Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0Minturn gets about 189 inches of snow a winter, more than all but 22 U.S. towns
A typical July afternoon reaches 74°, a January night drops to 7°, and about 189 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
A year in Minturn at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, and what it brings.
What stands out about Minturn’s climate
Compared with towns across the U.S., with Minturn’s place in Colorado beside it.
What a year in Minturn feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from NOAA’s 30-year normals.
A freeze is possible in every month
About 272 nights a year fall to 32° or below, and 38 to 0° or below. Frost and day counts come from NOAA’s station at Leadville Lake Co Airport, 21 miles from the town’s center, 240 ft higher.
The 2023 USDA map puts Minturn’s center in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical winter, averaged over 1991–2020, reaches about −12°. Plant labels use the zone; frost dates tell you when to plant.
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
About 189 inches of snow a winter
Snow, measured at Vail, CO, is heaviest from January through February, about 36 inches a month. Precipitation (rain plus melted snow) adds up to 22 inches a year; April is the wettest month and June the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 117 days a year.
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
Heating and cooling a home in Minturn
Nearly all of the work is heating: a normal year has almost no cooling days. Months averaging under 55° run from September through June.
Degree days add up how far each day’s average falls below (heating) or rises above (cooling) 65° over a year. NOAA normals at Leadville Lake Co Airport.
Living with Minturn’s climate
What the numbers mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
Zone 5b, and frost can come in any month. The longest frost-free stretch in half of years is about 52 days.
Months with highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more: July and August. 6.2 miles of trails are waiting.
Parks & trails →Of the yearly building losses FEMA expects in Minturn from natural hazards, avalanches are the largest share (76%). Normals are averages; the hazards page covers the extremes.
Natural hazards →Minturn and similar climates
TownRatings has no climate map of the towns around Minturn yet.
Climates most like Minturn’s, farther away
TownRatings’ own comparison of NOAA 1991–2020 normals, not a NOAA product: places of 5,000+ at least 150 miles away, one per state, closest on January low, July high, precipitation and snow.
| Town | Jan. low | July high | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minturn, CO | 7° | 74° | 22" | 189" |
| Ishpeming, MI | 5° | 77° | 33" | 197" |
| Snyderville, UT | 18° | 80° | 26" | 153" |
| Minocqua, WI | 3° | 77° | 33" | 99" |
| Hermantown, MN | 2° | 77° | 31" | 90" |
Temperatures and precipitation come from NOAA’s 5 km grid; snow and day counts from the stations named on this page.
Warmer than it used to be
The last 30 years in Minturn averaged 1.4° warmer than the 1900s. The biggest change is in March (+3.2°).
A bigger shift than in 50% of U.S. towns.
Change by month
The two periods overlap (1991–2000 is in both), which makes the gap a little smaller than it would be between separate periods.
How Minturn compares
Against 12,954 U.S. towns of 2,500 or more (one per 5 km climate cell), with Minturn’s place among Colorado’s.
Minturn weather by month
Highs, lows and precipitation from NOAA’s grid at Minturn’s center; snow, wet days and snow on the ground from Vail, CO. 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt | Snow | Wet days | 30-yr range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 7° | 2.0" | 35.3" | 12 | 13° – 24° |
| February | 34° | 8° | 2.1" | 35.7" | 12 | 16° – 28° |
| March | 41° | 15° | 2.1" | 28.2" | 10 | 23° – 34° |
| April | 48° | 22° | 2.5" | 21.2" | 9 | 30° – 39° |
| May | 58° | 30° | 1.8" | 4.8" | 9 | 39° – 48° |
| June | 69° | 37° | 1.1" | 0.6" | 7 | 49° – 58° |
| July | 74° | 42° | 1.7" | 0.0" | 10 | 54° – 62° |
| August | 72° | 41° | 1.9" | 0.0" | 11 | 53° – 60° |
| September | 65° | 34° | 1.7" | 0.9" | 9 | 44° – 53° |
| October | 52° | 25° | 1.7" | 8.6" | 7 | 33° – 43° |
| November | 39° | 15° | 1.8" | 25.9" | 10 | 19° – 35° |
| December | 30° | 7° | 1.9" | 28.0" | 11 | 13° – 24° |
| Year | 51° | 23° | 22.3" | 189.2" | 117 |
How much a month can swing
A normal is an average. November swings the most: from 1991 to 2020 its average ranged from 19° to 35°. August is the most reliable, staying within 7°.
Where Minturn’s numbers come from
Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. How TownRatings reads climate data →
- Temperatures and precipitation: NOAA’s gridded 1991–2020 normals for the 5 km cell at Minturn’s center.
- Snow: Vail, CO.
- Frost, freezing nights, 90° and 100° days, heating and cooling: Leadville Lake Co Airport, 21 miles from the town’s center, 240 ft higher; the nearest station that passes our checks for distance, height and agreement with the grid.
- Growing zone: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. USDA Agricultural Research Service and PRISM Group, Oregon State University, prism.oregonstate.edu/phzm, accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Then and now: NOAA’s gridded normals for 1901–2000 at the same cell.
- Storms and extremes: FEMA National Risk Index (expected annual losses to buildings).
Common questions about Minturn’s climate
What is the weather like in Minturn?
A typical July afternoon reaches 74°, a January night drops to 7°, and about 189 inches of snow falls in a normal winter. Colder January nights than 97% of U.S. towns; cooler July afternoons than all but 171 U.S. towns.
How cold does it get in Minturn in winter?
January nights average 7°. About 272 nights a year reach 32° or below and 38 reach 0° or below. In the coldest January of the last 30 years the month averaged 13°.
How much snow does Minturn get?
About 189 inches in a normal winter at Vail, CO, heaviest from January through February, about 36 inches a month.
How hot does it get in Minturn?
July, with a typical high of 74°. 90° days are rare: none in a normal year at Leadville Lake Co Airport.
When is the first and last frost in Minturn?
There is no reliable frost-free season: at Leadville Lake Co Airport, every month has nights at 32° or below, about 272 a year. In half of years the longest stretch without a freeze is about 52 days.
What growing zone is Minturn in?
Zone 5b on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the coldest night of a typical winter reaches about −12°.
What is the best time of year to visit Minturn?
By one simple rule (highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more), July and August. The rule is ours, not NOAA’s; the month table has the numbers to judge by.
Is Minturn getting warmer?
Yes: 1991–2020 averaged 1.4° warmer than 1901–2000 on NOAA’s grid. A bigger shift than 50% of U.S. towns.
Neighbors talk weather
Gardens, snow, and the best days of the year in Minturn.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 and 1901–2000; USDA/PRISM 2023 hardiness zones; FEMA National Risk Index. Today’s forecast: National Weather Service.