Rush (1 mi N), Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Rush (1 mi N)'s normal year runs from 16°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 14.6 inches of precipitation and 31 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.2°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 30°C, 372 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRush (1 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00057287
- Location38.86°N 104.09°W
- Elevation6,054 ft (1,845 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Rush (1 mi N) is 61°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Rush (1 mi N).
- Jan 43° 16°
- Feb 45° 17°
- Mar 53° 24°
- Apr 60° 31°
- May 69° 41°
- Jun 81° 51°
- Jul 86° 56°
- Aug 83° 55°
- Sep 77° 46°
- Oct 64° 34°
- Nov 52° 23°
- Dec 43° 16°
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 Rush (1 mi N) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.71 in), the least in January (0.24 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 16°F | 29.5°F | 0.24 | 4.7 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 45°F | 17°F | 31.1°F | 0.31 | 3.8 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 24°F | 38.5°F | 0.77 | 6.5 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 31°F | 45.3°F | 1.59 | 5.6 | 6 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 69°F | 41°F | 55.3°F | 2.07 | 0.5 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 81°F | 51°F | 65.6°F | 1.82 | 0.0 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 56°F | 71.1°F | 2.71 | 0.0 | 9 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 55°F | 69.1°F | 2.66 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 46°F | 61.4°F | 1.00 | 0.3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 34°F | 48.8°F | 0.84 | 1.8 | 4 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 52°F | 23°F | 37.1°F | 0.36 | 4.0 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 43°F | 16°F | 29.4°F | 0.27 | 4.1 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 34°F | 48.5°F | 14.64 | 31.3 | 66 | 19 | 181 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −9°C | −1.4°C | 6 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 7°C | −8°C | −0.5°C | 8 mm | 10 cm |
| March | 12°C | −4°C | 3.6°C | 20 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 16°C | −1°C | 7.4°C | 40 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 21°C | 5°C | 12.9°C | 53 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 27°C | 10°C | 18.7°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 13°C | 21.7°C | 69 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 13°C | 20.6°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 8°C | 16.3°C | 25 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 18°C | 1°C | 9.3°C | 21 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 11°C | −5°C | 2.8°C | 9 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 6°C | −9°C | −1.4°C | 7 mm | 10 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057287; 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 Rush (1 mi N)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (5).
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 USC00057287.
When is the last frost at Rush (1 mi N)?
In Rush (1 mi N), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 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 91 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 146 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 164 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rush (1 mi N) in zone 5b in ZIP code 80833, 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 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (19 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 USC00057287; 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 Rush (1 mi N)?
In a normal year in Rush (1 mi N), 19 days a year reach 90°F, 181 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 66 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 19a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 181a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 28high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 66a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 12a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1924) is 104°F, on July 4, 1964; the lowest is −27°F, on January 12, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1999, with 23.53 in; the snowiest season is 2006–07, with 63.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00057287; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00057287. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Rush (1 mi N)?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Rush (1 mi N), 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (87%) and February the cloudiest (78%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 2.8 |
| February | 78% | 3.6 |
| March | 81% | 5.0 |
| April | 80% | 6.1 |
| May | 79% | 6.8 |
| June | 84% | 7.4 |
| July | 84% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 6.4 |
| September | 87% | 5.5 |
| October | 84% | 4.2 |
| November | 84% | 3.1 |
| December | 80% | 2.4 |
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 Rush (1 mi N) record?
A normal year at Rush (1 mi N) brings 6,488 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 511 cooling degree days, 44% 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 2,462 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,102 | 0 |
| February | 949 | 0 |
| March | 820 | 0 |
| April | 590 | 1 |
| May | 312 | 12 |
| June | 79 | 97 |
| July | 14 | 203 |
| August | 24 | 152 |
| September | 154 | 46 |
| October | 503 | 1 |
| November | 837 | 0 |
| December | 1,103 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,488 | 511 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057287. 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.
How does Rush (1 mi N)'s climate compare?
Rush (1 mi N) is warmer than 58 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 47. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.5°F is warmer than 34%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Rush (1 mi N) 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.
Which places near Rush (1 mi N) share this climate record?
Calhan 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.
- Calhan, CO730 people · 16 mi NW
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 Rush (1 mi N)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Rush (1 mi N)?
December, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow at Rush (1 mi N)?
Yes: 31 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (6.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Rush (1 mi N)?
July, with 2.71 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.24 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Rush (1 mi N) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Rush (1 mi N) in zone 5b in ZIP code 80833, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Rush (1 mi N)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ellicott, CO19 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Matheson, CO23 miles from this station, 48.3°F a year
- Limon, CO30 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Karval, CO31 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made