Vail, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Vail's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 22.4 inches of precipitation and 189 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.3°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 25°C, 570 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVail
- Station IDUSC00058575
- Location39.64°N 106.35°W
- Elevation8,304 ft (2,531 m)
- Population4,466
On October 23, the normal high in Vail is 51°F and the normal low 23°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Vail.
- Jan 29° 7°
- Feb 33° 9°
- Mar 42° 17°
- Apr 49° 24°
- May 60° 31°
- Jun 71° 36°
- Jul 77° 42°
- Aug 74° 41°
- Sep 67° 34°
- Oct 54° 25°
- Nov 38° 15°
- Dec 28° 7°
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 Vail each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in April (2.41 in), the least in June (1.24 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 | 7°F | 17.5°F | 1.98 | 35.3 | 12 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 33°F | 9°F | 21.1°F | 2.01 | 35.7 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 42°F | 17°F | 29.2°F | 1.76 | 28.2 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 49°F | 24°F | 36.6°F | 2.41 | 21.2 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 60°F | 31°F | 45.7°F | 2.00 | 4.8 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 71°F | 36°F | 53.5°F | 1.24 | 0.6 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 15 h |
| July | 77°F | 42°F | 59.2°F | 1.77 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 74°F | 41°F | 57.4°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 67°F | 34°F | 50.3°F | 1.96 | 0.9 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 54°F | 25°F | 39.7°F | 1.83 | 8.6 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 38°F | 15°F | 26.4°F | 2.00 | 25.9 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| December | 28°F | 7°F | 17.6°F | 1.73 | 28.0 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 52°F | 24°F | 37.9°F | 22.44 | 189.2 | 117 | <1 | 248 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −14°C | −8.1°C | 50 mm | 90 cm |
| February | 1°C | −13°C | −6.1°C | 51 mm | 91 cm |
| March | 5°C | −8°C | −1.6°C | 45 mm | 72 cm |
| April | 10°C | −5°C | 2.6°C | 61 mm | 54 cm |
| May | 16°C | −1°C | 7.6°C | 51 mm | 12 cm |
| June | 22°C | 2°C | 11.9°C | 31 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 25°C | 5°C | 15.1°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 5°C | 14.1°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | 1°C | 10.2°C | 50 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 12°C | −4°C | 4.3°C | 46 mm | 22 cm |
| November | 3°C | −9°C | −3.1°C | 51 mm | 66 cm |
| December | −2°C | −14°C | −8.0°C | 44 mm | 71 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058575; 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 Vail?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (7).
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 USC00058575.
When is the last frost in Vail?
In Vail, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 21 in half of years and after July 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 7 in half of years and before August 26 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 211 year in 10 after July 9; 9 in 10 after June 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 71 year in 10 before August 26; 9 in 10 before September 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 77 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 109 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 31 in half of springs and before September 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Vail in zone 5b in ZIP code 81657, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Vail's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Colorado · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00058575; 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 Vail?
In a normal year in Vail, a 90°F day is rare, 248 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 117 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
- 248a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 71high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 117a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 57a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00058575.
How sunny is Vail?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Vail, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (81%) and May the cloudiest (70%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.7 |
| February | 78% | 3.7 |
| March | 81% | 5.2 |
| April | 74% | 5.8 |
| May | 70% | 6.3 |
| June | 81% | 7.5 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 76% | 5.9 |
| September | 80% | 5.2 |
| October | 76% | 3.8 |
| November | 75% | 2.8 |
| December | 74% | 2.3 |
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 Vail need?
A normal year in Vail brings 9,881 heating degree days, 84% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3 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 744 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,471 | 0 |
| February | 1,229 | 0 |
| March | 1,110 | 0 |
| April | 852 | 0 |
| May | 598 | 0 |
| June | 345 | 0 |
| July | 183 | 2 |
| August | 237 | 1 |
| September | 441 | 0 |
| October | 786 | 0 |
| November | 1,158 | 0 |
| December | 1,471 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,881 | 3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058575. 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 Vail been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 39.7°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 37.9°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 37.7°F | −0.2°F | 21.13 | 157.2 |
| 2024 | 39.1°F | +1.2°F | 23.60 | 172.2 |
| 2025 | 39.7°F | +1.8°F | 16.96 | 121.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00058575. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Vail's climate compare?
Vail is warmer than 10 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 112. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 37.9°F is warmer than 3%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Vail 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 Vail share this climate record?
5 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Edwards, CO10,415 people · 14 mi W
- Avon, CO5,898 people · 9 mi W
- Minturn, CO955 people · 7 mi S
- Red Cliff, CO241 people · 9 mi S
- Wolcott, CO0 people · 18 mi W
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 Vail's climate
What is the coldest month in Vail?
January, with a normal high of 29°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 42°F at night).
Does it snow in Vail?
Yes: 189 inches in a normal year, falling on 67 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (35.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Vail?
April, with 2.41 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 1.24 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Vail in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Vail in zone 5b in ZIP code 81657, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Vail's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Vail?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 21; in one year in ten it comes after July 9. Waiting until July 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Vail in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Green Mount Dam, CO17 miles from this station, 38.6°F a year
- Dillon, CO17 miles from this station, 35.5°F a year
- Climax, CO21 miles from this station, 32.2°F a year
- Sugarloaf Reservoir, CO27 miles from this station, 35.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made