Yellow Jacket (2 mi W), Colorado climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)'s normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 15.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.7°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 32°C, 382 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationYellow Jacket (2 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00059275
- Location37.52°N 108.75°W
- Elevation6,933 ft (2,113 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) is 63°F and the normal low 33°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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W).
- Jan 41° 16°
- Feb 45° 20°
- Mar 54° 26°
- Apr 63° 32°
- May 72° 39°
- Jun 85° 48°
- Jul 90° 54°
- Aug 86° 53°
- Sep 79° 47°
- Oct 66° 36°
- Nov 53° 25°
- Dec 41° 17°
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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.82 in), the least in June (0.37 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 16°F | 28.4°F | 1.21 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 45°F | 20°F | 32.3°F | 1.41 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 26°F | 40.1°F | 1.07 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 32°F | 47.3°F | 0.94 | 5 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 72°F | 39°F | 55.5°F | 1.19 | 6 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 48°F | 66.4°F | 0.37 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 90°F | 54°F | 72.1°F | 1.78 | 7 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 86°F | 53°F | 69.5°F | 1.82 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 79°F | 47°F | 62.6°F | 1.40 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 36°F | 51.0°F | 1.48 | 5 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 53°F | 25°F | 38.8°F | 1.06 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 41°F | 17°F | 29.3°F | 1.30 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 34°F | 49.5°F | 15.03 | 70 | 32 | 173 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −9°C | −2.0°C | 31 mm |
| February | 7°C | −7°C | 0.2°C | 36 mm |
| March | 12°C | −3°C | 4.5°C | 27 mm |
| April | 17°C | 0°C | 8.5°C | 24 mm |
| May | 22°C | 4°C | 13.1°C | 30 mm |
| June | 29°C | 9°C | 19.1°C | 9 mm |
| July | 32°C | 12°C | 22.3°C | 45 mm |
| August | 30°C | 12°C | 20.8°C | 46 mm |
| September | 26°C | 8°C | 17.0°C | 36 mm |
| October | 19°C | 2°C | 10.6°C | 38 mm |
| November | 11°C | −4°C | 3.8°C | 27 mm |
| December | 5°C | −8°C | −1.5°C | 33 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Cortez station (15 miles away), gets 33 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00059275; 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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00059275.
When is the last frost at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
In Yellow Jacket (2 mi W), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 17 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 24 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 171 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 169 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) in zone 6b in ZIP code 81335, 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 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°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 USC00059275; 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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
In a normal year in Yellow Jacket (2 mi W), 32 days a year reach 90°F, 173 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 70 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 32a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 173a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 12high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 70a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1962) is 110°F, on July 2, 2002; the lowest is −26°F, on January 12, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1978, with 22.61 in; the snowiest season is 1992–93, with 156.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00059275; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00059275. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W), 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (75%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78% | 2.8 |
| February | 76% | 3.7 |
| March | 80% | 5.1 |
| April | 81% | 6.4 |
| May | 84% | 7.5 |
| June | 91% | 8.3 |
| July | 85% | 7.3 |
| August | 84% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 5.7 |
| October | 85% | 4.4 |
| November | 83% | 3.2 |
| December | 75% | 2.4 |
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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) record?
A normal year at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) brings 6,159 heating degree days, 15% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 521 cooling degree days, 43% 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 2,553 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,135 | 0 |
| February | 914 | 0 |
| March | 770 | 0 |
| April | 531 | 0 |
| May | 301 | 8 |
| June | 59 | 101 |
| July | 4 | 224 |
| August | 11 | 148 |
| September | 110 | 39 |
| October | 434 | 0 |
| November | 784 | 0 |
| December | 1,106 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,159 | 521 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00059275. 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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 51.8°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 49.5°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.2°F | −1.3°F | 16.82 |
| 2022 | 50.9°F | +1.4°F | 13.63 |
| 2023 | 49.3°F | −0.2°F | 14.45 |
| 2024 | 51.8°F | +2.3°F | 14.29 |
Over 39 complete years from 1963 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.4°F per century (+0.35°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00059275; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)'s climate compare?
Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) is warmer than 69 of the 125 places with their own NOAA record in Colorado, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.5°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) is Dsa: continental, dry-summer, hot 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 Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Cortez station (15 miles away), records 33 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
August, with 1.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.37 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Yellow Jacket (2 mi W) in zone 6b in ZIP code 81335, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Yellow Jacket (2 mi W)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 17; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Colorado climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Yellow Jacket (4 mi NE), CO6 miles from this station, 48.4°F a year
- Cortez, CO17 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Dove Creek, CO19 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Hovenweep National Monument, UT20 miles from this station, 53.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made