Ouray, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Ouray's primary NOAA station, OURAY - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Ouray
Ouray, Colorado has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 44°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 44°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 23.6"
- annual precipitation · 126" snow
- 137 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Ouray: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00056203 · Ouray, CO 44°F mean · 23.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #1,098
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Lowman
- PRCP-DRY 23.6"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,684 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00056203
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Lowman, ID (+ 0.1 °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.
- Ouray (this station) 44°F
- Cold Prichard, ID 44°F
- Hot Lowman, ID 44°F
- Near Ridgway, CO 44°F
- Near Howard Prairie…, OR 44°F
Climate Living Index · Ouray
Ouray: 24/100 · grade F
Ouray publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ouray, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 23.6 in · 11.4 from 35 in | 60/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 183 calendar days | 23/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 44.2°F · 23.3° from 67.5°F | 17/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 137 days/year | 17/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 126.4 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Ouray · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ouray is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 24.7°F and warmest-month mean 65.9°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 65.9°F
- Coldest month
- 24.7°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 Ouray sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ouray's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 84%
- Among 6,861 stations, Ouray sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 33rd percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 41st percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ouray compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ouray's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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 | 34°F (1°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 1.9" | 22.4" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.7" | 19.6" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 45°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 2.4" | 23.8" | 27.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 52°F (11°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 2.1" | 14.6" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 63°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 1.8" | 3.6" | 5.3 | 0.0 |
| June | 74°F (23°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 0.9" | 0.1" | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| July | 79°F (26°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| August | 75°F (24°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 69°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.4" | 0.5" | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.1" | 5.1" | 11.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.9" | 20.2" | 26.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 35°F (2°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 1.6" | 16.5" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 80°F around July 14, short of 90°F on every date, while 183 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 14°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 20, then returns to freezing around October 21, covering 183 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 20, when 46% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 10 at 19%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 107 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 21 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 27°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Ouray.
Where Ouray Stands Nationally
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 183 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Ouray earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 22.4"
8.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 19.6"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 23.8"
9.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.6"
9.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.6"
7.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
5.5 days with precipitation
9.6 days with precipitation
14.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.1"
7.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 20.2"
8.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 16.5"
7.2 days with precipitation
Ouray spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 24% of the annual total and December through February 22%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Ouray has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.2°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 2.4" and June 0.9". The three wettest months together take 31% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
How Ouray's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 106 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 23.6" between them, or roughly 0.22 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 Ouray
Ouray averages 126.4 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 46 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: 126.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 46 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 53% 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 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
137 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,684
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
117
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Ouray 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 (44°F here).
- Andover, SD 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Greer, AZ 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Jordan, MT 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Jordan, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (23.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Edinburg, TX 23.6" · 0.0" off
- Aspermont, TX 23.6" · 0.0" off
- Port Alsworth, AK 23.6" · 0.0" off
- Enderlin, ND 23.6" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Ouray
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Ouray's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,684 annual heating degree days against 117 for cooling. Its 41.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 137 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Ouray coldest normal
January
Averaging 25°F (-4°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Ouray typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Ouray snow peak
March
Ouray averages 126.4 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Ouray's climate
How much snow does Ouray get? ▼
How cold does Ouray get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ouray? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ouray's primary station: OURAY (USC00056203). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Ouray 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 0856420). Match rule for Ouray: 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 Ouray 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.