October 2026 Climate Review: Southwest Colorado Floods While Front Range Cities Stay Warm, Dry and Snowless

One soaking rainstorm, zero snowflakes and Boulder’s 17th straight warmer-than-normal month. Our October 2026 Climate Review breaks it all down, plus a look at how 2026 is well on-track to be the warmest year in Colorado history.

October 2026 picked up right where a record-hot summer left off. Boulder averaged 58.9° for the month, 7.3° above normal and the 3rd-warmest October on record. That makes it the city’s 17th consecutive warmer-than-normal month. The heat peaked early, with an 89° high on October 5 and three new daily record highs between October 6 and 9. Only five days all month finished cooler than normal.

The month’s saving grace came October 13–15. A slow-moving upper low tapped deep subtropical moisture and gave Boulder its most soaking rain in months, including 1.37″ on October 14 alone, a new daily precipitation record and two-thirds of the month’s 2.03″ total. That pushed Boulder to 125% of normal, its first wetter-than-normal month since May. The rain was patchy, though. Denver collected just 0.44″, and the storm barely dented the extreme-to-exceptional drought across the northern Front Range. Southwest Colorado, meanwhile, was drenched by tropical moisture over and over, and Colorado as a whole logged its 4th-wettest October on record if you can believe it. And winter? Boulder and Denver have yet to record measurable snow.

October 2026Monthly summary, temperatures, precipitation & drought 2026 So FarJanuary–October temperatures, precipitation, records & 90° days Snowfall 2026–27Season-to-date snow and how it compares to past winters

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October 2026The Month at a Glance

Warm and (slightly) wet: October 2026 landed in the warm-and-wet realm, something only 18 of 117 Octobers since 1900 have managed. Almost all of that wetness came from a single storm, and not a single flake of snow was measured.

October 2026 climate summary for Boulder, Colorado — **October 2026 summary** — temperature, precipitation and snowfall for Boulder compared to normal.

Every October in Boulder plotted by temperature versus precipitation — **Every October, temperature vs. precipitation** — warm/cool and wet/dry quadrants show how this year stacks up historically.

October 2026Temperatures

Statewide, Colorado averaged 51.9°, 5.3° above normal and the 4th-warmest October since 1895. The warmth was most extreme along the northern Front Range and northeast Plains, where a swath from Boulder to Fort Collins and Sterling ranked warmest on record.

In Boulder, 26 of 31 days finished warmer than normal. Average highs ran 73.0° (+7.2°) and average lows 44.7° (+7.5°). Along with three record highs, the city set two record warm lows (October 11 and 23). The coldest reading was 31° on October 16 and 18, in the days following the mid-month rainstorm. The first freeze of the season occurred on October 16th, about ten days later than normal.

Across Colorado

Map of October 2026 temperature rank across Colorado — **Temperature rank** — how October 2026 ranks historically at locations around the state.

Boulder

October 2026Precipitation & Drought

October was a month of extremes across Colorado. Remnant moisture from several eastern Pacific hurricanes soaked the southwest, where parts of the San Juans picked up nearly 18 inches, more than six times normal. Statewide, Colorado averaged 3.16″, 216% of normal and its 4th-wettest October since 1895. Northern Colorado mostly missed out. The Mountains along and west of the Divide saw as little as a quarter of normal, and Denver managed just 0.44″ (44%). Boulder ended up the wettest Front Range long-term climate station at 2.03″, almost all of it from the October 13–15 storm.

Across Colorado

Map of October 2026 precipitation rank across Colorado — **Precipitation rank** — how October 2026 ranks historically at locations around the state.

Boulder & the Front Range

Running precipitation total in Boulder during October 2026 — **Running precipitation total** — Boulder’s accumulation through the month versus normal.

Every October in Boulder ranked from driest to wettest — **Every October, driest to wettest** — where 2026 falls in Boulder’s long-term record.

October 2026 precipitation totals across Front Range cities — **Front Range precipitation totals** — October 2026 totals for cities across the region.

Drought

The north-south divide shows up clearly on the latest Drought Monitor. Parts of southwest Colorado improved by as many as four drought categories in four weeks, going from some of the state’s worst drought to nearly drought-free. Across the northern mountains and Front Range, the map barely budged. Extreme to exceptional drought (D3–D4) persists from the north-central high country into Boulder and Larimer counties.

Four-week change in drought conditions across Colorado — **4-week drought change** — where conditions improved or worsened over the past month.

January–October 2026The Year So Far

Through November 2, Boulder’s 2026 is running more than 5° warmer than normal with just 58% of normal precipitation, a deficit of more than 8 inches. Each of the last 12 months has been warmer than normal, and 10 of them were both warm and dry. The warm streak now stands at 17 straight months, dating back to June 2025. The water year that ended September 30 tied as Boulder’s driest on record.

2026 year-to-date climate summary for Boulder, Colorado — **2026 year-to-date summary** for Boulder.

Every year in Boulder plotted by temperature versus precipitation — **Every year, temperature vs. precipitation** — how 2026 compares to past years through the same date.

January–October 2026Temperatures

Colorado’s January–October 2026 is the warmest on record statewide (+4.4°, 1st of 132 years), and the Boulder area also ranks warmest on record. A historic March heatwave (+12.8°) melted the snowpack weeks early. Summer then brought 57 days of 90° or hotter to Boulder, the 3rd-most on record. It also brought 28 days of 95° or hotter, smashing the old record of 22 set in 2007, and peaked at 104° on August 3. In all, Boulder has set 29 daily record highs this year, the most of any year since 1900, plus 15 record warm lows. Down the road, Denver logged its warmest July–September since records began in 1872.

Across Colorado

Map of January through October 2026 temperature rank across Colorado — **Temperature rank**, January–October 2026.

Boulder

Number of daily temperature records set each year in Boulder — **Daily records set each year** in Boulder.

Number of 90 degree days in Boulder in 2026 — **90° days** in 2026.

Number of 95 degree days in Boulder in 2026 — **95° days** in 2026.

January–October 2026Precipitation

Precipitation tells the opposite story. Boulder has collected 11.28″ this year, 58% of normal and more than 8 inches short. Eight of ten months came in below normal. Only May and October finished above normal. Gridded analysis ranks the Boulder area’s January–October as the 5th-driest on record. Every Front Range station is running below normal, from Estes Park (83%) to Greeley (54%). Statewide, the fall deluge in southwest Colorado has pulled Colorado back to 96% of normal.

Across Colorado

Map of January through October 2026 precipitation rank across Colorado — **Precipitation rank**, January–October 2026.

Boulder & the Front Range

Running precipitation total in Boulder during 2026 — **Running precipitation total** for 2026 versus normal.

Boulder precipitation for each month of 2026 compared to normal — **Monthly precipitation** — each month of 2026 compared to normal.

2026 year-to-date precipitation totals across Front Range cities — **Front Range precipitation totals**, year to date.

Winter 2026–27Snowfall

Winter is off to a slow start. Through November 2, Boulder has yet to record measurable snow. Normally about 9 inches have fallen by now, about 7 of them in October. That ties 20 other seasons for the least snowy start in 99 seasons on record, so a snowless October isn’t unprecedented. Still, it follows a 2025–26 season that produced just 41 inches, the second-lowest since 1950. Think you know when our first flakes will fly? That’s cool! Hopefully you entered our 2026 First Snow Contest.