Cortez weather
Right now, the week ahead, and 115 years of records for Cortez, Colorado — from the National Weather Service.
Right now
Next 24 hours
Hourly graph at weather.gov →The last 30 days
Daily high and low against the normal range
Daily precipitation
Readings from the National Weather Service cooperative station in Cortez, through November 14, 2026. The station reports once a day, so the latest day can lag.
A Cortez year, month by month
Normal high and low
Precipitation (rain plus melted snow)
Snowfall
| Month | Normal high | Normal low | Precipitation | Snowfall | Record high | Record low | Wettest month | Snowiest month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 17° | 1.06 in | 8.0 in | 63° (1994) | −27° (1963) | 3.51 in (1957) | 34.3 in (1949) |
| February | 47° | 22° | 0.96 in | 7.2 in | 79° (1986) | −31° (1933) | 3.86 in (1915) | 41.0 in (1915) |
| March | 56° | 28° | 0.86 in | 5.0 in | 86° (2026) | −7° (1939) | 4.60 in (1995) | 32.0 in (1916) |
| April | 64° | 33° | 0.72 in | 2.2 in | 88° (1932) | 6° (1945) | 3.40 in (1957) | 16.0 in (1932) |
| May | 73° | 41° | 0.93 in | 0.3 in | 95° (1932) | 15° (1990) | 3.82 in (1957) | 3.7 in (2019) |
| June | 85° | 49° | 0.37 in | 0.0 in | 102° (2021) | 27° (1939) | 2.33 in (2015) | — |
| July | 91° | 57° | 1.25 in | 0.0 in | 102° (2026) | 31° (1915) | 4.06 in (1957) | — |
| August | 88° | 56° | 1.34 in | 0.0 in | 102° (2026) | 30° (1915) | 3.80 in (1957) | 0.5 in (1913) |
| September | 80° | 48° | 1.48 in | 0.0 in | 99° (2022) | 23° (1930) | 4.96 in (2026) | — |
| October | 67° | 36° | 1.08 in | 0.6 in | 90° (2024) | 7° (2019) | 6.56 in (1972) | 6.3 in (1949) |
| November | 54° | 26° | 0.85 in | 2.7 in | 75° (2020) | −14° (1931) | 2.78 in (1985) | 15.3 in (1931) |
| December | 43° | 18° | 0.89 in | 7.4 in | 67° (2025) | −22° (1978) | 3.60 in (1951) | 38.5 in (1967) |
| Year | 66° | 36° | 11.79 in | 33.4 in | 102° (2026) | −31° (1933) | ||
- Average last spring freeze
- May 14
- Average first fall freeze
- October 5
- Frost-free season
- about 144 days
- Last spring freeze this year
- May 7
- Latest spring freeze on record
- June 22 (1989)
- Earliest fall freeze on record
- September 9 (1962, 1941, 1929)
A freeze here means a low of 32° or colder at the Cortez station. Averages are the 1991–2020 medians; gardens on the mesas and along the river run earlier or later.
- Hottest day
- 102° on August 9, 2026 (also July 12, 2026; July 23, 2022)
- Coldest night
- −31° on February 8, 1933
- Wettest day
- 2.56 in on September 10, 2003
- Snowiest day
- 14.0 in on December 19, 1951
- Warmest year
- 2025, averaging 53.3°
- Coldest year
- 1991, averaging 46.4°
- Wettest year
- 1957, 26.34 in
- Driest year
- 1989, 5.23 in
- Snowiest season
- 1931–32, 75.4 in
- Most 90° days
- 2020, with 73
Long-term trends
Cortez has warmed about 0.35° per decade since 1914. The 1914–1943 average was 48.4°; the 1991–2020 normal is 50.6°, and the last ten years (2016–2025) averaged 52°. Summers have changed the most: 1914–1943 averaged 30 days a year at 90° or hotter, 1991–2020 averaged 41.9, and the last ten years 58.2. Nights at or below zero fell from 12.1 a year to 3.6. Precipitation shows no such trend — 12.57 inches a year over the whole record, 11.82 in 1991–2020 — but it swings widely from year to year.
