Steamboat Springs, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Steamboat Springs's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 24.7 inches of precipitation and 185 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 4.9°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 28°C, 627 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSteamboat Springs
- Station IDUSC00057936
- Location40.49°N 106.82°W
- Elevation6,866 ft (2,093 m)
- Population13,620
On October 23, the normal high in Steamboat Springs is 56°F and the normal low 24°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Steamboat Springs.
- Jan 29° 5°
- Feb 34° 8°
- Mar 45° 18°
- Apr 54° 27°
- May 65° 34°
- Jun 76° 39°
- Jul 83° 46°
- Aug 82° 44°
- Sep 74° 36°
- Oct 59° 26°
- Nov 43° 16°
- Dec 30° 6°
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 Steamboat Springs each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.65 in), the least in March (1.58 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29°F | 5°F | 16.9°F | 2.46 | 46.6 | 15 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 34°F | 8°F | 21.1°F | 1.92 | 35.7 | 13 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 45°F | 18°F | 31.2°F | 1.58 | 19.5 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 54°F | 27°F | 40.5°F | 2.54 | 13.2 | 13 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 65°F | 34°F | 49.6°F | 2.65 | 2.8 | 13 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 76°F | 39°F | 57.6°F | 1.58 | 0.3 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 15 h |
| July | 83°F | 46°F | 64.5°F | 1.72 | 0.0 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 44°F | 62.8°F | 1.80 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 36°F | 54.6°F | 2.32 | 0.4 | 10 | <1 | 11 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 59°F | 26°F | 42.7°F | 2.22 | 6.9 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 43°F | 16°F | 29.7°F | 1.93 | 23.3 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| December | 30°F | 6°F | 18.3°F | 1.96 | 35.8 | 13 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 56°F | 25°F | 40.8°F | 24.68 | 184.5 | 136 | 6 | 233 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −15°C | −8.4°C | 62 mm | 118 cm |
| February | 1°C | −13°C | −6.1°C | 49 mm | 91 cm |
| March | 7°C | −8°C | −0.4°C | 40 mm | 50 cm |
| April | 12°C | −3°C | 4.7°C | 65 mm | 34 cm |
| May | 18°C | 1°C | 9.8°C | 67 mm | 7 cm |
| June | 24°C | 4°C | 14.2°C | 40 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 28°C | 8°C | 18.1°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 7°C | 17.1°C | 46 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 2°C | 12.6°C | 59 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 15°C | −3°C | 5.9°C | 56 mm | 18 cm |
| November | 6°C | −9°C | −1.3°C | 49 mm | 59 cm |
| December | −1°C | −14°C | −7.6°C | 50 mm | 91 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057936; 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 Steamboat Springs?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00057936.
When is the last frost in Steamboat Springs?
In Steamboat Springs, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 9 in half of years and after June 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 12 in half of years and before August 31 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 91 year in 10 after June 24; 9 in 10 after May 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 121 year in 10 before August 31; 9 in 10 before September 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 93 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 126 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 20 in half of springs and before September 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Steamboat Springs in zone 5b in ZIP code 80487, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Steamboat Springs's NOAA station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (22 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 USC00057936; 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 Steamboat Springs?
In a normal year in Steamboat Springs, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 233 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 136 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 233a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 61high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 136a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 55a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 100°F, on June 29, 1990; the lowest is −54°F, on January 7, 1913.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1957, with 35.14 in; the snowiest season is 1973–74, with 266.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00057936; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00057936. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Steamboat Springs?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Steamboat Springs, 4.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 73% | 2.4 |
| February | 73% | 3.3 |
| March | 77% | 4.8 |
| April | 73% | 5.6 |
| May | 73% | 6.3 |
| June | 82% | 7.5 |
| July | 81% | 7.0 |
| August | 79% | 6.0 |
| September | 81% | 5.2 |
| October | 75% | 3.6 |
| November | 72% | 2.5 |
| December | 69% | 2.0 |
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 Steamboat Springs need?
A normal year in Steamboat Springs brings 8,871 heating degree days, 65% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 75 cooling degree days, 92% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,359 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,491 | 0 |
| February | 1,229 | 0 |
| March | 1,048 | 0 |
| April | 734 | 0 |
| May | 478 | 0 |
| June | 228 | 4 |
| July | 61 | 44 |
| August | 93 | 26 |
| September | 313 | 1 |
| October | 691 | 0 |
| November | 1,061 | 0 |
| December | 1,446 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,871 | 75 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00057936. 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 Steamboat Springs been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 43.4°F, 2.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 40.8°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42.8°F | +2.0°F | 20.37 | – |
| 2022 | 39.5°F | −1.3°F | 26.10 | – |
| 2023 | 40.4°F | −0.4°F | 26.69 | – |
| 2024 | 42.2°F | +1.4°F | 28.02 | 227.8 |
| 2025 | 43.4°F | +2.6°F | 19.09 | – |
Over 88 complete years from 1897 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.9°F per century (+0.16°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00057936; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Steamboat Springs's climate compare?
Steamboat Springs is warmer than 20 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 116. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 40.8°F is warmer than 7%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Steamboat Springs 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.
Questions about Steamboat Springs's climate
What is the coldest month in Steamboat Springs?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow in Steamboat Springs?
Yes: 185 inches in a normal year, falling on 73 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (46.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Steamboat Springs?
May, with 2.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 1.58 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Steamboat Springs in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Steamboat Springs in zone 5b in ZIP code 80487, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Steamboat Springs's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −23°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come in Steamboat Springs?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 9; in one year in ten it comes after June 24. Waiting until June 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Steamboat Springs in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Spicer, CO20 miles from this station, 37.9°F a year
- Hayden, CO22 miles from this station, 43.7°F a year
- Yampa, CO24 miles from this station, 40.2°F a year
- Walden, CO34 miles from this station, 35.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made