Lamar, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Lamar's normal year runs from 14°F January nights to 95°F July afternoons, with 13.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.2°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 35°C, 339 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLamar Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00003013
- Location38.07°N 102.69°W
- Elevation3,704 ft (1,129 m)
- Population7,641
On October 23, the normal high in Lamar is 69°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Lamar.
- Jan 47° 14°
- Feb 52° 18°
- Mar 62° 27°
- Apr 70° 35°
- May 80° 46°
- Jun 91° 57°
- Jul 95° 62°
- Aug 93° 60°
- Sep 86° 51°
- Oct 72° 35°
- Nov 59° 24°
- Dec 47° 14°
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 Lamar each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 14°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.92 in), the least in December (0.13 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 14°F | 30.7°F | 0.19 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 52°F | 18°F | 34.5°F | 0.22 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 62°F | 27°F | 44.4°F | 0.59 | 5 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 35°F | 52.8°F | 1.06 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 80°F | 46°F | 62.9°F | 1.70 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 91°F | 57°F | 73.9°F | 2.09 | 7 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 95°F | 62°F | 78.9°F | 2.92 | 9 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 93°F | 60°F | 76.5°F | 2.22 | 8 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 86°F | 51°F | 68.2°F | 1.03 | 6 | 12 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 72°F | 35°F | 53.6°F | 0.82 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 59°F | 24°F | 41.1°F | 0.38 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 47°F | 14°F | 30.9°F | 0.13 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 71°F | 37°F | 54.0°F | 13.35 | 64 | 82 | 163 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −10°C | −0.7°C | 5 mm |
| February | 11°C | −8°C | 1.4°C | 6 mm |
| March | 17°C | −3°C | 6.9°C | 15 mm |
| April | 21°C | 2°C | 11.6°C | 27 mm |
| May | 27°C | 8°C | 17.2°C | 43 mm |
| June | 33°C | 14°C | 23.3°C | 53 mm |
| July | 35°C | 17°C | 26.1°C | 74 mm |
| August | 34°C | 16°C | 24.7°C | 56 mm |
| September | 30°C | 10°C | 20.1°C | 26 mm |
| October | 22°C | 2°C | 12.0°C | 21 mm |
| November | 15°C | −5°C | 5.1°C | 10 mm |
| December | 9°C | −10°C | −0.6°C | 3 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Lamar's own co-op station Lamar station does: 30 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003013; 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 Lamar?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May and October. Of those, October 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 USW00003013.
When is the last frost in Lamar?
In Lamar, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 28 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 21 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 19
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 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 Lamar in zone 6a in ZIP code 81052, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Lamar's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (22 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 USW00003013; 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 Lamar?
In a normal year in Lamar, 82 days a year reach 90°F (21 of them 100°F or more), 163 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 64 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 82a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 21a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 163a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 64a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 112°F, on June 27, 2012; the lowest is −29°F, on February 15, 2021.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 21.10 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003013; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00003013. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Lamar?
Over a year 84% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Lamar, 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 Lamar need?
A normal year in Lamar brings 5,284 heating degree days, 2% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,315 cooling degree days, 45% 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 3,807 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,065 | 0 |
| February | 854 | 0 |
| March | 639 | 1 |
| April | 373 | 6 |
| May | 139 | 73 |
| June | 13 | 278 |
| July | 1 | 430 |
| August | 2 | 358 |
| September | 60 | 157 |
| October | 366 | 12 |
| November | 716 | 0 |
| December | 1,057 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,284 | 1,315 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003013. 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 Lamar been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.3°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.0°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.2°F | +0.2°F | 12.12 |
| 2022 | 53.2°F | −0.8°F | 12.83 |
| 2023 | 53.6°F | −0.4°F | 17.18 |
| 2024 | 56.1°F | +2.1°F | 15.76 |
| 2025 | 55.3°F | +1.3°F | 15.22 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003013. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Lamar's climate compare?
Lamar is warmer than 119 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.0°F is warmer than 57%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Lamar 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 Lamar share this climate record?
Wiley 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.
- Wiley, CO437 people · 6 mi N
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 Lamar's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Lamar. This page uses Lamar Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar station USC00054770 | 4 mi NE | 3,627 ft | 53.1°F | 14°F | 93°F | 16.2 | 30 | April 30 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Lamar's climate
What is the coldest month in Lamar?
January, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 14°F. The warmest is July (95°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Lamar?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Lamar's NOAA station; Lamar's own co-op station Lamar station records 30 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Lamar?
July, with 2.92 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.13 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Lamar in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Lamar in zone 6a in ZIP code 81052, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Lamar's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Lamar?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- John Martin Dam, CO13 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Eads, CO29 miles from this station, 52.4°F a year
- Las Animas, CO29 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
- Holly, CO30 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made