Grand Junction in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Grand Junction sees average daytime highs around 36°F and overnight lows near 16°F, with 4.7 in of precipitation over about 24 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 36°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Grand Junction's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Grand Junction's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
36°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
16°F
Precipitation
4.7 in
24 wet days
Avg wind
3 mph
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Grand Junction in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 36°F.

A typical winter day in Grand Junction reaches about 36°F and drops to 16°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Grand Junction

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
45 feel bitter (≤ 14°F)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Grand Junction weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan34° / 13°1.57.57.29.60.0
Feb39° / 19°1.798.110.50.0
Mar49° / 27°2.09.56.511.72.2
Apr58° / 34°2.09.73.8134.5
May70° / 44°1.98.80.614.16.8
Jun82° / 53°1.04.8014.77.0
Jul87° / 60°2.28.6014.55.1
Aug83° / 58°3.211.7013.55.9
Sep75° / 49°2.78.90.112.37.3
Oct62° / 37°2.08.11.6115.8
Nov47° / 25°1.774.99.91.6
Dec35° / 15°1.57.37.39.30.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 43% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Grand Junction gets around 4.7 in of rain and snow over 24 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 3 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 30 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 3.1 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Grand Junction?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Grand Junction.

What to pack for Grand Junction in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Grand Junction sees daytime highs around 36°F and nights near 16°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 24 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Grand Junction in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Grand Junction peaks around July 16 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 16UV 11Dec 20UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar6High
Apr6High
May8Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep7Very high
Oct6High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Grand Junction?

Grand Junction sits at 39.1°N, 108.6°W, 4,593 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Clifton, 5.6 mi away.

Topography around Grand Junction

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Grand Junction has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 308 ft around an average of 4,613 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,176 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,178 ft.

The land around Grand Junction is covered by artificial surfaces (53%) within 2 miles, grassland (29%) within 10 miles, and trees (38%), shrubs (24%) and grassland (24%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
308 ft
10 miles
3,176 ft
50 miles
7,178 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Clifton 5.6 mi · Montrose 55 mi · Moab 63 mi · Telluride 88 mi · Aspen 93 mi · Durango 129 mi · Farmington 162 mi · Rock Springs 178 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 Grand Junction (39.0639°, -108.5507°, elevation 4,593 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.