Average annual temperature
Days of 90° or hotter each year
Precipitation by year
Snowfall by season (July through June)
Gaps are years the station's record is too incomplete to total. Snow measurements were spotty at the Cortez station through the 1970s, '80s and '90s. 2026 so far: 58° average, 18.95 in, 76 days at 90° or hotter.
By the decade
| Decade | Average temperature | Precipitation per year | Snowfall per season | Days at 90° or hotter | Nights at 0° or colder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 48.1° | 12.62 in | 33.7 in | 31.1 | 14.5 |
| 1940s | 49.2° | 14.88 in | 43.3 in | 32.7 | 8.7 |
| 1950s | 49.6° | 12.32 in | 39.2 in | 33.2 | 5.9 |
| 1960s | 48.8° | 12.20 in | 44.9 in | 30.4 | 10.3 |
| 1970s | 48.5° | 13.53 in | 26.0 in | 29.2 | 10.3 |
| 1980s | 48.2° | 12.54 in | 22.7 in | 20.8 | 6.3 |
| 1990s | 48.8° | 13.19 in | 18.5 in | 23.4 | 4.9 |
| 2000s | 50.8° | 10.84 in | 35.6 in | 44.8 | 2.9 |
| 2010s | 51.5° | 12.35 in | 30.1 in | 49.0 | 4.7 |
| 2020s (through 2026) | 52.2° | 11.08 in | 33.3 in | 60.8 | 1.0 |
Decades are averages of the years with complete records; the 1910s and 1920s have too few to average. A single cooperative station's record carries the marks of observer changes and equipment moves over a century, so treat the trend as the shape of the record, not a measurement to the tenth of a degree.
Year-by-year table, 1911–2026
| Year | Average temperature | Average high | Average low | Precipitation | Snow, season starting July | Days at 90° or hotter | Nights at 0° or colder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1912 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1913 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1914 | 47.3° | 63° | 31° | — | — | 10 | 13 |
| 1915 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1916 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1918 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1919 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1921 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1922 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1923 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1924 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1925 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1926 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1927 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1928 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1929 | — | — | — | — | 38.2 in | — | — |
| 1930 | 46.7° | 64° | 30° | 11.64 in | 15.9 in | 20 | 18 |
| 1931 | 47.4° | 64° | 31° | 15.84 in | 75.4 in | 30 | 23 |
| 1932 | 46.7° | 64° | 29° | 12.78 in | 23.3 in | 13 | 24 |
| 1933 | 47.4° | 65° | 30° | — | 15.5 in | 26 | 31 |
| 1934 | 50.5° | 68° | 33° | 8.95 in | 26.2 in | 40 | 1 |
| 1935 | 48.6° | 65° | 32° | 11.21 in | 25.1 in | 30 | 4 |
| 1936 | 48.8° | 66° | 32° | 14.20 in | 53.0 in | 45 | 3 |
| 1937 | 47.5° | 66° | 29° | 12.94 in | 33.9 in | 46 | 26 |
| 1938 | 48.5° | 64° | 33° | 16.48 in | 34.0 in | 22 | 3 |
