Ordway, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Ordway's primary NOAA station, ORDWAY 1 ENE - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Ordway
Dryness leads the climate profile for Ordway, Colorado, with 11.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 52°F. At 54/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 52°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 54/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 11.2"
- annual precipitation · 14" snow
- 159 days
- frost-free growing season
Ordway: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00056131 · Ordway, CO 52°F mean · 11.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,431
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Keokuk Lock Dam
- PRCP-ARID 11.2"
- SWING-WIDE 49°F
- COMF-LOW 54/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,774 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00056131
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Keokuk Lock Dam, IA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every CO station list.
- Ordway (this station) 52°F
- Cold Hamilton, MO 52°F
- Hot Chicago Midway, IL 52°F
- Near Keokuk Lock Dam, IA 52°F
- Near Tooele, UT 52°F
Climate Living Index · Ordway
Ordway: 28/100 · grade F
Ordway publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ordway, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 54/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 14.1 inches/year | 57/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 52.1°F · 15.4° from 67.5°F | 50/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 159 days/year | 33/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 11.2 in · 23.8 from 35 in | 16/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 242 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
Ordway · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ordway's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 77.5°F
- Coldest month
- 28.6°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Ordway sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ordway's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 50th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 91%
- Ordway's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 77%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Ordway is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ordway compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ordway's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
54 31st percentile score exceeds 31% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F (7°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.2" | 2.4" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 48°F (9°C) | 17°F (-9°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.2" | 3.0" | 27.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (15°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 0.5" | 2.7" | 26.2 | 0.0 |
| April | 67°F (19°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.1" | 0.8" | 13.7 | 0.4 |
| May | 77°F (25°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 1.8 | 5.9 |
| June | 89°F (32°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 17.9 |
| July | 94°F (35°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 25.5 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 22.5 |
| September | 83°F (29°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 0.7" | 0.1" | 0.4 | 12.4 |
| October | 70°F (21°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 0.8" | 0.7" | 13.6 | 1.4 |
| November | 56°F (13°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.3" | 1.1" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 45°F (7°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.2" | 3.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Ordway works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 95°F by July 13 and hold at or above 90°F on 68 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 174 dates, bottoming at 12°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 18 through August 24, covering 68 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 28 to October 14.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 11, then returns to freezing around October 21, covering 174 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is August 3, when 18% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 2 at 5%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 37 wet dates a year.
The widest day
October 22 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Ordway.
Where Ordway Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 68 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Ordway earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 2.4"
1.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.0"
1.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.7"
3.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
3.7 days with precipitation
4.2 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
2.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.1"
1.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.3"
1.6 days with precipitation
Ordway runs a summer-peaked wet season
50% of Ordway's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is July at 2.2", on a wide 48.9°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: July, August, June, taking 50% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.2".
- Winter share: 6% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Ordway's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 37 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 11.2" between them, or roughly 0.30 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Ordway
Ordway averages 14.1 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 6 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 14.1 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 6 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 13% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 8
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 2
50% probability date
Growing Season
159 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,774
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,102
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Ordway on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (52°F here).
- Donora, PA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Dyer, NV 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Everett, WA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Flemington, NJ 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (11.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Madera, CA 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Payette, ID 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Waterville, WA 11.3" · 0.0" off
- Madras, OR 11.2" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Ordway
heating led · dry · mid swing
Ordway's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,774 annual heating degree days against 1,102 for cooling. Its 48.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Ordway's frost-free season lasts about 159 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Ordway coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 29°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Ordway typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Ordway snow peak
December
Ordway averages 14.1 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Ordway's climate
How much snow does Ordway get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Ordway get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ordway? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ordway's primary station: ORDWAY 1 ENE (USC00056131). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Ordway area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 0856145). Match rule for Ordway: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Ordway comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.