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March Weather in Fort Collins Colorado, United States

Daily high temperatures increase by 8°F, from 49°F to 57°F, rarely falling below 34°F or exceeding 71°F.

Daily low temperatures increase by 6°F, from 26°F to 33°F, rarely falling below 15°F or exceeding 42°F.

For reference, on July 12, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Fort Collins typically range from 60°F to 87°F, while on December 29, the coldest day of the year, they range from 19°F to 40°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in March in Fort Collins

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 March. 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 March in Fort Collins

Average Hourly Temperature in March in Fort CollinsMar112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 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 AMFebAprNowNowfreezingfreezingvery coldcoldcoldcool
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.

Sulakyurt, Turkey (6,293 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Fort Collins (view comparison).

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The month of March in Fort Collins experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 47% throughout the month.

The clearest day of the month is March 7, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 54% of the time.

For reference, on April 17, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 48%, while on July 1, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 74%.

Cloud Cover Categories in March in Fort Collins

Cloud Cover Categories in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%FebAprMar 153%Mar 153%Mar 3153%Mar 3153%Mar 1153%Mar 1153%Mar 2153%Mar 2153%NowNowclearmostly 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. In Fort Collins, the chance of a wet day over the course of March is rapidly increasing, starting the month at 10% and ending it at 17%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 29% on May 23, and its lowest chance is 7% on December 18.

Over the course of March in Fort Collins, the chance of a day with only rain increases from 5% to 11%, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain increases from 2% to 5%, and the chance of a day with only snow remains an essentially constant 2% throughout.

Probability of Precipitation in March in Fort Collins

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 March in Fort Collins is gradually increasing, starting the month at 0.4 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.1 inches or falls below 0.1 inches, and ending the month at 0.8 inches, when it rarely exceeds 1.7 inches or falls below 0.2 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in March in Fort Collins

Average Monthly Rainfall in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 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 in3.5 in3.5 inFebAprMar 10.4 inMar 10.4 inMar 310.8 inMar 310.8 inMar 110.5 inMar 110.5 inMar 210.6 inMar 210.6 inNowNow
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 March in Fort Collins is essentially constant, remaining about 2.3 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 5.5 inches or falling to 0.0 inches.

The highest average 31-day accumulation is 2.5 inches on March 18.

Average Monthly Snowfall in March in Fort Collins

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 March in Fort Collins, the length of the day is rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day increases by 1 hour, 21 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 2 minutes, 42 seconds, and weekly increase of 18 minutes, 52 seconds.

The shortest day of the month is March 1, with 11 hours, 19 minutes of daylight and the longest day is March 31, with 12 hours, 40 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in March in Fort Collins

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrFebAprMar 1912 hr, 8 minMar 1912 hr, 8 minnightnightdaydayMar 111 hr, 19 minMar 111 hr, 19 min
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 in Fort Collins is 6:20 AM on March 9 and the latest sunrise is 58 minutes later at 7:19 AM on March 10.

The earliest sunset is 5:52 PM on March 1 and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 32 minutes later at 7:24 PM on March 31.

Daylight saving time (DST) ends at 3:00 AM on March 10, 2024, shifting sunrise and sunset to be an hour earlier.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:29 AM and sets 15 hours, 5 minutes later, at 8:34 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:20 AM and sets 9 hours, 16 minutes later, at 4:36 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in March in Fort Collins

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMFebApr6:20 AM6:20 AMMar 96:01 PMMar 96:01 PM6:44 AM6:44 AMMar 317:24 PMMar 317:24 PM7:01 AM7:01 AMMar 217:14 PMMar 217:14 PMMar 10DSTMar 10DSTSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day over the course of March. 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 transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

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 March in Fort Collins

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in March in Fort CollinsMar112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 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 AMFebApr001010202020303040500001010202030303040405060NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of March 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 March 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 March in Fort Collins

