Weather on the Colorado River
This Week's Forecast
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
(Referenced from Weather.gov and USGS)
| Month | Air (high/low) °F | Water °F |
| March | 59/31 | 48 |
| April | 66/38 | 53 |
| May | 77/47 | 56 |
| June | 89/57 | 62 |
| July | 95/64 | 75 |
| August | 91/62 | 77 |
| September | 82/53 | 68 |
| October | 67/53 | 60 |
Desert environments tend to have variable weather, so always, always, always bring rain gear! Even if these numbers seem underwhelming.
AVERAGE RAINFALL
(Referenced from Weather.gov)
March 0.8
April 0.98
May 0.83
June 0.41
July 0.59
August 0.92
September 1.19
October 0.99
RAPIDS & WATER LEVELS ON THE COLORADO RIVER
Average Water Levels
During the rafting season from March to October, the Colorado River’s water levels typically range between 1,000 – 50,000 CFS. Higher flows usually start in May, peak in June and trickle down thereafter.
CFS stands for “cubic feet per second.” One cubic foot is about the size of a basketball. So if the Colroado is flowing at 1,000 CFS, imagine standing on the side of the river, watching 1,000 basketballs bounce past you every second.
If you’d like to explore the Colorado River’s water levels, visit this page of USGS.
Rapids
If your trip occurs during a period of high flows, you can expect a lot of class III rapids. High flows on the Colorado River are considered over 20,000 CFS.
If your trip is during a period of low flow, you can still expect class II rapids. Low flows can be considered below 5,000 CFS.
For trips taking place with medium flow rate, expect a mix of both, naturally!