Ouray (4 mi NE), Utah climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Ouray (4 mi NE)'s normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 95°F July afternoons, with 7.0 inches of precipitation and 16 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.3°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 35°C, 179 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOuray (4 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00426568
- Location40.13°N 109.64°W
- Elevation4,674 ft (1,425 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Ouray (4 mi NE) is 63°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ouray (4 mi NE).
- Jan 29° 5°
- Feb 39° 13°
- Mar 57° 26°
- Apr 67° 35°
- May 77° 44°
- Jun 89° 52°
- Jul 95° 58°
- Aug 92° 55°
- Sep 82° 46°
- Oct 67° 33°
- Nov 49° 22°
- Dec 32° 10°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Ouray (4 mi NE) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in September (0.93 in), the least in February (0.33 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 5°F | 16.8°F | 0.34 | 4.4 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 39°F | 13°F | 26.2°F | 0.33 | 3.1 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 26°F | 41.5°F | 0.49 | 1.1 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 35°F | 50.6°F | 0.73 | 0.5 | 5 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 44°F | 60.5°F | 0.84 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 89°F | 52°F | 70.1°F | 0.40 | 0.0 | 3 | 16 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 95°F | 58°F | 76.7°F | 0.56 | 0.0 | 3 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 92°F | 55°F | 73.6°F | 0.64 | 0.0 | 4 | 22 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 82°F | 46°F | 63.9°F | 0.93 | 0.0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 33°F | 49.9°F | 0.92 | 0.4 | 4 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 22°F | 35.0°F | 0.42 | 1.3 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| December | 32°F | 10°F | 20.9°F | 0.43 | 4.7 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 33°F | 48.8°F | 7.03 | 15.5 | 46 | 73 | 170 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −15°C | −8.4°C | 9 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 4°C | −10°C | −3.2°C | 8 mm | 8 cm |
| March | 14°C | −3°C | 5.3°C | 12 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 19°C | 2°C | 10.3°C | 19 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 25°C | 7°C | 15.8°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 11°C | 21.2°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 15°C | 24.8°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 13°C | 23.1°C | 16 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 8°C | 17.7°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 1°C | 9.9°C | 23 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | −6°C | 1.7°C | 11 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 0°C | −12°C | −6.2°C | 11 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00426568; 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.
Which months are mildest at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00426568.
When is the last frost at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
In Ouray (4 mi NE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 2 in half of years and after May 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 21 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 16; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 152 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 173 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 19 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ouray (4 mi NE) in zone 5b in ZIP code 84063, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (26 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 Utah · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00426568; 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 at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
In a normal year in Ouray (4 mi NE), 73 days a year reach 90°F (10 of them 100°F or more), 170 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 46 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 73a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 170a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 46a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00426568.
How sunny is it at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Ouray (4 mi NE), 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 2.4 |
| February | 74% | 3.3 |
| March | 74% | 4.5 |
| April | 76% | 5.8 |
| May | 79% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.7 |
| July | 84% | 7.2 |
| August | 84% | 6.4 |
| September | 86% | 5.4 |
| October | 83% | 3.9 |
| November | 78% | 2.6 |
| December | 71% | 2.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Ouray (4 mi NE) record?
A normal year at Ouray (4 mi NE) brings 6,773 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 906 cooling degree days, 0% 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 3,124 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,492 | 0 |
| February | 1,088 | 0 |
| March | 730 | 0 |
| April | 432 | 1 |
| May | 172 | 32 |
| June | 26 | 180 |
| July | 1 | 363 |
| August | 3 | 270 |
| September | 93 | 59 |
| October | 469 | 1 |
| November | 900 | 0 |
| December | 1,367 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,773 | 906 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00426568. 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.
Have recent years at Ouray (4 mi NE) been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 46.2°F, 2.6°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 48.8°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.7°F | +1.9°F | 8.66 | 5.2 |
| 2022 | 49.3°F | +0.5°F | 6.95 | 19.7 |
| 2023 | 46.2°F | −2.6°F | 5.91 | 38.5 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00426568. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ouray (4 mi NE)'s climate compare?
Ouray (4 mi NE) is warmer than 43 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Utah, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.8°F is warmer than 35%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ouray (4 mi NE) 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.
Questions about Ouray (4 mi NE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (95°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
Yes: 16 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
September, with 0.93 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ouray (4 mi NE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ouray (4 mi NE) in zone 5b in ZIP code 84063, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −16°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Ouray (4 mi NE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 2; in one year in ten it comes after May 16. Waiting until May 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Utah climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fort Duchesne, UT16 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Roosevelt, UT20 miles from this station, 46.2°F a year
- Jensen, UT22 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Vernal, UT22 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made