Ralston Rsvr, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Ralston Rsvr's primary NOAA station, RALSTON RSVR.
The climate verdict for Ralston Rsvr
Dryness leads the climate profile for Ralston Rsvr, Colorado, with 18.7 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 52°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.
- 52°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 18.7"
- annual precipitation · 63" snow
- 164 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Ralston Rsvr: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00056816 · Ralston Rsvr, CO 52°F mean · 18.7" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,225
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Everett
- PRCP-DRY 18.7"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,642 HDD
- STN-1 USC00056816
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Everett, PA (+ 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.
- Ralston Rsvr (this station) 52°F
- Hot Logan, OH 52°F
- Near Everett, PA 52°F
- Cold Coshocton Wpc P…, OH 51°F
- Near Fruitland, NM 51°F
Climate Living Index · Ralston Rsvr
Ralston Rsvr: 43/100 · grade D
Ralston Rsvr publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Ralston Rsvr, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 138 calendar days | 54/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 51.5°F · 16.0° from 67.5°F | 47/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 18.7 in · 16.3 from 35 in | 42/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 164 days/year | 37/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 62.5 inches/year | 14/100 · F |
Ralston Rsvr · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Ralston Rsvr is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfa
Coldest-month mean 33.8°F and warmest-month mean 73.8°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, hot summer climates (Cfa). Class Cfa is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, hot summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfa
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 73.8°F
- Coldest month
- 33.8°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 Ralston Rsvr sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Ralston Rsvr's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 47th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 75%
- Ralston Rsvr's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 36th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Ralston Rsvr compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Ralston Rsvr'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 | 45°F (7°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.7" | 8.0" | 25.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 46°F (8°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.9" | 9.8" | 23.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 54°F (12°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 1.7" | 11.4" | 19.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (16°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 2.5" | 9.9" | 11.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (21°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 3.0" | 1.4" | 2.8 | 0.4 |
| June | 81°F (27°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 5.4 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.2 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.8" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.2 |
| September | 76°F (25°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.8" | 0.4" | 0.4 | 1.4 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.3" | 3.9" | 6.6 | 0.0 |
| November | 53°F (11°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 0.9" | 8.7" | 18.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 45°F (7°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.7" | 9.0" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 16, short of 90°F on every date, while 138 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 22°F near February 8.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 26, then returns to freezing around November 10, covering 138 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 May 11, when 29% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 10 at 13%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 75 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 28 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 Ralston Rsvr.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 8.0"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.8"
4.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 11.4"
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.9"
7.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
9.1 days with precipitation
7.1 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.9"
5.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.7"
4.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.0"
4.2 days with precipitation
Ralston Rsvr spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 12%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Ralston Rsvr has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: May averages 3.0" and January 0.7". The three wettest months together take 39% 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 Ralston Rsvr's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 75 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 18.7" between them, or roughly 0.25 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 Ralston Rsvr
Ralston Rsvr averages 62.5 inches of snowfall a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 23 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: 62.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 23 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 33% 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 14
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 3
50% probability date
Growing Season
164 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,642
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
751
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Ralston Rsvr 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).
- Baileyville, KS 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Bluefield, WV 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Caldwell, OH 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Centralia, WA 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (18.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Max, ND 18.7" · 0.0" off
- Glennallen, AK 18.7" · 0.0" off
- Chadron, NE 18.8" · 0.0" off
- Westhope, ND 18.8" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Ralston Rsvr
heating led · dry · mid swing
Ralston Rsvr's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,642 annual heating degree days against 751 for cooling. Its 40.0°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Ralston Rsvr's frost-free season lasts about 164 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Ralston Rsvr coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 34°F (1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Ralston Rsvr typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Ralston Rsvr snow peak
March
Ralston Rsvr averages 62.5 inches of snow a year, with March the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Ralston Rsvr's climate
How much snow does Ralston Rsvr get? ▼
How cold does Ralston Rsvr get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Ralston Rsvr? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Ralston Rsvr's primary station: RALSTON RSVR (USC00056816). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Ralston Rsvr; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Ralston Rsvr 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.