Weather in Denver in July

A hard month. July is a hard month in Denver, and worth planning around. Highs average 33.4 °C, lows 17.8 °C, and rain falls on 14 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

July ranks 12 of 12 — near the bottom of Denver's year. October is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 42 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

This is persistent light rain rather than storms: 14 wet days but only 1 heavy ones. It rarely cancels anything outright, and it rarely fully clears either. A jacket beats an umbrella. Pack for 33.4 °C days and 17.8 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 11 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable; the day swings 15.6 °C from low to high, which means one bag has to cover both. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest July day reached 40.2 °C and the coldest night fell to 10.7 °C.

July is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest July on record still delivered 111 mm against 20 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 62 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 8.5 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 45%.

How July sits in the year

This is a turning point in the year — June and August sit on opposite sides of it, so the month contains the change rather than following it. Rain has already shifted: 5 days more than June had.

Daylight in July

July is at or near the longest days of Denver's year: 14.7 hours of daylight, losing 0.6 hours across the month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 37 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage. At 1609 m, altitude is doing as much work here as latitude: thinner air means fierce sun by day and heat that leaves the moment it sets. Within July itself the daily swing is 15.6 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

July in Denver versus nearby

If Denver is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Aspen is a better bet in July — 6.5 °C cooler, 1 day less rain. Moab is close enough to be a coin toss — 3.7 °C warmer, 6 days less rain.

So: July is a compromise. October is 42 points better and is what Denver is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Denver

See all twelve months in Denver, or where else to go in July.