| 1939 | 48.6° | 66° | 31° | 9.52 in | 34.9 in | 39 | 12 |
| 1940 | 49.3° | 65° | 33° | 17.39 in | 41.8 in | 47 | 11 |
| 1941 | 48.1° | 63° | 33° | 25.08 in | 49.0 in | 12 | 2 |
| 1942 | 48.7° | 66° | 31° | 9.90 in | 43.7 in | 42 | 7 |
| 1943 | 51.4° | 68° | 35° | 17.26 in | 61.5 in | 28 | 4 |
| 1944 | 48.7° | 65° | 32° | 16.85 in | 38.1 in | 39 | 4 |
| 1945 | 48.4° | 65° | 32° | 11.13 in | 27.9 in | 40 | 7 |
| 1946 | 50.9° | 67° | 34° | 10.81 in | 34.5 in | 30 | 5 |
| 1947 | 49.2° | 65° | 33° | 13.87 in | 36.6 in | 28 | 8 |
| 1948 | 48.6° | 65° | 33° | 12.74 in | 60.6 in | 36 | 11 |
| 1949 | 48.4° | 65° | 32° | 13.79 in | 39.0 in | 25 | 28 |
| 1950 | 50° | 67° | 33° | 6.34 in | 22.0 in | 28 | 5 |
| 1951 | 49.2° | 66° | 33° | 12.90 in | 69.6 in | 52 | 10 |
| 1952 | 48.9° | 65° | 33° | 11.34 in | 38.8 in | 35 | 8 |
| 1953 | 49.7° | 66° | 34° | 13.47 in | 22.5 in | 35 | 5 |
| 1954 | 51.4° | 68° | 35° | 12.88 in | 40.8 in | 37 | 3 |
| 1955 | 48.2° | 64° | 32° | 11.96 in | 42.8 in | 19 | 16 |
| 1956 | 49° | 66° | 32° | 7.57 in | 54.1 in | 28 | 5 |
| 1957 | 48.9° | 63° | 35° | 26.34 in | 39.5 in | 14 | 2 |
| 1958 | 50.4° | 67° | 34° | 9.58 in | 14.8 in | 35 | 4 |
| 1959 | 50.5° | 66° | 35° | 10.82 in | 46.6 in | 49 | 1 |
| 1960 | 48.9° | 64° | 33° | 10.09 in | 66.6 in | 51 | 12 |
| 1961 | 48.7° | 64° | 33° | 13.02 in | 46.0 in | 44 | 10 |
| 1962 | 49.6° | 65° | 34° | 10.48 in | 27.5 in | 31 | 12 |
| 1963 | 49.6° | 65° | 34° | 10.46 in | 42.5 in | 27 | 11 |
| 1964 | 47.5° | 63° | 32° | 13.04 in | 55.5 in | 22 | 9 |
| 1965 | 48.3° | 63° | 34° | 21.14 in | 38.0 in | 12 | 5 |
| 1966 | 49.5° | 66° | 34° | 10.19 in | 18.0 in | 41 | 15 |
| 1967 | 49° | 65° | 33° | 9.44 in | 59.0 in | 20 | 12 |
| 1968 | 47.6° | 63° | 32° | 10.18 in | 66.0 in | 23 | 15 |
| 1969 | 49.6° | 65° | 35° | 14.00 in | 29.5 in | 33 | 2 |
| 1970 | 48.7° | 64° | 34° | 10.94 in | 30.5 in | 35 | 4 |
| 1971 | 48.2° | 64° | 33° | 12.09 in | 21.5 in | 30 | 12 |
| 1972 | 49.9° | 65° | 34° | 13.14 in | — | 32 | 7 |
| 1973 | 47.4° | 63° | 32° | 14.59 in | — | 22 | 16 |
| 1974 | 48.4° | 64° | 33° | 10.57 in | — | 31 | 13 |
| 1975 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1976 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1977 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1978 | 48.2° | 63° | 34° | 19.85 in | — | 25 | 10 |
| 1979 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980 | 48.6° | 64° | 33° | 13.47 in | 9.0 in | 36 | 0 |
| 1981 | 49.6° | 66° | 34° | 10.76 in | — | 30 | 1 |
| 1982 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1983 | 47.4° | 61° | 33° | 17.95 in | — | 6 | 1 |
| 1984 | — | — | — | — | 37.8 in | — | — |
| 1985 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 47.8° | 64° | 32° | 14.68 in | 37.0 in | 11 | 7 |
| 1988 | 47.6° | 64° | 31° | 13.12 in | — | 17 | 11 |
| 1989 | 48.2° | 66° | 30° | 5.23 in | 7.0 in | 25 | 18 |
| 1990 | 47.9° | 64° | 31° | 14.32 in | — | 26 | 13 |
| 1991 | 46.4° | 63° | 30° | 11.23 in | 9.5 in | 12 | 9 |
