Climate and average weather in Telluride

In Telluride, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early June to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Telluride typically varies from 6°F to 68°F, and is rarely below -9°F or above 74°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Telluride for warm-weather activities is from early June to late August.

Hottest
Jul
68°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Aug
4.5 in
Driest
Jun
1.3 in
Rain / yr
30.6 in
130 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
0 ft
37.9°N
Clearest
Oct
37% cloud

Telluride is town and county seat of San Miguel County, Colorado, United States.

Density
1,255/km²
people per km²
Founded
1878

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

Telluride 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 June to late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.5 months, from June 5 to September 19, with daily high temperatures above 58°F. The hottest month of the year in Telluride is July, with an average high of 68°F and low of 43°F.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 20 to March 10, with daily high temperatures below 35°F. The coldest month of the year in Telluride is January, with an average low of 8°F and high of 28°F.

Days typically run about 23°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 28°F) in June.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan288
Feb3010
Mar3616
Apr4021
May5027
Jun6335
Jul6843
Aug6642
Sep5935
Oct4824
Nov3611
Dec286

How hot and cold Telluride 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 -2°F (around December 14), with roughly 279 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 175 of them bitterly cold — worst in December.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan282808
Feb3030310
Mar3636916
Apr40401321
May50502127
Jun63633135
Jul68684043
Aug66663942
Sep59593135
Oct48481824
Nov3636411
Dec2828-26

Average hourly temperature in Telluride

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 68°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near F.

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

Telluride 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
Jan28° / 2.21010.79.70.0
Feb30° / 10°2.311.312.210.50.0
Mar36° / 16°2.511.71211.70.0
Apr40° / 21°3.011.711.1130.1
May50° / 27°2.110.25.9142.3
Jun63° / 35°1.36.50.614.66.1
Jul68° / 43°4.213.9014.45.9
Aug66° / 42°4.516013.55.4
Sep59° / 35°2.611.40.912.34.6
Oct48° / 24°2.19.86.3111.8
Nov36° / 11°1.98.18.39.90.0
Dec28° / 2.09.510.39.40.0

Chance of rain

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

Telluride gets about 30.6 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 2.4 months, from around Jul 7 to Sep 17, peaking in July at about 53% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 11.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 4.5 in over about 16 wet days; June is the driest, with 1.3 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 29 · 53%Jun 11 · 22%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3210
Feb4011
Mar3912
Apr3912
May3210
Jun247
Jul4414
Aug5116
Sep3911
Oct3010
Nov278
Dec3110

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Telluride collects about 30.6 in of rain across 130 wet days — roughly 2.6 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 4.5 in, while June is the driest at just 1.3 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 38% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.22.32.53.02.11.34.24.52.62.11.92.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2.21011
Feb2.31112
Mar2.51212
Apr3.01211
May2.1106
Jun1.371
Jul4.2140
Aug4.5160
Sep2.6111
Oct2.1106
Nov1.988
Dec2.01010

Snow in Telluride

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.

Telluride averages about 78 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 10 to Jun 20 — about 9.3 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 13 days of snow and an estimated 26 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 164 in of snow.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 23
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan1121
Feb1226
Mar1222
Apr1127
May611
Jun11
Jul00
Aug00
Sep12
Oct611
Nov820
Dec1023

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Telluride, 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 May 20 and lasts for 1.7 months, ending around July 9. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 73% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 6 and lasts for 5.4 months, ending around May 19. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 52% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 18 · 75%Feb 19 · 45%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5545
Feb4852
Mar5050
Apr4951
May5842
Jun7327
Jul5446
Aug5743
Sep6931
Oct7129
Nov6634
Dec5842

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 9, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.77:315:10
Feb10.57:105:42
Mar11.76:306:12
Apr13.05:426:41
May14.05:067:09
Jun14.64:537:30
Jul14.45:057:29
Aug13.55:317:00
Sep12.35:586:13
Oct11.06:265:26
Nov9.96:594:54
Dec9.47:264:49

Sunny days

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

Telluride averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 18 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.7 months, from around Sep 6 to Dec 26. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 17 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 10 sunny days — about 44% fewer than the October peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightOct 1718 daysJul 268 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan12Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun15Bright
Jul10Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep15Mixed
Oct17Bright
Nov15Bright
Dec13Mixed

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 Telluride, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, 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 (%)
Jan100
Feb100
Mar100
Apr100
May100
Jun100
Jul100
Aug100
Sep100
Oct100
Nov100
Dec100

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 Telluride is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeJun 9 · 5 mphJan 1 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Best time to visit Telluride

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid August, Telluride is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Telluride for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of June.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 25 · 6.7

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
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.0poor
Apr0.2poor
May2.3poor
Jun6.0good
Jul5.9good
Aug5.4fair
Sep4.6fair
Oct1.8poor
Nov0.0poor
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 Telluride for hot-weather activities is from late June to late July, with a peak score in the first week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 7 · 3.4

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 Telluride, 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 68°F), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 28°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Telluride sees daytime highs around 68°F and nights near 43°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 14 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Telluride 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 Telluride peaks around July 10 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 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 10UV 12Jan 1UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar7High
Apr7High
May10Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep8Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Telluride

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 7 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)
Jan00
Feb40
Mar62
Apr73
May85.5
Jun97
Jul97
Aug8.56
Sep74
Oct5.50
Nov3.50
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Telluride typically lasts about 110 days, from around June 7 to September 24 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from June 25 to September 7.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMay 1410%Jun 750%Jun 2590%Sep 790%Sep 2450%Oct 2510%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan031
Feb128
Mar231
Apr530
May1531
Jun7024
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep7124
Oct1731
Nov430
Dec031

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. Telluride banks about 310 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0100200300400500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun25
Jul167
Aug112
Sep5
Oct0
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.

Telluride receives about 5.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.7 and 8.2 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 13 to Sep 23. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.8 kWh/m² — roughly 66% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 138.2 kWhDec 172.7 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.0Moderate
Feb4.1Bright
Mar5.7Bright
Apr6.9Intense
May7.8Intense
Jun8.2Intense
Jul7.3Intense
Aug6.5Intense
Sep5.7Bright
Oct4.5Bright
Nov3.3Moderate
Dec2.8Moderate

Where is Telluride?

Telluride sits at 37.9°N, 107.8°W, 0 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Montrose, 37 mi away.

Topography around Telluride

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Telluride has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,481 ft around an average of 10,089 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,365 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 8,862 ft.

The land around Telluride is covered by trees (80%) within 2 miles, trees (54%) within 10 miles, and trees (60%) and grassland (26%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
3,481 ft
10 miles
6,365 ft
50 miles
8,862 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainmoss and lichen
Nearby: Montrose 37 mi · Durango 46 mi · Farmington 86 mi · Clifton 87 mi · Grand Junction 88 mi · Aspen 102 mi · Moab 104 mi · Cañon City 144 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 Telluride (37.9375°, -107.8123°, elevation 0 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).