Leadville, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Leadville's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 71°F July afternoons, with 13.5 inches of precipitation and 157 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 1.4°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 22°C, 343 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationLeadville Lake County Airport
- Station IDUSW00093009
- Location39.23°N 106.32°W
- Elevation9,932 ft (3,027 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population2,624
On October 14, the normal high in Leadville is 51°F and the normal low 24°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Leadville.
- Jan 30° 5°
- Feb 31° 6°
- Mar 37° 12°
- Apr 43° 19°
- May 54° 27°
- Jun 66° 34°
- Jul 71° 39°
- Aug 68° 38°
- Sep 62° 32°
- Oct 50° 24°
- Nov 37° 13°
- Dec 29° 5°
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 Leadville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 71°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.87 in), the least in June (0.82 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 5°F | 17.1°F | 0.99 | 18.8 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 31°F | 6°F | 18.1°F | 0.91 | 20.1 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 37°F | 12°F | 24.6°F | 1.02 | 21.1 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 43°F | 19°F | 31.1°F | 1.36 | 26.6 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 54°F | 27°F | 40.9°F | 1.06 | 11.8 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 66°F | 34°F | 50.1°F | 0.82 | 0.8 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 71°F | 39°F | 55.1°F | 1.72 | 0.2 | 12 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 68°F | 38°F | 53.1°F | 1.87 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 62°F | 32°F | 46.5°F | 1.13 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 17 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 50°F | 24°F | 36.7°F | 0.90 | 13.8 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 37°F | 13°F | 24.8°F | 0.86 | 25.1 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| December | 29°F | 5°F | 17.1°F | 0.88 | 17.6 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 48°F | 21°F | 34.6°F | 13.52 | 156.9 | 121 | <1 | 272 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −15°C | −8.3°C | 25 mm | 48 cm |
| February | −1°C | −15°C | −7.7°C | 23 mm | 51 cm |
| March | 3°C | −11°C | −4.1°C | 26 mm | 54 cm |
| April | 6°C | −7°C | −0.5°C | 35 mm | 68 cm |
| May | 12°C | −3°C | 4.9°C | 27 mm | 30 cm |
| June | 19°C | 1°C | 10.1°C | 21 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 22°C | 4°C | 12.8°C | 44 mm | 1 cm |
| August | 20°C | 3°C | 11.7°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16°C | 0°C | 8.1°C | 29 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 10°C | −5°C | 2.6°C | 23 mm | 35 cm |
| November | 3°C | −11°C | −4.0°C | 22 mm | 64 cm |
| December | −1°C | −15°C | −8.3°C | 22 mm | 45 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093009; 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 Leadville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August. Of those, June 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 USW00093009.
How hot and how cold does it get in Leadville?
In a normal year in Leadville, a 90°F day is rare, 272 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 121 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
- 272a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 67high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 121a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 45a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1976) is 86°F, on July 24, 2023; the lowest is −38°F, on February 1, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2024, with 18.88 in; the snowiest season is 1994–95, with 325.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093009; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093009. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Leadville?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Leadville, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (81%) and May the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.7 |
| February | 78% | 3.7 |
| March | 81% | 5.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.8 |
| May | 70% | 6.3 |
| June | 81% | 7.5 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 76% | 5.9 |
| September | 80% | 5.2 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| 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 Leadville need?
A normal year in Leadville brings 11,061 heating degree days, 2.1 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 0 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Twelve months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 350 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,487 | 0 |
| February | 1,312 | 0 |
| March | 1,252 | 0 |
| April | 1,018 | 0 |
| May | 749 | 0 |
| June | 447 | 0 |
| July | 307 | 0 |
| August | 369 | 0 |
| September | 554 | 0 |
| October | 876 | 0 |
| November | 1,206 | 0 |
| December | 1,485 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 11,061 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093009. 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 Leadville been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 37.1°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 34.6°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35.8°F | +1.2°F | 15.42 | – |
| 2022 | 34.5°F | −0.1°F | 15.27 | – |
| 2023 | 35.6°F | +1.0°F | 13.69 | – |
| 2024 | 37.2°F | +2.6°F | 18.88 | – |
| 2025 | 37.1°F | +2.5°F | 11.63 | – |
Over 87 complete years from 1908 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.1°F per century (+0.23°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093009; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Leadville's climate compare?
Leadville is warmer than 1 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 36. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 34.6°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Leadville is Dfc: continental, no dry season, cool 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 Leadville share this climate record?
Leadville North 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.
- Leadville North, CO1,470 people · 2 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.
Questions about Leadville's climate
What is the coldest month in Leadville?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (71°F by day, 39°F at night).
Does it snow in Leadville?
Yes: 157 inches in a normal year, falling on 59 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (26.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Leadville?
August, with 1.87 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.82 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Leadville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Leadville in zone 5a in ZIP code 80461, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Leadville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −20°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sugarloaf Reservoir, CO3 miles from this station, 35.2°F a year
- Twin Lakes, CO9 miles from this station, 37.7°F a year
- Climax, CO12 miles from this station, 32.2°F a year
- Fairplay, CO17 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made