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October Weather at Cottonwood Pass Colorado, United States

Daily high temperatures decrease by 11°F, from 59°F to 48°F, rarely falling below 36°F or exceeding 68°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 9°F, from 37°F to 28°F, rarely falling below 18°F or exceeding 44°F.

For reference, on July 7, the hottest day of the year, temperatures at Cottonwood Pass typically range from 49°F to 73°F, while on January 27, the coldest day of the year, they range from 13°F to 35°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in October at Cottonwood Pass

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on October. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in October at Cottonwood Pass

Average Hourly Temperature in October at Cottonwood PassOct112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMSepNovfreezingfreezingvery coldcoldcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Gračanica, Bosnia & Herzegovina (5,773 miles away) and Chepelare, Bulgaria (6,082 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Cottonwood Pass (view comparison).

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The month of October at Cottonwood Pass experiences increasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy increasing from 24% to 33%.

The clearest day of the month is October 1, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 76% of the time.

For reference, on May 6, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 43%, while on September 28, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 77%.

Cloud Cover Categories in October at Cottonwood Pass

Cloud Cover Categories in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%SepNovOct 176%Oct 176%Oct 3167%Oct 3167%Oct 1173%Oct 1173%Oct 2170%Oct 2170%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. At Cottonwood Pass, the chance of a wet day over the course of October is gradually decreasing, starting the month at 15% and ending it at 12%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 30% on August 8, and its lowest chance is 7% on January 28.

Over the course of October at Cottonwood Pass, the chance of a day with only rain decreases from 13% to 5%, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain increases from 1% to 4%, and the chance of a day with only snow increases from 1% to 3%.

Probability of Precipitation in October at Cottonwood Pass

Probability of Precipitation in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%2%2%4%4%6%6%8%8%10%10%12%12%14%14%16%16%18%18%20%20%22%22%24%24%SepNovOct 115%Oct 115%Oct 3112%Oct 3112%Oct 1113%Oct 1113%Oct 2112%Oct 2112%snowmixedrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during October at Cottonwood Pass is gradually decreasing, starting the month at 0.7 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.4 inches or falls below 0.1 inches, and ending the month at 0.3 inches, when it rarely exceeds 0.7 inches or falls below 0.1 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in October at Cottonwood Pass

Average Monthly Rainfall in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 in0.0 in0.5 in0.5 in1.0 in1.0 in1.5 in1.5 in2.0 in2.0 in2.5 in2.5 in3.0 in3.0 inSepNovOct 10.7 inOct 10.7 inOct 310.3 inOct 310.3 inOct 110.6 inOct 110.6 inOct 210.4 inOct 210.4 in
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day snowfall during October at Cottonwood Pass is increasing, starting the month at 0.7 inches, when it rarely exceeds 2.5 inches, and ending the month at 2.4 inches, when it rarely exceeds 6.3 inches or falls below 0.1 inches.

Average Monthly Snowfall in October at Cottonwood Pass

The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Over the course of October at Cottonwood Pass, the length of the day is rapidly decreasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day decreases by 1 hour, 12 minutes, implying an average daily decrease of 2 minutes, 24 seconds, and weekly decrease of 16 minutes, 45 seconds.

The shortest day of the month is October 31, with 10 hours, 33 minutes of daylight and the longest day is October 1, with 11 hours, 45 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in October at Cottonwood Pass

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the month at Cottonwood Pass is 7:01 AM on October 1 and the latest sunrise is 30 minutes later at 7:31 AM on October 31.

The latest sunset is 6:46 PM on October 1 and the earliest sunset is 42 minutes earlier at 6:04 PM on October 31.

Daylight saving time is observed at Cottonwood Pass during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during October, so the entire month is in standard time.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:40 AM and sets 14 hours, 53 minutes later, at 8:33 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:19 AM and sets 9 hours, 27 minutes later, at 4:46 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in October at Cottonwood Pass

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in October at Cottonwood PassOct112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMSepNov7:01 AM7:01 AMOct 16:46 PMOct 16:46 PM7:31 AM7:31 AMOct 316:04 PMOct 316:04 PM7:10 AM7:10 AMOct 116:31 PMOct 116:31 PM7:20 AM7:20 AMOct 216:17 PMOct 216:17 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day over the course of October. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in October at Cottonwood Pass

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in October at Cottonwood PassOct112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMSepNov001010202020303040500001010202030304050
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of October 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for October 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in October at Cottonwood Pass

