Denver climate
Denver is warmest in July, with average highs of 30 °C, and coldest in December, when nights average -8.7 °C. May is the wettest month (80 mm) and December the driest (20 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Denver averages 494 mm of rain, 107 days above 25 °C and 157 days below freezing.
United States · 1,609 m elevation · population 729,019 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 30 °C
- Coldest month December -8.7 °C
- Driest month December 20 mm
- Wettest month May 80 mm
- Least cloud September 36 % cloud
- Hottest on record June 39 °C
- Coldest on record February -31 °C
What to expectDenver through the year
Denver has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 5.1 °C in December to 30 °C in July, a swing of 26 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 107 days a year reach 25 °C, 44 of them reach 30 °C, 157 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C, in June.
Rain is strongly seasonal. May averages 80 mm against 20 mm in December — 3.9 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.6 °C | 21 mm | 43 % |
| February | 7.1 °C | 22 mm | 46 % |
| March | 12.2 °C | 47 mm | 47 % |
| April | 15.9 °C | 68 mm | 52 % |
| May | 20.9 °C | 80 mm | 52 % |
| June | 27.2 °C | 51 mm | 42 % |
| July | 30.2 °C | 40 mm | 41 % |
| August | 29.0 °C | 39 mm | 41 % |
| September | 25.4 °C | 35 mm | 36 % |
| October | 18.3 °C | 39 mm | 38 % |
| November | 10.6 °C | 30 mm | 41 % |
| December | 5.1 °C | 20 mm | 41 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.6 °C | -8.6 °C | -3.1 °C | 18.1 °C | -29.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| February | 7.1 °C | -8.1 °C | -1.9 °C | 23.1 °C | -31.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| March | 12.2 °C | -4.2 °C | 2.8 °C | 26.7 °C | -26.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| April | 15.9 °C | -0.0 °C | 7.1 °C | 28.7 °C | -19.5 °C | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| May | 20.9 °C | 5.6 °C | 12.8 °C | 33.0 °C | -11.6 °C | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| June | 27.2 °C | 11.2 °C | 19.0 °C | 38.5 °C | 1.4 °C | 21 | 9 | 0 |
| July | 30.2 °C | 14.9 °C | 22.5 °C | 37.5 °C | 8.1 °C | 28 | 18 | 0 |
| August | 29.0 °C | 14.1 °C | 21.3 °C | 36.7 °C | 5.4 °C | 27 | 13 | 0 |
| September | 25.4 °C | 9.9 °C | 17.0 °C | 37.2 °C | -10.6 °C | 18 | 4 | 0 |
| October | 18.3 °C | 3.0 °C | 9.4 °C | 30.1 °C | -21.9 °C | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| November | 10.6 °C | -4.0 °C | 1.8 °C | 24.3 °C | -25.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| December | 5.1 °C | -8.7 °C | -3.4 °C | 19.3 °C | -30.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 31 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21 mm | 5 | 9.7 h/day | 43 % | 61 % | 14 km/h |
| February | 22 mm | 5 | 11 h/day | 46 % | 59 % | 15 km/h |
| March | 47 mm | 8 | 12 h/day | 47 % | 57 % | 16 km/h |
| April | 68 mm | 10 | 13 h/day | 52 % | 56 % | 17 km/h |
| May | 80 mm | 12 | 14 h/day | 52 % | 58 % | 17 km/h |
| June | 51 mm | 8 | 15 h/day | 42 % | 51 % | 16 km/h |
| July | 40 mm | 7 | 15 h/day | 41 % | 49 % | 15 km/h |
| August | 39 mm | 7 | 14 h/day | 41 % | 51 % | 14 km/h |
| September | 35 mm | 5 | 12 h/day | 36 % | 50 % | 15 km/h |
| October | 39 mm | 6 | 11 h/day | 38 % | 54 % | 15 km/h |
| November | 30 mm | 6 | 10 h/day | 41 % | 59 % | 14 km/h |
| December | 20 mm | 4 | 9.4 h/day | 41 % | 61 % | 13 km/h |
How Denver compares
The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.
| Destination | Summer high | Winter low | Rain per year | Days above 25 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 30 °C | -8.7 °C | 494 mm | 107 |
| Lakewood · United States | 30 °C | -8.3 °C | 505 mm | 102 |
| Aurora · United States | 31 °C | -7.4 °C | 394 mm | 115 |
| Fort Collins · United States | 30 °C | -7.7 °C | 474 mm | 99 |
| Colorado Springs · United States | 29 °C | -8.4 °C | 480 mm | 98 |
Where Denver ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Places with the best weather in North America in September | 10th of 50 | 92/100 |
| Places with the best weather in North America in August | 47th of 50 | 83/100 |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Denver.
QuestionsCommon questions about Denver’s climate
When is the best time to visit Denver?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and December the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Denver get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 30 °C. About 44 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 39 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -8.7 °C in December, the coldest month. A normal year has 157 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Denver?
May, averaging 80 mm over 12 days with rain. The driest month is December with 20 mm. The year as a whole averages 494 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Denver rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 39.739°, -104.985° , 1609 m above sea level (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.