Ouray, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ouray's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 24.1 inches of precipitation and 173 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 611 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOuray #2
- Station IDUSC00056205
- Location38.03°N 107.67°W
- Elevation7,718 ft (2,352 m)
- Population912
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ouray.
- Jan 36° 16°
- Feb 41° 18°
- Mar 47° 25°
- Apr 54° 30°
- May 64° 38°
- Jun 76° 47°
- Jul 80° 52°
- Aug 77° 51°
- Sep 71° 45°
- Oct 58° 34°
- Nov 46° 24°
- Dec 36° 17°
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 Ouray each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.70 in), the least in June (0.97 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 16°F | 26.0°F | 1.77 | 27.7 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 41°F | 18°F | 29.5°F | 1.74 | 30.4 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 47°F | 25°F | 35.9°F | 2.47 | 27.4 | 12 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 30°F | 42.1°F | 2.49 | 22.6 | 12 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 64°F | 38°F | 50.9°F | 1.84 | 6.7 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 76°F | 47°F | 61.4°F | 0.97 | 0.1 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 80°F | 52°F | 66.1°F | 2.66 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 51°F | 64.1°F | 2.70 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 71°F | 45°F | 57.7°F | 2.04 | 0.6 | 11 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 58°F | 34°F | 46.1°F | 2.20 | 6.1 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 46°F | 24°F | 35.2°F | 1.72 | 18.7 | 8 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 36°F | 17°F | 26.6°F | 1.47 | 33.1 | 12 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 33°F | 45.1°F | 24.07 | 173.4 | 135 | <1 | 179 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −9°C | −3.3°C | 45 mm | 70 cm |
| February | 5°C | −8°C | −1.4°C | 44 mm | 77 cm |
| March | 8°C | −4°C | 2.2°C | 63 mm | 70 cm |
| April | 12°C | −1°C | 5.6°C | 63 mm | 57 cm |
| May | 18°C | 3°C | 10.5°C | 47 mm | 17 cm |
| June | 24°C | 8°C | 16.3°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 11°C | 18.9°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 7°C | 14.3°C | 52 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 15°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 56 mm | 15 cm |
| November | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 44 mm | 47 cm |
| December | 2°C | −8°C | −3.0°C | 37 mm | 84 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00056205; 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 Ouray?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00056205.
When is the last frost in Ouray?
In Ouray, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 24 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 181 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after May 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 139 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 4 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ouray in zone 5b in ZIP code 81427, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00056205; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Ouray?
In a normal year in Ouray, a 90°F day is rare, 179 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 135 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
- 179a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 36high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 135a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 40a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00056205.
How sunny is Ouray?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ouray, 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 Ouray need?
A normal year in Ouray brings 7,349 heating degree days, 37% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 130 cooling degree days, 86% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,728 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,207 | 0 |
| February | 995 | 0 |
| March | 902 | 0 |
| April | 687 | 0 |
| May | 438 | 1 |
| June | 132 | 25 |
| July | 30 | 65 |
| August | 64 | 35 |
| September | 224 | 5 |
| October | 584 | 0 |
| November | 894 | 0 |
| December | 1,190 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,349 | 130 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00056205. 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 Ouray been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 47.5°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46.3°F | +1.2°F | 21.17 | 126.1 |
| 2022 | 44.9°F | −0.2°F | 21.38 | 159.7 |
| 2023 | 45.2°F | +0.1°F | 19.17 | 158.6 |
| 2024 | 46.8°F | +1.7°F | 24.69 | 140.7 |
| 2025 | 47.5°F | +2.4°F | 17.93 | 127.6 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00056205. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ouray's climate compare?
Ouray is warmer than 42 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 115. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.1°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ouray 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.
Which places near Ouray share this climate record?
Portland 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.
- Portland, CO117 people · 5 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.
What do Ouray's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Ouray. This page uses Ouray #2; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ouray station USC00056203 | in town | 7,840 ft | 44.2°F | 15°F | 79°F | 23.6 | 126 | May 17 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Ouray's climate
What is the coldest month in Ouray?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Ouray?
Yes: 173 inches in a normal year, falling on 62 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (33.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Ouray?
August, with 2.70 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.97 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ouray in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ouray in zone 5b in ZIP code 81427, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Ouray?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ridgway, CO10 miles from this station, 44.1°F a year
- Telluride, CO12 miles from this station, 38.1°F a year
- Silverton, CO15 miles from this station, 34.7°F a year
- Lake City, CO19 miles from this station, 40.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made