Rio Grande Reservoir, Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Rio Grande Reservoir's normal year runs from −4°F January nights to 76°F July afternoons, with 19.6 inches of precipitation and 108 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 2.7°C, January lows of −20°C, July highs of 24°C, 498 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRio Grande Reservoir
- Station IDUSC00057050
- Location37.72°N 107.27°W
- Elevation9,492 ft (2,893 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Rio Grande Reservoir is 55°F and the normal low 23°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 Rio Grande Reservoir.
- Jan 34° -4°
- Feb 37° -2°
- Mar 43° 9°
- Apr 50° 20°
- May 60° 30°
- Jun 71° 36°
- Jul 76° 42°
- Aug 73° 41°
- Sep 68° 35°
- Oct 58° 25°
- Nov 44° 12°
- Dec 34° -3°
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 Rio Grande Reservoir each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −4°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.93 in), the least in June (0.84 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | −4°F | 15.2°F | 1.22 | 19.3 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 37°F | −2°F | 17.3°F | 1.36 | 18.8 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 43°F | 9°F | 25.8°F | 1.37 | 15.3 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 50°F | 20°F | 34.8°F | 1.33 | 14.5 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 60°F | 30°F | 44.7°F | 1.12 | 3.7 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 71°F | 36°F | 53.4°F | 0.84 | 0.0 | 4 | <1 | 7 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 76°F | 42°F | 59.0°F | 2.21 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 73°F | 41°F | 57.0°F | 2.93 | 0.2 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 68°F | 35°F | 51.3°F | 2.49 | 0.5 | 9 | <1 | 13 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 58°F | 25°F | 41.5°F | 2.20 | 7.7 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 44°F | 12°F | 27.9°F | 1.38 | 15.1 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 34°F | −3°F | 15.4°F | 1.15 | 12.6 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 54°F | 20°F | 36.9°F | 19.60 | 107.7 | 77 | <1 | 256 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −20°C | −9.3°C | 31 mm | 49 cm |
| February | 3°C | −19°C | −8.2°C | 35 mm | 48 cm |
| March | 6°C | −13°C | −3.4°C | 35 mm | 39 cm |
| April | 10°C | −7°C | 1.6°C | 34 mm | 37 cm |
| May | 16°C | −1°C | 7.1°C | 28 mm | 9 cm |
| June | 22°C | 2°C | 11.9°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 6°C | 15.0°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 5°C | 13.9°C | 74 mm | 1 cm |
| September | 20°C | 1°C | 10.7°C | 63 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 14°C | −4°C | 5.3°C | 56 mm | 20 cm |
| November | 7°C | −11°C | −2.3°C | 35 mm | 38 cm |
| December | 1°C | −19°C | −9.2°C | 29 mm | 32 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057050; 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 Rio Grande Reservoir?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, 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 USC00057050.
When is the last frost at Rio Grande Reservoir?
In Rio Grande Reservoir, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 15 in half of years and after June 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 11 in half of years and before August 27 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 151 year in 10 after June 30; 9 in 10 after June 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 111 year in 10 before August 27; 9 in 10 before September 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 85 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 115 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 31 in half of springs and before September 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rio Grande Reservoir in zone 5a in ZIP code 81130, 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 USC00057050; 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 at Rio Grande Reservoir?
In a normal year in Rio Grande Reservoir, a 90°F day is rare, 256 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 77 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
- 256a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 39high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 77a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 27a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00057050.
How sunny is it at Rio Grande Reservoir?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Rio Grande Reservoir, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (85%) and December the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.9 |
| February | 76% | 3.8 |
| March | 78% | 5.1 |
| April | 75% | 6.1 |
| May | 76% | 6.8 |
| June | 85% | 7.8 |
| July | 76% | 6.7 |
| August | 77% | 6.0 |
| September | 80% | 5.4 |
| October | 81% | 4.2 |
| November | 79% | 3.1 |
| December | 75% | 2.5 |
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 Rio Grande Reservoir record?
A normal year at Rio Grande Reservoir brings 10,202 heating degree days, 90% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 729 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,544 | 0 |
| February | 1,337 | 0 |
| March | 1,217 | 0 |
| April | 906 | 0 |
| May | 629 | 0 |
| June | 347 | 0 |
| July | 187 | 1 |
| August | 247 | 0 |
| September | 411 | 0 |
| October | 729 | 0 |
| November | 1,115 | 0 |
| December | 1,536 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,202 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057050. 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 Rio Grande Reservoir been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 39.1°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 36.9°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 37.3°F | +0.4°F | – | – |
| 2024 | 39.1°F | +2.2°F | – | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00057050. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Rio Grande Reservoir's climate compare?
Rio Grande Reservoir is warmer than 7 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 107. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 36.9°F is warmer than 2%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rio Grande Reservoir 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 Rio Grande Reservoir share this climate record?
Piedra 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.
- Piedra, CO50 people · 20 mi S
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 Rio Grande Reservoir's climate
What is the coldest month at Rio Grande Reservoir?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of −4°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 42°F at night).
Does it snow at Rio Grande Reservoir?
Yes: 108 inches in a normal year, falling on 28 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (19.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Rio Grande Reservoir?
August, with 2.93 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.84 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rio Grande Reservoir in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rio Grande Reservoir in zone 5a in ZIP code 81130, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Rio Grande Reservoir?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 15; 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
- Hermit (8 mi SE), CO9 miles from this station, 38.0°F a year
- Santa Maria Reservoir, CO11 miles from this station, 36.3°F a year
- Creede Water Treatment Plant, CO20 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Creede, CO21 miles from this station, 40.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made