Vallecito Dam, 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 Vallecito Dam's primary NOAA station, VALLECITO DAM.
The climate verdict for Vallecito Dam
Vallecito Dam, Colorado has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 44°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 44°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 25.8"
- annual precipitation · 85" snow
- 118 days
- frost-free growing season
Vallecito Dam: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00058582 · Vallecito Dam, CO 44°F mean · 25.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 44°F
- RANK-COOL #961
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Guffey
- PRCP-MID 25.8"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,817 HDD
- STN-1 USC00058582
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Guffey, 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.
- Vallecito Dam (this station) 44°F
- Cold Guffey, CO 44°F
- Hot Gross Rsvr, CO 44°F
- Near Angle, UT 44°F
- Near Eastonville, CO 44°F
Climate Living Index · Vallecito Dam
Vallecito Dam: 20/100 · grade F
Vallecito Dam publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Vallecito Dam, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 25.8 in · 9.2 from 35 in | 67/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.7°F · 23.8° from 67.5°F | 15/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 208 calendar days | 10/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 118 days/year | 6/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 84.9 inches/year | 4/100 · F |
Vallecito Dam · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Vallecito Dam is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 22.6°F and warmest-month mean 65.0°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
- 65.0°F
- Coldest month
- 22.6°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 Vallecito Dam sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Vallecito Dam's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 86%
- Among 6,861 stations, Vallecito Dam sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 35th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 46th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Vallecito Dam compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Vallecito Dam's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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
Vallecito Dam's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 69 complete annual observations from 1945 to 2024, VALLECITO DAM warmed at a fitted rate of 0.21°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Vallecito Dam primary station fitted change +0.21 °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 | 38°F (3°C) | 7°F (-14°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 2.5" | 19.6" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 41°F (5°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 2.1" | 21.2" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 49°F (10°C) | 20°F (-6°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.7" | 10.4" | 30.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 57°F (14°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 1.4" | 3.6" | 25.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 66°F (19°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.7" | 0.6" | 11.4 | 0.0 |
| June | 77°F (25°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 1.6 | 0.2 |
| July | 81°F (27°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 2.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| August | 79°F (26°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 3.2" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| September | 73°F (23°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 56°F (14°C) | 3.4" | 0.0" | 3.6 | 0.1 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.3" | 0.7" | 20.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.9" | 7.4" | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 39°F (4°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 2.1" | 21.4" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 81°F around July 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 208 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 7°F near January 20.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 5, then returns to freezing around October 11, covering 208 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 3, when 50% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 11 at 18%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 98 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 18 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 35°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Vallecito Dam.
Where Vallecito Dam Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 208 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 35°F between the normal high and low.
Vallecito Dam 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: 19.6"
6.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 21.2"
7.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.4"
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.6"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
7.7 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
12.8 days with precipitation
14.9 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
7.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.4"
5.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 21.4"
7.7 days with precipitation
Vallecito Dam spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 26% of the annual total and December through February 26%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Vallecito Dam has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 42.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 3.4" and June 0.9". 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.
How Vallecito Dam's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 97 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 25.8" between them, or roughly 0.27 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 Vallecito Dam
Vallecito Dam averages 84.9 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 31 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: 84.9 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 31 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 33% 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 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 31
50% probability date
Growing Season
118 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,817
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
90
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside CO closest to Vallecito Dam 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 (44°F here).
- Baggs, WY 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Beach, ND 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Benson, MN 44°F · 0.0°F off
- Cheboygan, MI 44°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (25.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Mitchell, SD 25.8" · 0.0" off
- Hollis, OK 25.8" · 0.0" off
- Weslaco, TX 25.7" · 0.0" off
- Stamford, TX 25.7" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Vallecito Dam
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Vallecito Dam's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,817 annual heating degree days against 90 for cooling. Its 42.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 118 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. Vallecito Dam coldest normal
January
Averaging 23°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Vallecito Dam typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Vallecito Dam snow peak
December
Vallecito Dam averages 84.9 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Vallecito Dam's climate
How much snow does Vallecito Dam get? ▼
How cold does Vallecito Dam get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Vallecito Dam? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Vallecito Dam's primary station: VALLECITO DAM (USC00058582). 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 Vallecito Dam; 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 Vallecito Dam 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.