Climate and average weather in Cañon City

In Cañon City, the summers are warm, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: early August to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Cañon City typically varies from 13°F to 80°F, and is rarely below -2°F or above 87°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Cañon City for warm-weather activities are from late May to late July and early August to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
80°
Coldest
Jan
13°
Wettest
Jul
2.9 in
Driest
Dec
0.6 in
Rain / yr
18.8 in
99 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
5,351 ft
38.4°N
Clearest
Nov
34% cloud

Cañon City is city in and county seat of Fremont County, Colorado, United States.

Density
506/km²
people per km²
Founded
1860

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Cañon City weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early August to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Cañon City, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from May 29 to September 22, with daily high temperatures above 69°F. The hottest month of the year in Cañon City is July, with an average high of 80°F and low of 52°F.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 22 to March 4, with daily high temperatures below 44°F. The coldest month of the year in Cañon City is January, with an average low of 13°F and high of 37°F.

Days typically run about 26°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3713
Feb4015
Mar4822
Apr5428
May6438
Jun7547
Jul8052
Aug7751
Sep7144
Oct6033
Nov4622
Dec3713

How hot and cold Cañon City really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 3°F (around January 1), with roughly 215 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 110 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan3737413
Feb4040715
Mar48481522
Apr54542228
May64643438
Jun75754547
Jul80805252
Aug77775151
Sep71714244
Oct60602833
Nov46461522
Dec3737513

Average hourly temperature in Cañon City

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 80°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 13°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Cañon City weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan37° / 13°0.74.54.89.60.0
Feb40° / 15°0.755.210.50.0
Mar48° / 22°1.57.16.411.71.9
Apr54° / 28°2.29.46133.4
May64° / 38°2.512.71.614.15.4
Jun75° / 47°2.011.2014.66.8
Jul80° / 52°2.913.8014.46.1
Aug77° / 51°2.614.5013.56.4
Sep71° / 44°1.37.20.412.37.3
Oct60° / 33°1.25.22.5115.6
Nov46° / 22°0.84.64.39.91.6
Dec37° / 13°0.64.24.79.40.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Cañon City gets about 18.8 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.5 months, from around Mar 27 to Sep 9, peaking in July at about 51% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 14.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 2.9 in over about 14 wet days; December is the driest, with 0.6 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 29 · 51%Jan 14 · 12%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan145
Feb185
Mar237
Apr319
May4013
Jun3811
Jul4514
Aug4515
Sep257
Oct165
Nov165
Dec144

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Cañon City collects about 18.8 in of rain across 99 wet days — roughly 1.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 2.9 in, while December is the driest at just 0.6 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.533.5JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0.70.71.52.22.52.02.92.61.31.20.80.6
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan0.755
Feb0.755
Mar1.576
Apr2.296
May2.5132
Jun2.0110
Jul2.9140
Aug2.6150
Sep1.370
Oct1.253
Nov0.854
Dec0.645

Snow in Cañon City

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Cañon City averages about 36 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 19 to May 26 — about 8.2 months.

March is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 12 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 65 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonMar 29
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan56
Feb58
Mar612
Apr615
May23
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep01
Oct35
Nov49
Dec57

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Cañon City, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around August 14 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around January 29. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around January 30 and lasts for 4.4 months, ending around June 13. The cloudiest month is April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 44% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 24 · 80%Apr 21 · 54%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7228
Feb6733
Mar6238
Apr5644
May5743
Jun6832
Jul6337
Aug6832
Sep7822
Oct7723
Nov7525
Dec7525

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 14, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.67:224:58
Feb10.57:005:31
Mar11.76:206:01
Apr13.05:316:31
May14.14:557:00
Jun14.64:417:21
Jul14.44:547:20
Aug13.55:206:50
Sep12.35:486:03
Oct11.06:175:15
Nov9.96:504:42
Dec9.47:174:37

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Cañon City averages about 14 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 19 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.1 months, from around Sep 3 to Mar 8. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 18 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 9 sunny days — about 52% fewer than the October peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantOct 1319 daysMay 178 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan18Bright
Feb14Bright
Mar13Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May9Mixed
Jun11Mixed
Jul10Mixed
Aug12Mixed
Sep16Bright
Oct19Bright
Nov18Bright
Dec19Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Cañon City, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul982
Aug991
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Cañon City is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeApr 10 · 5 mphAug 2 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Cañon City

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Cañon City throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid August, Cañon City is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cañon City for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 14 · 7.4

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.1poor
Mar1.9poor
Apr3.4poor
May5.4fair
Jun6.7good
Jul6.1good
Aug6.4good
Sep7.3good
Oct5.6good
Nov1.7poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cañon City for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of June.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 29 · 6.4

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Cañon City, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 80°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 37°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Cañon City sees daytime highs around 80°F and nights near 52°F. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 14 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Cañon City by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cañon City peaks around July 13 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 13UV 11Dec 21UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar8Very high
Apr6High
May9Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Cañon City

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan0.50
Feb4.50
Mar6.53
Apr6.52.5
May85
Jun96.5
Jul96.5
Aug85.5
Sep74
Oct5.50
Nov30
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Cañon City typically lasts about 170 days, from around May 1 to October 17 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 19 to September 28.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1510%May 150%May 1990%Sep 2890%Oct 1750%Nov 1810%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan231
Feb428
Mar1131
Apr3030
May8218
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep972
Oct5531
Nov1330
Dec231

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Cañon City banks about 1,561 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,5002,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May62
Jun333
Jul496
Aug436
Sep224
Oct9
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Cañon City receives about 5.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.8 and 7.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 11 to Sep 23. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.6 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.8 kWh/m² — roughly 63% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 197.6 kWhDec 152.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.1Moderate
Feb4.2Bright
Mar5.6Bright
Apr6.6Intense
May7.1Intense
Jun7.6Intense
Jul7.2Intense
Aug6.5Intense
Sep5.7Bright
Oct4.4Bright
Nov3.3Moderate
Dec2.8Moderate

Where is Cañon City?

Cañon City sits at 38.4°N, 105.2°W, 5,351 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Pueblo West, 29 mi away.

Topography around Cañon City

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Cañon City.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Cañon City has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,804 ft around an average of 5,522 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,531 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,583 ft.

The land around Cañon City is covered by grassland (41%), artificial surfaces (27%) and trees (23%) within 2 miles, trees (48%) and grassland (46%) within 10 miles, and grassland (54%) and trees (39%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
1,804 ft
10 miles
4,531 ft
50 miles
9,583 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Pueblo West 29 mi · Fountain 34 mi · Colorado Springs 35 mi · Security-Widefield 35 mi · Pueblo 37 mi · Cimarron Hills 41 mi · Castle Rock 68 mi · Highlands Ranch 78 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cañon City (38.441°, -105.2425°, elevation 5,351 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).