| Overnight Temperatures in the Central Rockies Custom Object |
| Overnight Temperatures in the Central Rockies   | 
| Page Type: Custom Object Location: Colorado/Utah/Wyoming, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 32.84000°N / 113.91°W Object Type: Informational Chart | Page By: Scott Created/Edited: Apr 5, 2006 / Aug 30, 2009 Object ID: 186172 Hits: 2630  Loading... Page Score: 86.82% - 3 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
NoteThis is an object to be attached to an articles and messages that I write and is meant to be a simple reference. Coldest CampsBelow are the coldest temperatures I've personally recorded in specific months while camping in the Central Rocky Mountain Region.
| MONTH | TEMP (F) | LOCATION | YEAR | RANGE | STATE | ELEVATION | | JAN | -23 | Preston Peak | 2000 | Wasatch | UT | 10315 | | FEB | -10* | Lake Cathrine | 1998 | Wasatch | UT | 10000 | | MAR | -22 | East Fork Bear River | 1999 | Uinta | UT | 8800 | | APR | 9 | Montezuma Basin | 2006 | Elk | CO | 11430 | | MAY | 10 | Yampa River | 2008 | n/a | CO | 6063 | | JUN | 13 | South Fork White River | 2007 | Flat Tops | CO | 7800 | | JUL | 15 | Amethyst Lake | 1995 | Uinta | UT | 10800 | | AUG | 10 | West Fork Rock Creek | 2009 | Beartooth | MT | 8850 | | SEP | 10 | Ashley Twin Lakes | 2005 | Uinta | UT | 10350 | | OCT | 1 | Box Canyon | 2003 | n/a | CO | 5800 | | NOV | -15 | Yellow Pine Creek | 1997 | Uinta | UT | 9350 | | DEC | -14 | Hoosier Pass | 2005 | Mosquito | CO | 11540 |
*On February 21 2009, it was -11F at Walters Cabin near Shrine Mountain Colorado and at 11,223 feet, but we stayed in the cabin rather than slept outside.
Miscellaneous InformationSources:
Readings before November 1997 were only taken occasionally. Since that date, I’ve almost always carried a thermometer on overnight trips.
The July 1995 reading was taken from simple REI zipper gauge bulb type thermometer.
Readings between November 1997 and June 2005 were taken with a Springfield spring-coil type thermometer.
Readings from July 2005 to present were taken with one of three Acurite digital recording thermometers, supposedly accurate to 0.1F degrees.
Notes and Comments:
1. I haven't recorded as many cold temperatures in April and May as might be expected, but this is only because that's prime canyoneering season and I'm often out in the desert rather than high in the mountains.
2. The above chart is for coldest camps only. I have recorded colder temperatures on day climbs.
On February 11 2006, it was at least as cold as -29F on our climb of Nipple Peak (Elkhead Mountains, CO), but it was a day climb only. It was probably the coldest non-windchill temperature that I have climbed in. Luckily there wasn’t much wind on that particular day. The coldest wind chill I’ve climbed in while in the Central Rockies was probably -54F (-77F on the old windchill chart!) on Northstar Mountain (Mosquito Range, CO) on December 9 2005.
3. Most of the above temperatures were recorded under mostly calm conditions at night, which is usually ideal for cold temperatures. The only exception is the reading from Hoosier Pass on December 11 2005. That night was the surely the windiest night I’ve ever spent while sleeping.
4. The March 5 1999 reading of -22F at the East Fork Bear River is colder than normally might be expected. On calm nights, the cool air really pools into the valley bottom next to the river.
5. The June 9 2007 reading of 13F at the South Fork White River was another unusually cold night for 7800 feet. It was also during a record breaking cold snap the day after a snowstorm. Denver had its latest frost ever during the cold snap and several locations around Colorado had record lows on the 8th and 9th. Like the East Fork Bear River, cold air pools along the South Fork Yampa River as well.
6. The July 24 1995 reading of 15F at Amethyst Lake was remarkably cold for July. In fact it was a slightly colder reading than any official weather station has recorded anywhere in Utah during July. 1995 was a heavy snow year and the area around the lake was still buried under deep snow. Amethyst Lake itself was mostly frozen over, but the adjacent shallow pond to the south was ice free in the evening. In the morning the small pond was frozen over with over an inch thick of new ice.
7. The August 28 2009 reading of 10F was the most incredibly cold summer night I had ever spen and all of our water bottles froze solid. Since our elevation was lower than previous nights, I presume that the cold air sinks off the mountains and pools into this meadow. In fact, this night at least tied the coldest temperature at a camp I have ever recorded anytime between April 17 and October 25.
8. The October 26 2003 reading of 1F was another unusual one since it is the only one on the list not recorded in the mountains. It was recorded in the open desert not too far from the mouth of Box Canyon in NW Colorado. That same night the official station at Maybell (5940 feet) dropped to 5F and the official station at Craig (6200 feet) dropped to 10F.
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