Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Mesa Verde National Park's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 17.1 inches of precipitation and 65 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.9°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 30°C, 435 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMesa Verde National Park
- Station IDUSC00055531
- Location37.20°N 108.49°W
- Elevation7,142 ft (2,177 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Mesa Verde National Park is 60°F and the normal low 36°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 Mesa Verde National Park.
- Jan 40° 20°
- Feb 43° 23°
- Mar 51° 30°
- Apr 59° 34°
- May 69° 43°
- Jun 81° 52°
- Jul 86° 59°
- Aug 84° 57°
- Sep 76° 50°
- Oct 63° 39°
- Nov 50° 29°
- Dec 40° 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 at Mesa Verde National Park each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.05 in), the least in June (0.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 20°F | 29.8°F | 1.96 | 18.1 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 43°F | 23°F | 33.0°F | 1.66 | 12.0 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 51°F | 30°F | 40.4°F | 1.38 | 8.0 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 34°F | 46.8°F | 1.14 | 5.0 | 6 | <1 | 14 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 69°F | 43°F | 55.9°F | 1.13 | 0.6 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 52°F | 66.8°F | 0.47 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 86°F | 59°F | 72.5°F | 1.41 | 0.0 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 57°F | 70.3°F | 2.05 | 0.0 | 11 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 76°F | 50°F | 63.0°F | 1.77 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 39°F | 50.9°F | 1.44 | 1.5 | 6 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 50°F | 29°F | 39.6°F | 1.19 | 5.6 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 40°F | 20°F | 30.2°F | 1.51 | 14.2 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 38°F | 49.9°F | 17.11 | 65.0 | 85 | 16 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −7°C | −1.2°C | 50 mm | 46 cm |
| February | 6°C | −5°C | 0.6°C | 42 mm | 30 cm |
| March | 11°C | −1°C | 4.7°C | 35 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 15°C | 1°C | 8.2°C | 29 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.3°C | 29 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 27°C | 11°C | 19.3°C | 12 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 15°C | 22.5°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 14°C | 21.3°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.5°C | 37 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 10°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 30 mm | 14 cm |
| December | 4°C | −6°C | −1.0°C | 38 mm | 36 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00055531; 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.
Which months are mildest at Mesa Verde National Park?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, June 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 USC00055531.
When is the last frost at Mesa Verde National Park?
In Mesa Verde National Park, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 14 in half of years and before October 1 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 91 year in 10 after May 27; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 141 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 156 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 27 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mesa Verde National Park in zone 7a in ZIP code 81330, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (29 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 USC00055531; 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 at Mesa Verde National Park?
In a normal year in Mesa Verde National Park, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 85 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 17high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 85a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1922) is 102°F, on July 24, 1936; the lowest is −20°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1957, with 30.81 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 152.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00055531; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00055531. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Mesa Verde National Park?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Mesa Verde National Park, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.8 |
| February | 76% | 3.7 |
| March | 80% | 5.1 |
| April | 81% | 6.4 |
| May | 84% | 7.5 |
| June | 91% | 8.3 |
| July | 85% | 7.3 |
| August | 84% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 5.7 |
| October | 85% | 4.4 |
| November | 83% | 3.2 |
| December | 75% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Mesa Verde National Park record?
A normal year at Mesa Verde National Park brings 6,047 heating degree days, 13% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 582 cooling degree days, 36% 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 2,634 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,091 | 0 |
| February | 896 | 0 |
| March | 763 | 0 |
| April | 545 | 0 |
| May | 294 | 12 |
| June | 59 | 113 |
| July | 5 | 237 |
| August | 9 | 171 |
| September | 107 | 47 |
| October | 436 | 1 |
| November | 762 | 0 |
| December | 1,080 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,047 | 582 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00055531. 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.
Have recent years at Mesa Verde National Park been warmer than normal?
2022 averaged 50.5°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.9°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.4°F | +1.5°F | 16.03 | 89.3 |
| 2022 | 50.5°F | +0.6°F | 16.94 | 53.2 |
Over 78 complete years from 1925 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.8°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00055531; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mesa Verde National Park's climate compare?
Mesa Verde National Park is warmer than 73 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 82. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.9°F is warmer than 40%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mesa Verde National Park is Dsa: continental, dry-summer, hot 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.
Questions about Mesa Verde National Park's climate
What is the coldest month at Mesa Verde National Park?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow at Mesa Verde National Park?
Yes: 65 inches in a normal year, falling on 29 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (18.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Mesa Verde National Park?
August, with 2.05 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mesa Verde National Park in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mesa Verde National Park in zone 7a in ZIP code 81330, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come at Mesa Verde National Park?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 27. Waiting until May 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cortez, CO11 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Mancos, CO13 miles from this station, 46.3°F a year
- Fort Lewis, CO24 miles from this station, 44.3°F a year
- Yellow Jacket (2 mi W), CO27 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made