5,914 heating degree days, 10% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 633 cooling degree days, 30% fewer 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 2,713 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 994 | 0 |
| February | 883 | 0 |
| March | 744 | 0 |
| April | 536 | 1 |
| May | 296 | 17 |
| June | 67 | 117 |
| July | 7 | 248 |
| August | 16 | 190 |
| September | 138 | 59 |
| October | 467 | 2 |
| November | 752 | 0 |
| December | 1,014 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,914 | 633 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00054762. 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 Lakewood been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 53.3°F, 2.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.4°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.0°F | +1.6°F | 15.30 | 61.6 |
| 2023 | 50.7°F | +0.3°F | 22.04 | – |
| 2024 | 53.3°F | +2.9°F | 19.39 | – |
Over 37 complete years from 1963 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.9°F per century (+0.27°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00054762; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lakewood's climate compare?
Lakewood is warmer than 82 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 88. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.4°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lakewood 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 Lakewood share this climate record?
5 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.
- Golden, CO20,151 people · 5 mi W
- Applewood, CO8,120 people · 3 mi W
- West Pleasant View, CO5,221 people · 3 mi W
- Edgewater, CO4,880 people · 3 mi E
- East Pleasant View, CO625 people · 2 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Lakewood's climate
What is the coldest month in Lakewood?
December, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow in Lakewood?
Yes: 58 inches in a normal year, falling on 22 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (9.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Lakewood?
May, with 2.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.53 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lakewood in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lakewood in zone 6a across its 7 ZIP code areas (6a in 80228, the largest). By the same method at Lakewood's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −6°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Lakewood?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Lakewood in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Wheat Ridge, CO2 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Denver Water Dept, CO6 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Ralston Reservoir, CO8 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Marston Filter Plant, CO9 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made