| 1992 | 47.6° | 63° | 32° | 13.73 in | — | 12 | 10 |
| 1993 | 47.9° | 63° | 32° | 12.69 in | 5.8 in | 20 | 1 |
| 1994 | 49.6° | 65° | 34° | 11.07 in | — | 46 | 5 |
| 1995 | 49.3° | 65° | 33° | 15.82 in | 2.8 in | 29 | 1 |
| 1996 | — | — | — | 15.96 in | — | — | — |
| 1997 | — | — | — | — | 43.3 in | — | — |
| 1998 | 51.2° | 66° | 36° | 14.53 in | 17.4 in | 30 | 0 |
| 1999 | 50.8° | 66° | 36° | 9.36 in | 32.1 in | 12 | 0 |
| 2000 | 51.4° | 66° | 37° | 9.45 in | 36.8 in | 49 | 2 |
| 2001 | 51.5° | 67° | 36° | 8.53 in | 22.6 in | 37 | 2 |
| 2002 | 50.6° | 66° | 35° | 8.05 in | 29.6 in | 58 | 0 |
| 2003 | 52.1° | 67° | 37° | 10.26 in | 31.6 in | 59 | 1 |
| 2004 | 50.2° | 65° | 36° | 12.21 in | 26.3 in | 35 | 2 |
| 2005 | 50.3° | 65° | 36° | 13.11 in | 13.4 in | 25 | 1 |
| 2006 | 51.3° | 67° | 36° | 13.09 in | 28.5 in | 43 | 0 |
| 2007 | 51.6° | 67° | 36° | 13.09 in | 46.5 in | 55 | 5 |
| 2008 | 49.3° | 65° | 34° | 11.90 in | 45.8 in | 49 | 10 |
| 2009 | 50.1° | 66° | 35° | 8.69 in | 74.6 in | 38 | 6 |
| 2010 | 50.6° | 66° | 36° | 15.50 in | — | 25 | 5 |
| 2011 | 50.1° | 65° | 35° | 9.99 in | — | 54 | 11 |
| 2012 | 52.8° | 69° | 37° | 8.09 in | — | 69 | 1 |
| 2013 | 50.3° | 66° | 35° | 14.26 in | — | 50 | 13 |
| 2014 | 52.1° | 68° | 37° | 9.01 in | — | 39 | 0 |
| 2015 | 52° | 67° | 37° | 18.20 in | — | 36 | 7 |
| 2016 | 51.7° | 67° | 36° | 12.78 in | — | 46 | 5 |
| 2017 | 52.5° | 68° | 37° | 11.27 in | 8.0 in | 53 | 2 |
| 2018 | 52.4° | 68° | 36° | 10.09 in | 59.3 in | 60 | 0 |
| 2019 | 50.3° | 65° | 35° | 14.29 in | 23.1 in | 58 | 3 |
| 2020 | 52.1° | 69° | 36° | 6.49 in | 50.6 in | 73 | 0 |
| 2021 | 52.1° | 68° | 37° | 12.37 in | 24.6 in | 61 | 0 |
| 2022 | 51.8° | 67° | 36° | 8.64 in | 64.1 in | 54 | 0 |
| 2023 | 50.8° | 66° | 36° | 15.84 in | 24.8 in | 52 | 3 |
| 2024 | 53.2° | 69° | 38° | 12.78 in | 20.7 in | 62 | 2 |
| 2025 | 53.3° | 69° | 37° | 10.35 in | 15.0 in | 63 | 1 |
| 2026 (so far) | 58° | — | — | 18.95 in | 0.0 in so far | 76 | 0 |
A dash means the year's record is too incomplete to total. Snow seasons run July through June and are listed under the year they begin.
About this page
Live conditions come from the National Weather Service's automated station at Cortez–Montezuma County Airport (KCEZ), which reports about hourly. Forecasts and warnings are issued by the NWS forecast office in Grand Junction for the Cortez grid point. Both update in your browser while the page is open; nothing here is our own forecast.
Climate records are the daily observations of the NWS Cooperative Observer station "Cortez" (station 051886, 6,167 feet, in town), which has measured high and low temperature, precipitation and snowfall since April 1911. We read them through the NOAA Regional Climate Centers' archive — the same source behind the NWS "NOWData" climate pages — and recompute the records, totals and trends each morning when the site is rebuilt. Normals are NOAA's official 1991–2020 averages. Records through November 14, 2026.