# Ordway, Colorado

Ordway is a statutory town in and the county seat of Crowley County, Colorado, United States, that is also the most populous community in the county. The population was 1,066 at the 2020 census.

## History

A post office called Ordway has been in operation since 1890. The community was named after George N. Ordway, a Denver politician.

## Geography

Ordway is located in south-central Crowley County at 38°13′11″N 103°45′26″W﻿ / ﻿38.21972°N 103.75722°W﻿ / 38.21972; -103.75722 (38.219633, -103.757264). State Highway 96 runs along the southern edge of the town, leading west 49 miles (79 km) to Pueblo and east 60 miles (97 km) to Eads. Highway 71 runs along the eastern edge of the town and leads south 11 miles (18 km) to U.S. Route 50 near Rocky Ford and north 75 miles (121 km) to Interstate 70 at Limon.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Ordway has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km$^2$), all of it land.

## Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ordway has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Ordway was 111 °F (43.9 °C) on July 14, 2003 and July 20, 2005, while the coldest temperature recorded was −29 °F (−33.9 °C) on February 15, 2021.
Climate data for Ordway, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1980–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 77 (25) | 81 (27) | 88 (31) | 95 (35) | 107 (42) | 110 (43) | 111 (44) | 108 (42) | 105 (41) | 98 (37) | 85 (29) | 80 (27) | 111 (44) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 68.5 (20.3) | 71.0 (21.7) | 80.7 (27.1) | 87.4 (30.8) | 95.7 (35.4) | 103.5 (39.7) | 105.4 (40.8) | 102.7 (39.3) | 98.9 (37.2) | 90.0 (32.2) | 77.3 (25.2) | 67.7 (19.8) | 106.5 (41.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 44.8 (7.1) | 48.3 (9.1) | 59.6 (15.3) | 67.1 (19.5) | 77.1 (25.1) | 88.9 (31.6) | 94.2 (34.6) | 91.1 (32.8) | 83.3 (28.5) | 69.6 (20.9) | 55.9 (13.3) | 45.1 (7.3) | 68.7 (20.4) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 28.6 (−1.9) | 32.4 (0.2) | 42.4 (5.8) | 50.3 (10.2) | 61.0 (16.1) | 72.0 (22.2) | 77.5 (25.3) | 75.1 (23.9) | 66.0 (18.9) | 52.0 (11.1) | 38.8 (3.8) | 29.1 (−1.6) | 52.1 (11.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.3 (−10.9) | 16.6 (−8.6) | 25.2 (−3.8) | 33.5 (0.8) | 45.0 (7.2) | 55.1 (12.8) | 60.7 (15.9) | 59.0 (15.0) | 48.7 (9.3) | 34.3 (1.3) | 21.8 (−5.7) | 13.0 (−10.6) | 35.4 (1.9) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −3.6 (−19.8) | −1.8 (−18.8) | 9.7 (−12.4) | 19.3 (−7.1) | 30.4 (−0.9) | 44.0 (6.7) | 53.0 (11.7) | 50.9 (10.5) | 35.7 (2.1) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 5.1 (−14.9) | −4.5 (−20.3) | −10.3 (−23.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −24 (−31) | −29 (−34) | −3 (−19) | 5 (−15) | 20 (−7) | 32 (0) | 44 (7) | 34 (1) | 20 (−7) | −12 (−24) | −15 (−26) | −23 (−31) | −29 (−34) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.24 (6.1) | 0.21 (5.3) | 0.50 (13) | 1.12 (28) | 1.51 (38) | 1.52 (39) | 2.18 (55) | 1.92 (49) | 0.70 (18) | 0.78 (20) | 0.31 (7.9) | 0.24 (6.1) | 11.23 (285.4) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 2.4 (6.1) | 3.0 (7.6) | 2.7 (6.9) | 0.8 (2.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.25) | 0.7 (1.8) | 1.1 (2.8) | 3.3 (8.4) | 14.1 (35.85) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 1.4 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 37.0 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 5.5 |
| Source 1: NOAA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service ||||||||||||||

## Notable people

* Ella Mae Gallavan (1903–1966), pathologist