Ridgway, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ridgway's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 85°F July afternoons, with 16.1 inches of precipitation and 81 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 30°C, 409 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRidgway
- Station IDUSC00057020
- Location38.15°N 107.76°W
- Elevation7,049 ft (2,149 m)
- Population1,281
On October 23, the normal high in Ridgway is 61°F and the normal low 24°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 18%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ridgway.
- Jan 40° 7°
- Feb 44° 12°
- Mar 53° 20°
- Apr 59° 26°
- May 70° 34°
- Jun 81° 39°
- Jul 85° 46°
- Aug 82° 45°
- Sep 76° 36°
- Oct 64° 26°
- Nov 51° 16°
- Dec 40° 8°
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 Ridgway each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 85°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.04 in), the least in June (0.81 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 7°F | 23.4°F | 1.02 | 13.6 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 44°F | 12°F | 27.9°F | 0.92 | 12.6 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 53°F | 20°F | 36.3°F | 1.27 | 13.6 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 26°F | 42.5°F | 1.43 | 7.3 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 70°F | 34°F | 51.6°F | 1.50 | 1.4 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 81°F | 39°F | 60.3°F | 0.81 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 85°F | 46°F | 65.8°F | 1.87 | 0.0 | 10 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 45°F | 63.4°F | 2.04 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 76°F | 36°F | 56.0°F | 1.59 | 0.3 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 26°F | 44.8°F | 1.36 | 4.4 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 16°F | 33.6°F | 1.21 | 11.4 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 40°F | 8°F | 23.8°F | 1.10 | 16.4 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 26°F | 44.1°F | 16.12 | 81.0 | 86 | 11 | 223 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −14°C | −4.8°C | 26 mm | 35 cm |
| February | 7°C | −11°C | −2.3°C | 23 mm | 32 cm |
| March | 11°C | −7°C | 2.4°C | 32 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 15°C | −3°C | 5.8°C | 36 mm | 19 cm |
| May | 21°C | 1°C | 10.9°C | 38 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 27°C | 4°C | 15.7°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 8°C | 18.8°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 7°C | 17.4°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 2°C | 13.3°C | 40 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 18°C | −4°C | 7.1°C | 35 mm | 11 cm |
| November | 10°C | −9°C | 0.9°C | 31 mm | 29 cm |
| December | 4°C | −14°C | −4.6°C | 28 mm | 42 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057020; 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 Ridgway?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, June 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 USC00057020.
When is the last frost in Ridgway?
In Ridgway, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 11 in half of years and after June 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 13 in half of years and before September 1 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
- June 111 year in 10 after June 30; 9 in 10 after May 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 131 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before September 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 92 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 117 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 26 in half of springs and before September 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ridgway in zone 6a in ZIP code 81432, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ridgway's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (29 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 Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00057020; 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 in Ridgway?
In a normal year in Ridgway, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 223 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 86 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 223a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 21high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 86a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1982) is 99°F, on July 18, 2023; the lowest is −36°F, on February 1, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1985, with 20.86 in; the snowiest season is 2007–08, with 127.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00057020; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00057020. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ridgway?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ridgway, 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 Ridgway need?
A normal year in Ridgway brings 7,694 heating degree days, 43% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 111 cooling degree days, 88% 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 1,584 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,290 | 0 |
| February | 1,037 | 0 |
| March | 888 | 0 |
| April | 675 | 0 |
| May | 415 | 1 |
| June | 155 | 15 |
| July | 38 | 64 |
| August | 76 | 28 |
| September | 272 | 2 |
| October | 626 | 0 |
| November | 944 | 0 |
| December | 1,279 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,694 | 111 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057020. 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 Ridgway been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 46.5°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 44.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45.4°F | +1.3°F | 13.34 | 54.7 |
| 2022 | 44.7°F | +0.6°F | 15.98 | 89.4 |
| 2023 | 44.3°F | +0.2°F | 13.92 | 77.2 |
| 2024 | 46.5°F | +2.4°F | 17.64 | 78.8 |
| 2025 | 46.5°F | +2.4°F | 12.47 | 50.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00057020. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ridgway's climate compare?
Ridgway is warmer than 38 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 70. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 44.1°F is warmer than 16%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ridgway 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 Ridgway share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Loghill Village, CO665 people · 4 mi N
- Colona, CO69 people · 12 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.
Questions about Ridgway's climate
What is the coldest month in Ridgway?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (85°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow in Ridgway?
Yes: 81 inches in a normal year, falling on 30 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (16.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Ridgway?
August, with 2.04 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.81 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ridgway in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ridgway in zone 6a in ZIP code 81432, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Ridgway's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Ridgway?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 11; in one year in ten it comes after June 30. Waiting until June 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ouray, CO10 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Telluride, CO16 miles from this station, 38.1°F a year
- Placerville, CO19 miles from this station, 45.4°F a year
- Cimarron, CO23 miles from this station, 43.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made