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in March in Fort CollinsMar112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMFebAprFeb 94:00 PMFeb 94:00 PMFeb 245:31 AMFeb 245:31 AMMar 103:01 AMMar 103:01 AMMar 251:01 AMMar 251:01 AMApr 812:22 PMApr 812:22 PMApr 235:50 PMApr 235:50 PM7:14 AM7:14 AM5:17 PM5:17 PM5:03 PM5:03 PM7:04 AM7:04 AM7:39 AM7:39 AM7:45 PM7:45 PM6:57 PM6:57 PM7:08 AM7:08 AM6:27 AM6:27 AM7:52 PM7:52 PM7:52 PM7:52 PM6:17 AM6:17 AM
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.
Mar 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
71%-9:09 AMWSW-4:09 AMS246,798 mi
2
62%12:15 AMESE9:40 AMWSW-4:57 AMS243,941 mi
3
50%1:22 AMSE10:19 AMSW-5:51 AMS240,549 mi
4
40%2:28 AMSE11:10 AMSW-6:49 AMS236,760 mi
5
29%3:30 AMSE12:12 PMSW-7:51 AMS232,802 mi
6
19%4:22 AMSE1:25 PMSW-8:54 AMS228,985 mi
7
10%5:06 AMESE2:44 PMWSW-9:55 AMS225,673 mi
8
4%5:42 AMESE4:05 PMWSW-10:53 AMS223,225 mi
9
1%6:12 AMESE5:26 PMW-11:48 AMS221,926 mi
10
0%7:39 AME7:45 PMW-4:00 AMENE221,773 mi
11
3%8:04 AME9:04 PMW-2:31 PMS223,250 mi
12
9%8:30 AMENE10:21 PMWNW-3:21 PMS225,711 mi
13
17%8:57 AMENE11:39 PMWNW-4:13 PMS229,036 mi
14
27%9:29 AMENE--5:07 PMS232,878 mi
15
38%-12:54 AMWNW10:07 AMNE6:02 PMS236,880 mi
16
50%-2:05 AMNW10:52 AMNE6:59 PMS240,729 mi
17
59%-3:08 AMNW11:45 AMNE7:54 PMS244,182 mi
18
69%-4:01 AMNW12:45 PMNE8:47 PMS247,080 mi
19
78%-4:44 AMNW1:48 PMNE9:37 PMS249,346 mi
20
86%-5:18 AMWNW2:52 PMENE10:23 PMS250,965 mi
21
92%-5:46 AMWNW3:55 PMENE11:06 PMS251,971 mi
22
96%-6:10 AMWNW4:57 PMENE11:47 PMS252,421 mi
23
98%-6:30 AMWNW5:57 PME--
24
99%-6:49 AMW6:57 PME12:26 AMS252,379 mi
25
100%-7:08 AMW7:57 PME1:04 AMS251,899 mi
26
99%-7:27 AMW8:58 PMESE1:43 AMS251,018 mi
27
96%-7:48 AMWSW10:01 PMESE2:24 AMS249,752 mi
28
91%-8:12 AMWSW11:06 PMESE3:07 AMS248,099 mi
29
85%-8:41 AMWSW-3:54 AMS246,047 mi
30
77%12:13 AMSE9:17 AMSW-4:45 AMS243,588 mi
31
67%1:19 AMSE10:03 AMSW-5:41 AMS240,742 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 in Fort Collins is essentially constant during March, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on July 17, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in March in Fort Collins

Humidity Comfort Levels in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%FebAprMar 10%Mar 10%Mar 310%Mar 310%Mar 110%Mar 110%Mar 210%Mar 210%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 in Fort Collins is essentially constant during March, remaining within 0.2 miles per hour of 10.0 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on January 18, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 11.6 miles per hour, while on August 18, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 6.6 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in March in Fort Collins

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 in Fort Collins throughout March is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 61% on March 1.

Wind Direction in March in Fort Collins

Wind Direction in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%FebAprNowNowwestnortheastsouth
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 in Fort Collins typically lasts for 5.4 months (165 days), from around April 29 to around October 10, rarely starting before April 9 or after May 16, and rarely ending before September 19 or after October 29.

The month of March in Fort Collins is very likely fully outside of the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season gradually increasing from 0% to 3% over the course of the month.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in March in Fort Collins

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%FebAprMar 10%Mar 10%Mar 313%Mar 313%Mar 110%Mar 110%Mar 210%Mar 210%50%Apr 2950%Apr 29Apr 910%Apr 910%0%Feb 100%Feb 10freezingvery coldcoldcoolfrigidcomfortable
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 in Fort Collins are gradually increasing during March, increasing by 50°F, from 20°F to 70°F, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in March in Fort Collins

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of March, 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 in Fort Collins is increasing during March, rising by 1.3 kWh, from 4.3 kWh to 5.6 kWh, over the course of the month.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in March in Fort Collins

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in March in Fort CollinsMar11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWh8 kWh8 kWhFebAprMar 14.3 kWhMar 14.3 kWhMar 315.6 kWhMar 315.6 kWhMar 114.8 kWhMar 114.8 kWhMar 215.2 kWhMar 215.2 kWhNowNow
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 Fort Collins are 40.585 deg latitude, -105.084 deg longitude, and 5,000 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Fort Collins contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 171 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,997 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (2,894 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (9,810 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Fort Collins is covered by artificial surfaces (61%), shrubs (21%), and cropland (11%), within 10 miles by grassland (36%) and cropland (25%), and within 50 miles by grassland (45%) and trees (23%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Fort Collins, 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

There are 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Fort Collins.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Fort Collins according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Fort Collins is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Fort Collins and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Fort Collins and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

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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