Montrose, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Montrose's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 8.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 32°C, 210 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMontrose Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00093013
- Location38.51°N 107.90°W
- Elevation5,759 ft (1,755 m)
- Population21,646
On October 23, the normal high in Montrose is 62°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Montrose.
- Jan 39° 16°
- Feb 45° 22°
- Mar 55° 29°
- Apr 63° 35°
- May 74° 43°
- Jun 86° 52°
- Jul 90° 58°
- Aug 87° 56°
- Sep 79° 48°
- Oct 65° 36°
- Nov 51° 25°
- Dec 39° 16°
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 Montrose each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in September (1.17 in), the least in June (0.36 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. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39°F | 16°F | 27.2°F | 0.41 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 45°F | 22°F | 33.7°F | 0.42 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 55°F | 29°F | 42.1°F | 0.62 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 35°F | 49.2°F | 0.78 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 43°F | 58.6°F | 0.82 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 86°F | 52°F | 68.7°F | 0.36 | 3 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 90°F | 58°F | 74.0°F | 0.80 | 7 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 56°F | 71.4°F | 0.90 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 48°F | 63.2°F | 1.17 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 36°F | 50.7°F | 0.98 | 6 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 25°F | 38.1°F | 0.56 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 39°F | 16°F | 27.3°F | 0.46 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 36°F | 50.3°F | 8.28 | 72 | 44 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −9°C | −2.7°C | 10 mm |
| February | 7°C | −5°C | 0.9°C | 11 mm |
| March | 13°C | −2°C | 5.6°C | 16 mm |
| April | 17°C | 2°C | 9.6°C | 20 mm |
| May | 23°C | 6°C | 14.8°C | 21 mm |
| June | 30°C | 11°C | 20.4°C | 9 mm |
| July | 32°C | 14°C | 23.3°C | 20 mm |
| August | 30°C | 13°C | 21.9°C | 23 mm |
| September | 26°C | 9°C | 17.3°C | 30 mm |
| October | 18°C | 2°C | 10.4°C | 25 mm |
| November | 11°C | −4°C | 3.4°C | 14 mm |
| December | 4°C | −9°C | −2.6°C | 12 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Montrose's own co-op station Montrose #2 does: 22 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093013; 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 Montrose?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, September and October. Of those, May 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 USW00093013.
When is the last frost in Montrose?
In Montrose, 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 8 in half of years and before September 26 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 81 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 157 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Montrose in zone 6b in ZIP code 81401, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Montrose's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (24 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 USW00093013; 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 Montrose?
In a normal year in Montrose, 44 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 72 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 44a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 72a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 101°F, on July 14, 2002; the lowest is −14°F, on January 11, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2013, with 11.25 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093013; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093013. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Montrose, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 43°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 48°F; the driest air comes in December (15°F). May is the windiest month (8.4 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (93%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°F | 65% | 45% | 5.4 mph | 67% | 21% |
| February | 20°F | 53% | 33% | 6.7 mph | 67% | 17% |
| March | 22°F | 42% | 24% | 8.2 mph | 69% | 12% |
| April | 27°F | 37% | 22% | 8.3 mph | 75% | 9% |
| May | 32°F | 31% | 17% | 8.4 mph | 86% | 4% |
| June | 38°F | 29% | 16% | 8.0 mph | 93% | 2% |
| July | 48°F | 44% | 26% | 6.9 mph | 89% | 3% |
| August | 44°F | 43% | 25% | 6.9 mph | 86% | 4% |
| September | 35°F | 46% | 25% | 7.0 mph | 84% | 6% |
| October | 26°F | 53% | 30% | 6.3 mph | 77% | 12% |
| November | 19°F | 62% | 41% | 5.5 mph | 72% | 17% |
| December | 15°F | 70% | 51% | 4.9 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00093013. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Montrose?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Montrose, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (74%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 76% | 2.7 |
| February | 74% | 3.6 |
| March | 79% | 5.1 |
| April | 76% | 6.0 |
| May | 76% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.9 |
| July | 80% | 7.0 |
| August | 79% | 6.2 |
| September | 82% | 5.4 |
| October | 81% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 2.9 |
| 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 Montrose need?
A normal year in Montrose brings 6,017 heating degree days, 12% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 700 cooling degree days, 23% 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 2,862 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,173 | 0 |
| February | 875 | 0 |
| March | 712 | 0 |
| April | 476 | 1 |
| May | 221 | 21 |
| June | 35 | 146 |
| July | 1 | 279 |
| August | 4 | 203 |
| September | 102 | 49 |
| October | 444 | 1 |
| November | 807 | 0 |
| December | 1,167 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,017 | 700 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093013. 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 Montrose been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 53.1°F, 2.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.3°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.8°F | +1.5°F | 7.76 |
| 2022 | 50.5°F | +0.2°F | 6.94 |
| 2023 | 50.4°F | +0.1°F | 6.18 |
| 2024 | 52.2°F | +1.9°F | 9.60 |
| 2025 | 53.1°F | +2.8°F | 5.41 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093013. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Montrose's climate compare?
Montrose is warmer than 80 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 3. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.3°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Montrose 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 Montrose share this climate record?
Olathe 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.
- Olathe, CO1,970 people · 9 mi NW
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 Montrose's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Montrose. This page uses Montrose Regional Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montrose #2 USC00055722 | 2 mi SE | 5,789 ft | 51.5°F | 18°F | 90°F | 9.3 | 22 | April 28 |
| Montrose (11 mi ENE) USW00003060 | 11 mi E | 8,402 ft | 42.7°F | 14°F | 78°F | 21.2 | – | May 20 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Montrose's climate
What is the coldest month in Montrose?
January, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Montrose?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Montrose's NOAA station; Montrose's own co-op station Montrose #2 records 22 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Montrose?
September, with 1.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Montrose in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Montrose in zone 6b in ZIP code 81401, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Montrose's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −5°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Montrose?
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
- Montrose in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Black Canyon Of The Gunnison, CO12 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Delta, CO19 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Cimarron, CO19 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Ridgway, CO25 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made