Waterdale, Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Waterdale's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 16.8 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.0°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 30°C, 426 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWaterdale
- Station IDUSC00058839
- Location40.43°N 105.21°W
- Elevation5,230 ft (1,594 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Waterdale is 60°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Waterdale.
- Jan 44° 15°
- Feb 45° 17°
- Mar 54° 25°
- Apr 60° 31°
- May 68° 41°
- Jun 80° 49°
- Jul 87° 55°
- Aug 84° 53°
- Sep 76° 45°
- Oct 63° 34°
- Nov 51° 24°
- Dec 43° 16°
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 Waterdale each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (2.96 in), the least in December (0.49 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 15°F | 29.2°F | 0.51 | 5.1 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 45°F | 17°F | 30.6°F | 0.61 | 7.2 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 25°F | 39.1°F | 1.19 | 6.3 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 31°F | 45.5°F | 1.93 | 4.7 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 68°F | 41°F | 54.5°F | 2.96 | 0.7 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 80°F | 49°F | 64.5°F | 1.74 | 0.0 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 87°F | 55°F | 70.6°F | 1.93 | 0.0 | 8 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 84°F | 53°F | 68.6°F | 1.70 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 76°F | 45°F | 60.7°F | 1.67 | 0.8 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 34°F | 48.4°F | 1.20 | 2.8 | 6 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 24°F | 37.6°F | 0.83 | 6.0 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| December | 43°F | 16°F | 29.3°F | 0.49 | 6.4 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 34°F | 48.2°F | 16.76 | 40.0 | 76 | 31 | 169 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −9°C | −1.6°C | 13 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 7°C | −9°C | −0.8°C | 15 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 12°C | −4°C | 3.9°C | 30 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.5°C | 49 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 20°C | 5°C | 12.5°C | 75 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 27°C | 9°C | 18.1°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 13°C | 21.4°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 12°C | 20.3°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 7°C | 15.9°C | 42 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 17°C | 1°C | 9.1°C | 30 mm | 7 cm |
| November | 11°C | −5°C | 3.1°C | 21 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 6°C | −9°C | −1.5°C | 12 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058839; 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 Waterdale?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00058839.
When is the last frost at Waterdale?
In Waterdale, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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 121 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 141 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 160 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Waterdale in zone 5b in ZIP code 80537, 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 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (15 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 USC00058839; 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 Waterdale?
In a normal year in Waterdale, 31 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 169 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 76 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 169a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 19high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 76a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1902) is 104°F, on July 18, 1934; the lowest is −41°F, on January 17, 1930.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1997, with 26.78 in; the snowiest season is 1969–70, with 83.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00058839; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00058839. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Waterdale?
Over a year 76% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Waterdale, 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 Waterdale record?
A normal year at Waterdale brings 6,522 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 439 cooling degree days, 52% 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 2,354 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,110 | 0 |
| February | 963 | 0 |
| March | 803 | 0 |
| April | 585 | 0 |
| May | 332 | 8 |
| June | 84 | 70 |
| July | 13 | 187 |
| August | 26 | 138 |
| September | 165 | 35 |
| October | 514 | 1 |
| November | 821 | 0 |
| December | 1,107 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,522 | 439 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00058839. 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 Waterdale been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 50.2°F, 2.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 48.2°F. 1 of the 3 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 47.9°F | −0.4°F | 12.55 | 57.2 |
| 2023 | 48.0°F | −0.2°F | 22.04 | 42.1 |
| 2025 | 50.2°F | +2.0°F | 14.67 | 22.3 |
Over 77 complete years from 1903 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.5°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00058839; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Waterdale's climate compare?
Waterdale is warmer than 56 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 79. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.2°F is warmer than 33%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Waterdale is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Waterdale's climate
What is the coldest month at Waterdale?
January, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow at Waterdale?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (7.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Waterdale?
May, with 2.96 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.49 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Waterdale in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Waterdale in zone 5b in ZIP code 80537, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Waterdale?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 30. Waiting until May 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Loveland, CO7 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Fort Collins, CO12 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Buckhorn Mountain (1 mi E), CO14 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Fort Collins (4 mi E), CO14 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made