Telluride, CO Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Telluride's primary NOAA station, TELLURIDE 4WNW.
The climate verdict for Telluride
Telluride, Colorado has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 38°F. At 47/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 17% of scores.
- 38°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 47/100
- comfort score, above 17% of station-mapped location scores
- 20.4"
- annual precipitation · 131" snow
Telluride: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00058204 · Telluride, CO 38°F mean · 20.4" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 38°F
- RANK-COOL #206
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Williams Fork D…
- PRCP-DRY 20.4"
- SWING-MID 41°F
- COMF-LOW 47/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,781 HDD
- STN-1 USC00058204
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Williams Fork Dam, CO (+ 0.1 °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.
- Telluride (this station) 38°F
- Cold Eaglecrest Base, AK 38°F
- Hot Williams Fork D…, CO 38°F
- Near Pahaska, WY 38°F
- Near Hermit, CO 38°F
Climate Living Index · Telluride
Telluride: 10/100 · grade F
Telluride publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Telluride, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 47/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 20.4 in · 14.6 from 35 in | 49/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 38.1°F · 29.4° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 259 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 130.8 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Telluride · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Telluride is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 18.2°F and warmest-month mean 58.7°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
- 58.7°F
- Coldest month
- 18.2°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 Telluride sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Telluride's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 97%
- Among 6,861 stations, Telluride sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 72%
- Telluride's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 38th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Telluride compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Telluride's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
47 17th percentile score exceeds 17% 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%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Telluride's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 86 complete annual observations from 1912 to 2025, TELLURIDE 4WNW warmed at a fitted rate of 0.13°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Telluride primary station fitted change +0.13 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 0°F (-18°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 1.4" | 23.6" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (3°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 1.4" | 22.0" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 44°F (7°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.6" | 22.7" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 51°F (10°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.7" | 13.1" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 60°F (16°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.6" | 5.1" | 21.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 73°F (23°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 0.8" | 0.3" | 8.7 | 0.0 |
| July | 77°F (25°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 1.0 | 0.1 |
| August | 74°F (23°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.6" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 2.3" | 0.7" | 12.2 | 0.0 |
| October | 57°F (14°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 1.6" | 5.3" | 27.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 45°F (7°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 1.5" | 18.7" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 2°F (-17°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 1.4" | 19.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 77°F around July 13, short of 90°F on every date, while 259 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -1°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into June 6, then returns to freezing around September 22, covering 259 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 5, when 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 17 at 21%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 117 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 18 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 Telluride.
Where Telluride Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 259 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.
Telluride 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: 23.6"
9.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 22.0"
9.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 22.7"
9.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 13.1"
9.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.1"
9.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
5.3 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
14.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
11.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 5.3"
8.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 18.7"
7.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 19.3"
9.2 days with precipitation
Telluride spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 29% of the annual total and December through February 21%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Telluride has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 40.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 2.6" and June 0.8". The three wettest months together take 36% 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.
Telluride is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 117 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 32% of the calendar, and they carry 20.4" between them. At roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is August at about 15 wet days; the driest is June at about 5.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Telluride
Telluride averages 130.8 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 53 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: 130.8 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 53 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 64% 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
N/A
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,781
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 Telluride 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 (38°F here).
- Cavalier, ND 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Cook, MN 38°F · 0.1°F off
- Northome, MN 38°F · 0.1°F off
- Powers Lake, ND 38°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (20.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Colby, KS 20.4" · 0.0" off
- Sterling City, TX 20.4" · 0.0" off
- Zapata, TX 20.4" · 0.0" off
- Pullman, WA 20.4" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Telluride
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Telluride's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,781 annual heating degree days against 1 for cooling. Its 40.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Telluride. That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
-
1. Telluride coldest normal
January
Averaging 18°F (-8°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Telluride typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Telluride snow peak
January
Telluride averages 130.8 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Telluride's climate
How much snow does Telluride get? ▼
How cold does Telluride get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Telluride? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Telluride's primary station: TELLURIDE 4WNW (USC00058204). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 0876795). Match rule for Telluride: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Telluride 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.