Walden, Colorado climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Walden's normal year runs from 2°F January nights to 76°F July afternoons, with 12.1 inches of precipitation and 67 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 1.8°C, January lows of −17°C, July highs of 24°C, 308 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWalden
- Station IDUSC00058756
- Location40.74°N 106.28°W
- Elevation8,056 ft (2,456 m)
- Population557
On October 23, the normal high in Walden is 49°F and the normal low 19°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 Walden.
- Jan 27° 2°
- Feb 30° 4°
- Mar 39° 13°
- Apr 47° 20°
- May 58° 28°
- Jun 69° 35°
- Jul 76° 38°
- Aug 74° 36°
- Sep 66° 29°
- Oct 53° 21°
- Nov 38° 12°
- Dec 28° 3°
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 Walden each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 2°F. The most precipitation falls in May (1.53 in), the least in January (0.58 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F | 2°F | 14.3°F | 0.58 | 9.3 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 30°F | 4°F | 17.0°F | 0.64 | 9.0 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 39°F | 13°F | 25.8°F | 0.72 | 7.7 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 47°F | 20°F | 33.7°F | 1.14 | 10.1 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 58°F | 28°F | 42.9°F | 1.53 | 3.8 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 69°F | 35°F | 51.7°F | 1.21 | 0.5 | 8 | <1 | 6 | 15 h |
| July | 76°F | 38°F | 57.3°F | 1.34 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 74°F | 36°F | 55.2°F | 1.27 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 66°F | 29°F | 47.9°F | 1.34 | 1.0 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 53°F | 21°F | 36.8°F | 0.98 | 6.0 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 38°F | 12°F | 25.1°F | 0.75 | 9.5 | 8 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| December | 28°F | 3°F | 15.4°F | 0.62 | 10.2 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 50°F | 20°F | 35.3°F | 12.12 | 67.1 | 103 | 1 | 258 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°C | −17°C | −9.8°C | 15 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −1°C | −15°C | −8.3°C | 16 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 4°C | −10°C | −3.4°C | 18 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 9°C | −7°C | 0.9°C | 29 mm | 26 cm |
| May | 15°C | −2°C | 6.1°C | 39 mm | 10 cm |
| June | 20°C | 1°C | 10.9°C | 31 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 24°C | 4°C | 14.1°C | 34 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 2°C | 12.9°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19°C | −1°C | 8.8°C | 34 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 12°C | −6°C | 2.7°C | 25 mm | 15 cm |
| November | 3°C | −11°C | −3.8°C | 19 mm | 24 cm |
| December | −2°C | −16°C | −9.2°C | 16 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058756; 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 Walden?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in 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 USC00058756.
How hot and how cold does it get in Walden?
In a normal year in Walden, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 258 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 258a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 67high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 94°F, on July 6, 1989; the lowest is −48°F, on January 12, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1995, with 18.16 in; the snowiest season is 1985–86, with 104.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00058756; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00058756. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Walden?
Over a year 77% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Walden, 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 Walden need?
A normal year in Walden brings 10,822 heating degree days, 2.0 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Eleven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 546 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,572 | 0 |
| February | 1,344 | 0 |
| March | 1,214 | 0 |
| April | 939 | 0 |
| May | 687 | 0 |
| June | 401 | 0 |
| July | 241 | 1 |
| August | 304 | 0 |
| September | 513 | 0 |
| October | 874 | 0 |
| November | 1,199 | 0 |
| December | 1,536 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,822 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058756. 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 Walden been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 38.1°F, 2.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 35.3°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37.2°F | +1.9°F | 10.41 | 73.7 |
| 2022 | 34.1°F | −1.2°F | 11.66 | 105.0 |
| 2023 | 34.9°F | −0.4°F | 11.00 | 70.7 |
| 2024 | 36.6°F | +1.3°F | 10.51 | 67.7 |
| 2025 | 38.1°F | +2.8°F | 8.22 | 54.9 |
Over 73 complete years from 1941 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.7°F per century (+0.21°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00058756; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Walden's climate compare?
Walden is warmer than 3 of the other 124 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 35.3°F is warmer than 2%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Walden is Dfc: continental, no dry season, cool 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 Walden's climate
What is the coldest month in Walden?
January, with a normal high of 27°F and a normal low of 2°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 38°F at night).
Does it snow in Walden?
Yes: 67 inches in a normal year, falling on 53 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Walden?
May, with 1.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.58 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Walden in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Walden in zone 4b in ZIP code 80480, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Walden's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −29°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Spicer, CO21 miles from this station, 37.9°F a year
- Hohnholz Ranch, CO21 miles from this station, 39.1°F a year
- Gould 4 mi SE State Forest State Park, CO22 miles from this station, 34.9°F a year
- Rustic (9 mi WSW), CO30 miles from this station, 41.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made