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in October at Cottonwood PassOct112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMSepNovSep 27:56 PMSep 27:56 PMSep 178:35 PMSep 178:35 PMOct 212:50 PMOct 212:50 PMOct 175:27 AMOct 175:27 AMNov 16:48 AMNov 16:48 AMNov 152:29 PMNov 152:29 PMNov 3011:22 PMNov 3011:22 PM6:03 AM6:03 AM7:38 PM7:38 PM7:07 PM7:07 PM7:25 AM7:25 AM6:53 AM6:53 AM6:44 PM6:44 PM5:58 PM5:58 PM7:30 AM7:30 AM7:45 AM7:45 AM5:58 PM5:58 PM4:31 PM4:31 PM7:57 AM7:57 AM6:42 AM6:42 AM4:04 PM4:04 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Oct 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
1%5:55 AME6:24 PMW-12:11 PMS252,368 mi
2
0%6:53 AME6:44 PMW-12:50 PMS252,597 mi
3
1%7:51 AME7:05 PMWSW-1:29 PMS252,397 mi
4
4%8:51 AMESE7:28 PMWSW-2:10 PMS251,755 mi
5
8%9:52 AMESE7:54 PMWSW-2:53 PMS250,643 mi
6
15%10:55 AMESE8:26 PMWSW-3:41 PMS249,022 mi
7
23%11:59 AMSE9:05 PMSW-4:32 PMS246,863 mi
8
32%1:01 PMSE9:53 PMSW-5:27 PMS244,160 mi
9
42%1:58 PMSE10:51 PMSW-6:24 PMS240,959 mi
10
50%2:48 PMSE11:57 PMSW-7:23 PMS237,370 mi
11
64%3:30 PMESE--8:20 PMS233,583 mi
12
75%-1:09 AMWSW4:06 PMESE9:15 PMS229,860 mi
13
85%-2:24 AMWSW4:37 PMESE10:07 PMS226,523 mi
14
92%-3:39 AMWSW5:04 PME10:58 PMS223,909 mi
15
98%-4:55 AMW5:31 PME11:49 PMS222,322 mi
16
99%-6:12 AMW5:58 PME--
17
100%-7:30 AMWNW6:27 PMENE12:40 AMS221,972 mi
18
99%-8:49 AMWNW7:01 PMENE1:33 AMS222,931 mi
19
95%-10:09 AMWNW7:41 PMENE2:30 AMS225,110 mi
20
88%-11:26 AMNW8:30 PMNE3:30 AMS228,271 mi
21
79%-12:35 PMNW9:28 PMNE4:31 AMS232,075 mi
22
69%-1:32 PMNW10:32 PMNE5:31 AMS236,143 mi
23
58%-2:18 PMNW11:38 PMENE6:28 AMS240,125 mi
24
50%-2:55 PMWNW-7:21 AMS243,742 mi
25
38%12:44 AMENE3:24 PMWNW-8:08 AMS246,804 mi
26
28%1:48 AMENE3:49 PMWNW-8:52 AMS249,206 mi
27
20%2:49 AMENE4:10 PMW-9:32 AMS250,913 mi
28
13%3:48 AME4:30 PMW-10:11 AMS251,946 mi
29
7%4:46 AME4:50 PMW-10:49 AMS252,361 mi
30
3%5:44 AME5:10 PMWSW-11:28 AMS252,234 mi
31
1%6:44 AMESE5:33 PMWSW-12:09 PMS251,643 mi

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy at Cottonwood Pass is essentially constant during October, remaining around 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels in October at Cottonwood Pass

Humidity Comfort Levels in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%SepNovOct 160%Oct 160%Oct 10%Oct 10%Oct 310%Oct 310%drydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Cottonwood Pass is increasing during October, increasing from 8.2 miles per hour to 9.2 miles per hour over the course of the month.

For reference, on April 3, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 10.6 miles per hour, while on July 31, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 5.7 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in October at Cottonwood Pass

Average Wind Speed in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphSepNovOct 18.2 mphOct 18.2 mphOct 319.2 mphOct 319.2 mphOct 118.4 mphOct 118.4 mphOct 218.8 mphOct 218.8 mph
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction at Cottonwood Pass throughout October is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 77% on October 31.

Wind Direction in October at Cottonwood Pass

Wind Direction in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%SepNovwestsouthnortheast
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Cottonwood Pass typically lasts for 3.9 months (118 days), from around May 28 to around September 23, rarely starting before May 8 or after June 17, and rarely ending before September 5 or after October 13.

The month of October at Cottonwood Pass is more likely than not fully outside of the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season rapidly decreasing from 31% to 1% over the course of the month.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in October at Cottonwood Pass

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%SepNovOct 131%Oct 131%Oct 311%Oct 311%Oct 1113%Oct 1113%Oct 213%Oct 213%50%Sep 2350%Sep 2390%Sep 590%Sep 5frigidfreezingvery coldcoldcoolcomfortable
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days at Cottonwood Pass are gradually increasing during October, increasing by 46°F, from 1,136°F to 1,182°F, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in October at Cottonwood Pass

Growing Degree Days in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031311,000°F1,000°F1,050°F1,050°F1,100°F1,100°F1,150°F1,150°F1,200°F1,200°F1,250°F1,250°F1,300°F1,300°F1,350°F1,350°FSepNovOct 11,136°FOct 11,136°FOct 311,182°FOct 311,182°FOct 111,160°FOct 111,160°FOct 211,174°FOct 211,174°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of October, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy at Cottonwood Pass is decreasing during October, falling by 1.4 kWh, from 5.3 kWh to 3.9 kWh, over the course of the month.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in October at Cottonwood Pass

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in October at Cottonwood PassOct11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWhSepNovOct 15.3 kWhOct 15.3 kWhOct 313.9 kWhOct 313.9 kWhOct 114.8 kWhOct 114.8 kWhOct 214.4 kWhOct 214.4 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cottonwood Pass are 38.783 deg latitude, -106.218 deg longitude, and 9,600 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cottonwood Pass contains extreme variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 4,596 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 9,850 feet. Within 10 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,604 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,632 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Cottonwood Pass is covered by trees (80%) and shrubs (11%), within 10 miles by trees (36%) and shrubs (32%), and within 50 miles by trees (45%) and shrubs (29%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Cottonwood Pass, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

Cottonwood Pass has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required.

In the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on records from nearby stations, adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal intra-station differences. For a given day of the year and hour of the day, the fallback station is selected to minimize the prediction error over the years for which there are measurements for both stations.

The stations on which we may fall back include but are not limited to Harriet Alexander Field Airport; Salida Mountain, Monarch Pass; Lake County Airport; Saguache Municipal Airport; Wilkerson Pass; Copper Mountain, Red Cliff Pass; Gunnison County Airport; and Aspen–Pitkin County Airport.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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