Monte Vista, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Monte Vista's normal year runs from −2°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 9.2 inches of precipitation and 35 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.7°C, January lows of −19°C, July highs of 27°C, 234 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMonte Vista (2 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00055706
- Location37.58°N 106.19°W
- Elevation7,695 ft (2,345 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population4,030
On October 23, the normal high in Monte Vista is 59°F and the normal low 21°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Monte Vista.
- Jan 33° -2°
- Feb 40° 5°
- Mar 52° 16°
- Apr 59° 22°
- May 67° 31°
- Jun 77° 38°
- Jul 80° 45°
- Aug 78° 43°
- Sep 73° 35°
- Oct 62° 23°
- Nov 48° 12°
- Dec 35° 0°
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 Monte Vista each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −2°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.64 in), the least in February (0.32 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F | −2°F | 15.4°F | 0.40 | 6.0 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 40°F | 5°F | 22.3°F | 0.32 | 4.5 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 52°F | 16°F | 33.7°F | 0.66 | 6.5 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 22°F | 40.5°F | 0.66 | 4.8 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 67°F | 31°F | 49.2°F | 0.81 | 1.2 | 5 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 77°F | 38°F | 57.7°F | 0.50 | 0.0 | 4 | <1 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 80°F | 45°F | 62.5°F | 1.48 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 78°F | 43°F | 60.6°F | 1.64 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 73°F | 35°F | 53.7°F | 1.11 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 23°F | 42.4°F | 0.83 | 2.8 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 48°F | 12°F | 29.9°F | 0.41 | 3.9 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 35°F | 0°F | 17.2°F | 0.41 | 5.7 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 22°F | 40.4°F | 9.23 | 35.4 | 65 | 1 | 229 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −19°C | −9.2°C | 10 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 4°C | −15°C | −5.4°C | 8 mm | 11 cm |
| March | 11°C | −9°C | 0.9°C | 17 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 15°C | −5°C | 4.7°C | 17 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 19°C | 0°C | 9.6°C | 21 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 25°C | 3°C | 14.3°C | 13 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 7°C | 16.9°C | 38 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 6°C | 15.9°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 2°C | 12.1°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | −5°C | 5.8°C | 21 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 9°C | −11°C | −1.2°C | 10 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 1°C | −18°C | −8.2°C | 10 mm | 14 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00055706; 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 Monte Vista?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00055706.
When is the last frost in Monte Vista?
In Monte Vista, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 11 in half of years and after June 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 13 in half of years and before September 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
- June 111 year in 10 after June 25; 9 in 10 after June 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 131 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before September 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 92 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 115 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 30 in half of springs and before September 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Monte Vista in zone 5a in ZIP code 81144, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Monte Vista's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (20 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00055706; 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 Monte Vista?
In a normal year in Monte Vista, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 229 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 65 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 229a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 39high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 65a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 96°F, on July 30, 2016; the lowest is −38°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1957, with 13.06 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 49.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00055706; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00055706. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Monte Vista?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Monte Vista, 5.2 kWh per square metre a day. January is the sunniest month (85%) and July the cloudiest (77%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.2 |
| February | 83% | 4.1 |
| March | 83% | 5.4 |
| April | 79% | 6.4 |
| May | 80% | 7.1 |
| June | 85% | 7.8 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 77% | 6.1 |
| September | 82% | 5.5 |
| October | 84% | 4.4 |
| November | 83% | 3.3 |
| December | 82% | 2.7 |
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 Monte Vista need?
A normal year in Monte Vista brings 8,950 heating degree days, 67% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 15 cooling degree days, 98% 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 1,170 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,536 | 0 |
| February | 1,196 | 0 |
| March | 972 | 0 |
| April | 735 | 0 |
| May | 488 | 0 |
| June | 219 | 2 |
| July | 88 | 10 |
| August | 141 | 3 |
| September | 341 | 0 |
| October | 701 | 0 |
| November | 1,053 | 0 |
| December | 1,482 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,950 | 15 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00055706. 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 Monte Vista been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.5°F, 3.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 40.4°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.6°F | +2.2°F | 6.83 | 24.6 |
| 2022 | 41.6°F | +1.2°F | 9.60 | 21.5 |
| 2023 | 41.1°F | +0.8°F | 6.26 | 21.0 |
| 2025 | 43.5°F | +3.1°F | 9.85 | 19.2 |
Over 51 complete years from 1946 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.1°F per century (+0.17°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00055706; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Monte Vista's climate compare?
Monte Vista is warmer than 19 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 8. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.4°F is warmer than 6%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Monte Vista 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.
Questions about Monte Vista's climate
What is the coldest month in Monte Vista?
January, with a normal high of 33°F and a normal low of −2°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 45°F at night).
Does it snow in Monte Vista?
Yes: 35 inches in a normal year, falling on 19 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (6.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Monte Vista?
August, with 1.64 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.32 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Monte Vista in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Monte Vista in zone 5a in ZIP code 81144, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Monte Vista's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −21°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Monte Vista?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 11; in one year in ten it comes after June 25. Waiting until June 25 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Center, CO9 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Del Norte, CO10 miles from this station, 43.9°F a year
- Waverly (1 mi W), CO14 miles from this station, 40.4°F a year
- Alamosa, CO21 miles from this station, 42.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made