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Crested Butte vs Gardiner
Comparing Crested Butte change · Gardiner change
Gardiner is the warmer of the two — about 7°C on the annual average; Crested Butte is the wetter, with 362 mm more rain a year, and Crested Butte the sunnier.
How the seasons compare
The differences between Crested Butte and Gardiner, in everyday terms.
Summers
Gardiner has much hotter summers
Crested Butte: Mild
Gardiner: Warm
Winters
Gardiner has far milder winters
Crested Butte: Bitterly cold
Gardiner: Very cold
Rain & snow
Crested Butte is much wetter
Crested Butte: Moderate rainfall
Gardiner: Very dry
Sky
Crested Butte is sunnier
Crested Butte: Partly cloudy
Gardiner: Often cloudy
Month-by-month charts
Temperature
Gardiner is the warmer of the two — about 7°C on the annual average.
Precipitation
Crested Butte is the wetter — about 362 mm more across the year.
Clear skies
Crested Butte has the clearer skies — the higher line.
Exact monthly numbers
Tap a metric to open its full table. Desktop shows all twelve months; on a phone each metric splits into Jan–Jun and Jul–Dec.
Avg high (°C) Gardiner runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Gardiner | 1 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 31 | 30 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 1 |
| Difference | +4 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +5 | +3 | +6 | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | +4 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | -3 | -1 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 21 |
| Gardiner | 1 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 25 |
| Difference | +4 | +4 | +5 | +6 | +5 | +3 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 25 | 23 | 19 | 13 | 4 | -3 |
| Gardiner | 31 | 30 | 24 | 15 | 6 | 1 |
| Difference | +6 | +7 | +5 | +2 | +2 | +4 |
Avg low (°C) Gardiner runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Gardiner | -8 | -8 | -4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 1 | -5 | -8 |
| Difference | +13 | +11 | +10 | +7 | +6 | +7 | +8 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +12 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | -21 | -19 | -14 | -7 | -2 | 1 |
| Gardiner | -8 | -8 | -4 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Difference | +13 | +11 | +10 | +7 | +6 | +7 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 4 | 4 | -0 | -6 | -13 | -20 |
| Gardiner | 12 | 11 | 7 | 1 | -5 | -8 |
| Difference | +8 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +12 |
Precipitation (mm) Crested Butte runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Gardiner | 12 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 32 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 20 | 13 |
| Difference | -58 | -52 | -34 | -35 | -4 | +8 | -29 | -33 | -29 | -20 | -31 | -44 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 69 | 65 | 54 | 51 | 38 | 24 |
| Gardiner | 12 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 34 | 32 |
| Difference | -58 | -52 | -34 | -35 | -4 | +8 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 50 | 50 | 49 | 43 | 51 | 57 |
| Gardiner | 21 | 18 | 20 | 24 | 20 | 13 |
| Difference | -29 | -33 | -29 | -20 | -31 | -44 |
Snowfall (cm) Crested Butte runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Gardiner | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 |
| Difference | -95 | -83 | -64 | -42 | -16 | — | — | — | -2 | -19 | -55 | -78 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 106 | 90 | 69 | 46 | 17 | 1 |
| Gardiner | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Difference | -95 | -83 | -64 | -42 | -16 | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 66 | 88 |
| Gardiner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 10 |
| Difference | — | — | -2 | -19 | -55 | -78 |
Cloud cover (%) Gardiner runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Gardiner | 69 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 61 | 45 | 47 | 52 | 64 | 69 | 69 |
| Difference | +14 | +9 | +13 | +10 | +10 | +15 | -11 | -11 | +6 | +20 | +21 | +16 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 54 | 60 | 60 | 63 | 61 | 46 |
| Gardiner | 69 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 61 |
| Difference | +14 | +9 | +13 | +10 | +10 | +15 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 57 | 58 | 46 | 44 | 49 | 54 |
| Gardiner | 45 | 47 | 52 | 64 | 69 | 69 |
| Difference | -11 | -11 | +6 | +20 | +21 | +16 |
Relative humidity (%) Gardiner runs higher most of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Gardiner | 98 | 98 | 97 | 86 | 75 | 70 | 62 | 57 | 61 | 73 | 90 | 98 |
| Difference | +7 | +5 | +8 | +10 | +10 | +18 | +6 | -2 | +4 | +10 | +13 | +9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 91 | 94 | 89 | 76 | 64 | 52 |
| Gardiner | 98 | 98 | 97 | 86 | 75 | 70 |
| Difference | +7 | +5 | +8 | +10 | +10 | +18 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crested Butte | 56 | 59 | 57 | 63 | 77 | 89 |
| Gardiner | 62 | 57 | 61 | 73 | 90 | 98 |
| Difference | +6 | -2 | +4 | +10 | +13 | +9 |
How both climates are changing
Both cities are warming. Each city has its own warming trend; see its trends page for the year-by-year detail. Crested Butte trends → · Gardiner trends →
Methodology & sources
Crested Butte
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Crested Butte, a weather station, about 1 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
Gardiner
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 28 years of daily observations at Gardiner, a weather station, inside the city. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.
← change Crested Butte · change Gardiner → · Crested Butte page · Gardiner page