Rio Grande Rsvr, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Rio Grande Rsvr's primary NOAA station, RIO GRANDE RSVR.
The climate verdict for Rio Grande Rsvr
Dryness leads the climate profile for Rio Grande Rsvr, Colorado, with 19.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 37°F. At 34/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 2% of scores.
- 37°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 34/100
- comfort score, above 2% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.6"
- annual precipitation · 108" snow
- 88 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Rio Grande Rsvr: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00057050 · Rio Grande Rsvr, CO 37°F mean · 19.6" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 37°F
- RANK-COOL #137
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sargents
- PRCP-DRY 19.6"
- SWING-MID 44°F
- COMF-LOW 34/100
- LOAD-HEAT 10,202 HDD
- STN-1 USC00057050
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sargents, CO (+ 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.
- Rio Grande Rsvr (this station) 37°F
- Hot Hebgen Dam, MT 37°F
- Near Sargents, CO 37°F
- Near Anderson Lake, AK 37°F
- Near Eklutna Wtp, AK 37°F
Climate Living Index · Rio Grande Rsvr
Rio Grande Rsvr: 8/100 · grade F
Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande Rsvr, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 34/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 19.6 in · 15.4 from 35 in | 46/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 36.9°F · 30.6° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 88 days/year | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 245 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 107.7 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Rio Grande Rsvr · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Rio Grande Rsvr is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 15.2°F and warmest-month mean 59.0°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
- 59.0°F
- Coldest month
- 15.2°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 Rio Grande Rsvr sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Rio Grande Rsvr's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 98%
- Among 6,861 stations, Rio Grande Rsvr sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 73%
- Rio Grande Rsvr's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 52nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Rio Grande Rsvr compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Rio Grande Rsvr's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
34 2nd percentile score exceeds 2% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 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) | -4°F (-20°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 1.2" | 19.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 37°F (3°C) | -2°F (-19°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 1.4" | 18.8" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 43°F (6°C) | 9°F (-13°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 1.4" | 15.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 50°F (10°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.3" | 14.5" | 29.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 60°F (16°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.1" | 3.7" | 26.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 71°F (22°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 6.8 | 0.0 |
| July | 76°F (24°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 0.0 |
| August | 73°F (23°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.9" | 0.2" | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 2.5" | 0.5" | 12.5 | 0.0 |
| October | 58°F (14°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 2.2" | 7.7" | 29.0 | 0.0 |
| November | 44°F (7°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.4" | 15.1" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 34°F (1°C) | -3°F (-19°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 1.1" | 12.6" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 76°F around July 15, short of 90°F on every date, while 245 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -5°F near December 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 26, then returns to freezing around September 25, covering 245 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 4, when 43% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 16 at 12%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 77 wet dates a year.
The widest day
February 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 39°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Rio Grande Rsvr.
Where Rio Grande Rsvr Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 245 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 39°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Rio Grande Rsvr earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 19.3"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 18.8"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.3"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.5"
6.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.7"
5.7 days with precipitation
4.2 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
13.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
9.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.7"
6.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.1"
4.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.6"
3.7 days with precipitation
Rio Grande Rsvr spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 31% of the annual total and December through February 19%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Rio Grande Rsvr has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 43.8°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 2.9" and June 0.8". 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 Rio Grande Rsvr's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 77 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 19.6" 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 Rio Grande Rsvr
Rio Grande Rsvr averages 107.7 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 28 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: 107.7 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 28 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 55% 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
September 11
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 15
50% probability date
Growing Season
88 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
10,202
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Rio Grande 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 (37°F here).
- Tower, MN 37°F · 0.0°F off
- Island Park, ID 37°F · 0.1°F off
- Jackson, MT 37°F · 0.1°F off
- Valdez, AK 37°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Big Spring, TX 19.6" · 0.0" off
- Interior, SD 19.6" · 0.0" off
- Hershey, NE 19.6" · 0.0" off
- Carrizo Springs, TX 19.6" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Rio Grande Rsvr
heating led · dry · mid swing
Rio Grande Rsvr's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 10,202 annual heating degree days against 1 for cooling. Its 43.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 88 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. Rio Grande Rsvr coldest normal
January
Averaging 15°F (-9°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Rio Grande Rsvr typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Rio Grande Rsvr snow peak
January
Rio Grande Rsvr averages 107.7 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Rio Grande Rsvr's climate
How much snow does Rio Grande Rsvr get? ▼
How cold does Rio Grande Rsvr get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Rio Grande Rsvr? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Rio Grande Rsvr's primary station: RIO GRANDE RSVR (USC00057050). 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 Rio Grande 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 Rio Grande 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.