Denver has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 89°, a January night drops to 19°, and about 49 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normalsUpdated once a decade
☀️
July high
89°
160th hottest of 481 Colorado towns
❄️
January low
19°
78th mildest of 481 Colorado towns
💧
Rain + melted snow
15 in
200th driest of 481 Colorado towns
🌨️
Snow a winter
49 in
232nd least snowy of 465 Colorado towns
A normal year
What a year in Denver feels like
❄️
Winter
46° / 19°
Typical high / low · 16 days with an inch or more of snow
🌷
Spring
63° / 35°
Typical high / low · Last frost around May 4
☀️
Summer
87° / 56°
Typical high / low · 42 days reach 90° in a normal year
🍂
Fall
67° / 37°
Typical high / low · First frost around Oct 8
10°
20°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
100°
32°
46°
19°
47°
21°
56°
28°
62°
34°
72°
44°
84°
53°
89°
59°
87°
57°
79°
48°
66°
36°
54°
26°
46°
19°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
32°, freezingBar runs from the typical overnight low up to the afternoon high
Best months to be outsideMayJunSepHighs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more
Month by month
Denver weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
Month
High
Low
Rain + melt
Snow
Wet days
Snow on ground
30-yr range
January
46°
19°
0.5"
6.4"
5
10
23° – 39°
February
47°
21°
0.6"
7.6"
6
9
29° – 42°
March
56°
28°
1.0"
8.8"
7
4
36° – 49°
April
62°
34°
1.9"
6.2"
8
2
42° – 54°
May
72°
44°
2.5"
1.4"
11
0
52° – 62°
June
84°
53°
1.6"
0
8
0
64° – 74°
July
89°
59°
2.0"
0
9
0
70° – 77°
August
87°
57°
1.6"
0
9
0
68° – 76°
September
79°
48°
1.3"
0.8"
6
0
58° – 69°
October
66°
36°
1.0"
3.9"
5
2
43° – 57°
November
54°
26°
0.7"
7.3"
6
5
32° – 48°
December
46°
19°
0.5"
6.6"
5
10
25° – 36°
Year
66°
37°
15.2"
49.0"
84
43
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more. The 30-year range is the coldest and warmest that month’s average temperature got between 1991 and 2020.
Rain & snow
Rain and snow in Denver
Denver gets 15 inches of rain and melted snow a year. May is the wettest month and January the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 84 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 43 days of the year.
💧
15 in
Rain + melted snow a year
Less rain than 94% of U.S. towns
❄️
49 in
Snow in a normal winter
More snow than 81% of U.S. towns
⛄
43 days
With 1"+ of snow on the ground
More than 61% of U.S. towns
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
2.5"
JFMAMJJASOND
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
8.8"
JFMAMJJASOND
Frost & the growing season
About 156 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by May 4 and the first one by October 8. That leaves about 156 frost-free days for gardens, shorter than 75% of U.S. towns.
🌱 May 4
🍂 Oct 8
156 frost-free days
JFMAMJJASOND
🥶
156
nights at or below 32° in a normal year
🧊
5
nights below 0° in a normal year
🔥
42
days that reach 90° in a normal year
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
JFMAMJJASOND
90° days by month
Average days at 90° or more
JFMAMJJASOND
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling a home in Denver
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Denver, 88% of that work is heating and 12% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
🔥
5,765 heating degree daysMore heating than 50% of U.S. towns
❄️
813 cooling degree daysLess cooling than 52% of U.S. towns
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Around Denver
Denver and its neighbors
Denver borders 12 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 2.9°. Commerce City has both the coldest January nights (17°) and the hottest July afternoons (90°). Denver’s January low is 19° and its July high 89°.
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Then and now
Warmer than it used to be
+1.5°1991–2020 average vs. the 20th century (1901–2000)
The last 30 years in Denver averaged 1.5° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in March (+3.5°). The shift is larger than in 70% of U.S. towns.
❄️ Winter+1.7°now 33°, was 31°
🌷 Spring+1.8°now 49°, was 48°
☀️ Summer+1.4°now 71°, was 70°
🍂 Fall+1.1°now 52°, was 51°
Change by month1991–2020 average minus 1901–2000 average, at Denver’s spot on NOAA’s grid
+3.5°
−0.1°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Year to year
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average, and real years wander around it. November swings the most: between 1991 and 2020 its average temperature ranged from 32° to 48°. July is the most reliable, staying within 7°.
10°
20°
30°
40°
50°
60°
70°
80°
90°
JanJFebFMarMAprAMayMJunJJulJAugASepSOctONovNDecD
Coldest to warmest month in 30 yearsNormal
Questions
Common questions about Denver’s climate
What is the coldest month in Denver?
December, with a typical high of 46° and a low of 19°.
What is the hottest month in Denver?
July, with a typical high of 89° and a low of 59°. About 42 days a year reach 90°.
How much snow does Denver get?
About 49 inches in a normal winter, most of it in March.
When is the first frost in Denver?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by October 8, and the last spring frost by May 4.
What is the rainiest month in Denver?
May, with 2.5 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 15 inches.
📍Temperatures and rainfall come from NOAA’s gridded climate normals for Denver itself (about a 3-mile square). Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Denver-stapleton, CO (1 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000.