Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE), Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)'s normal year runs from 15°F December nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 17.4 inches of precipitation and 92 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.4°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 27°C, 442 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVirginia Dale (7 mi ENE)
- Station IDUSC00058690
- Location40.97°N 105.22°W
- Elevation7,015 ft (2,138 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) is 54°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE).
- Jan 38° 16°
- Feb 39° 15°
- Mar 47° 22°
- Apr 53° 27°
- May 62° 35°
- Jun 74° 43°
- Jul 81° 50°
- Aug 80° 48°
- Sep 72° 40°
- Oct 57° 30°
- Nov 45° 22°
- Dec 38° 15°
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 Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.57 in), the least in January (0.49 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 16°F | 26.9°F | 0.49 | 9.1 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 39°F | 15°F | 26.8°F | 0.58 | 10.9 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 47°F | 22°F | 34.3°F | 1.09 | 14.9 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 53°F | 27°F | 39.8°F | 2.26 | 19.1 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 62°F | 35°F | 48.6°F | 2.52 | 7.9 | 12 | <1 | 11 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 74°F | 43°F | 58.7°F | 2.05 | 0.2 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 81°F | 50°F | 65.5°F | 2.57 | 0.0 | 12 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 80°F | 48°F | 64.0°F | 1.63 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 72°F | 40°F | 55.9°F | 1.86 | 1.5 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 57°F | 30°F | 43.5°F | 1.12 | 8.3 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 45°F | 22°F | 33.3°F | 0.72 | 9.9 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h |
| December | 38°F | 15°F | 26.3°F | 0.52 | 10.2 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 30°F | 43.6°F | 17.41 | 92.0 | 101 | 8 | 203 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −9°C | −2.8°C | 12 mm | 23 cm |
| February | 4°C | −9°C | −2.9°C | 15 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 8°C | −6°C | 1.3°C | 28 mm | 38 cm |
| April | 12°C | −3°C | 4.3°C | 57 mm | 49 cm |
| May | 17°C | 2°C | 9.2°C | 64 mm | 20 cm |
| June | 23°C | 6°C | 14.8°C | 52 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 27°C | 10°C | 18.6°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 9°C | 17.8°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 5°C | 13.3°C | 47 mm | 4 cm |
| October | 14°C | −1°C | 6.4°C | 28 mm | 21 cm |
| November | 7°C | −6°C | 0.7°C | 18 mm | 25 cm |
| December | 3°C | −9°C | −3.2°C | 13 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058690; 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 Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00058690.
When is the last frost at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
In Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 31 in half of years and after June 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 19 in half of years and before September 5 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 311 year in 10 after June 15; 9 in 10 after May 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 191 year in 10 before September 5; 9 in 10 before October 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 110 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 134 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 16 in half of springs and before September 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) in zone 5b in ZIP code 82059, 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 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (25 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 USC00058690; 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 Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
In a normal year in Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE), 8 days a year reach 90°F, 203 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 101 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 203a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 40high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 101a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1995) is 98°F, on August 3, 2026; the lowest is −30°F, on February 5, 2014.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1997, with 28.11 in; the snowiest season is 2015–16, with 130.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00058690; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00058690. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE), 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (80%) and May the cloudiest (69%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 2.5 |
| February | 79% | 3.5 |
| March | 77% | 4.7 |
| April | 71% | 5.4 |
| May | 69% | 6.0 |
| June | 78% | 7.0 |
| July | 77% | 6.6 |
| August | 76% | 5.8 |
| September | 80% | 5.0 |
| October | 77% | 3.7 |
| November | 76% | 2.6 |
| December | 76% | 2.1 |
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 Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) record?
A normal year at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) brings 7,922 heating degree days, 47% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 154 cooling degree days, 83% 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 1,553 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,181 | 0 |
| February | 1,070 | 0 |
| March | 953 | 0 |
| April | 756 | 0 |
| May | 511 | 1 |
| June | 208 | 19 |
| July | 57 | 72 |
| August | 83 | 52 |
| September | 285 | 11 |
| October | 668 | 0 |
| November | 950 | 0 |
| December | 1,201 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,922 | 154 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058690. 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.
Have recent years at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 46.0°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.6°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44.7°F | +1.1°F | 14.51 | 99.7 |
| 2022 | 43.9°F | +0.3°F | 14.62 | 79.1 |
| 2023 | 43.7°F | +0.1°F | 20.60 | 80.4 |
| 2024 | 46.2°F | +2.6°F | 13.46 | 59.8 |
| 2025 | 46.0°F | +2.4°F | 17.07 | 49.3 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00058690. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)'s climate compare?
Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) is warmer than 31 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 86. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.6°F is warmer than 14%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) 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 Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
December, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
Yes: 92 inches in a normal year, falling on 46 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in April (19.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
July, with 2.57 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.49 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE) in zone 5b in ZIP code 82059, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −17°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come at Virginia Dale (7 mi ENE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 31; in one year in ten it comes after June 15. Waiting until June 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Hecla (1 mi E), WY13 miles from this station, 45.0°F a year
- Buckhorn Mountain (1 mi E), CO24 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Cheyenne, WY25 miles from this station, 46.9°F a year
- Nunn, CO27 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made