Albuquerque, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Albuquerque's normal year runs from 27°F December nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 8.8 inches of precipitation and 8 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.4°C, December lows of −3°C, July highs of 33°C, 225 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlbuquerque International Airport
- Station IDUSW00023050
- Location35.04°N 106.62°W
- Elevation5,310 ft (1,619 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population560,326
On October 23, the normal high in Albuquerque is 68°F and the normal low 43°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Albuquerque.
- Jan 48° 26°
- Feb 54° 30°
- Mar 63° 36°
- Apr 70° 43°
- May 80° 52°
- Jun 90° 62°
- Jul 91° 67°
- Aug 89° 65°
- Sep 83° 58°
- Oct 71° 46°
- Nov 57° 34°
- Dec 47° 27°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Albuquerque each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in July (1.64 in), the least in January (0.36 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 26°F | 37.4°F | 0.36 | 1.4 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h |
| February | 54°F | 30°F | 41.9°F | 0.43 | 1.5 | 4 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 63°F | 36°F | 49.5°F | 0.46 | 0.7 | 4 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 43°F | 56.8°F | 0.51 | 0.3 | 3 | <1 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 52°F | 66.1°F | 0.44 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 90°F | 62°F | 76.1°F | 0.57 | 0.0 | 4 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 91°F | 67°F | 78.9°F | 1.64 | 0.0 | 9 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 89°F | 65°F | 76.9°F | 1.31 | 0.0 | 8 | 17 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 58°F | 70.3°F | 1.15 | 0.0 | 6 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 71°F | 46°F | 58.4°F | 0.87 | 0.3 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 34°F | 45.7°F | 0.57 | 0.9 | 3 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 47°F | 27°F | 36.9°F | 0.53 | 2.8 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 46°F | 57.9°F | 8.84 | 7.9 | 56 | 64 | 93 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −3°C | 3.0°C | 9 mm | 4 cm |
| February | 12°C | −1°C | 5.5°C | 11 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 17°C | 2°C | 9.7°C | 12 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 21°C | 6°C | 13.8°C | 13 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 27°C | 11°C | 18.9°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 17°C | 24.5°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 19°C | 26.1°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 18°C | 24.9°C | 33 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.3°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 22 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 14 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 8°C | −3°C | 2.7°C | 13 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023050; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Albuquerque?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (3).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023050.
When is the last frost in Albuquerque?
In Albuquerque, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 6 in half of years and after April 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 3 in half of years and before October 21 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 61 year in 10 after April 23; 9 in 10 after March 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 31 year in 10 before October 21; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 208 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 238 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 17 in half of springs and before November 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Albuquerque in zones 7b to 8a across its 13 ZIP code areas (7b in 87120, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Albuquerque's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (30 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023050; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Albuquerque ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Albuquerque's 13 ZIP code areas run from zone 7b to 8a: 11 in 7b and 2 in 8a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Albuquerque?
In a normal year in Albuquerque, 64 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 93 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 56 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 64a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 93a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 56a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in Albuquerque's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1891) is 107°F, on June 26, 1994; the lowest is −17°F, on January 7, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 15.88 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 37.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023050; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ABQthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Albuquerque, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 47°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 52°F; the driest air comes in February (18°F). April is the windiest month (9.7 mph on average), and September has the most clear or nearly clear hours (60%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | 46% | 28% | 7.3 mph | 49% | 16% |
| February | 18°F | 36% | 21% | 8.7 mph | 45% | 17% |
| March | 20°F | 29% | 17% | 9.7 mph | 46% | 13% |
| April | 24°F | 25% | 14% | 9.7 mph | 49% | 9% |
| May | 32°F | 24% | 14% | 9.3 mph | 50% | 6% |
| June | 42°F | 28% | 16% | 8.7 mph | 42% | 6% |
| July | 52°F | 44% | 26% | 7.7 mph | 25% | 9% |
| August | 48°F | 40% | 24% | 7.4 mph | 40% | 8% |
| September | 37°F | 36% | 22% | 7.7 mph | 60% | 6% |
| October | 28°F | 41% | 25% | 7.4 mph | 55% | 10% |
| November | 20°F | 45% | 29% | 7.0 mph | 52% | 14% |
| December | 18°F | 51% | 34% | 6.6 mph | 48% | 17% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023050. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Albuquerque?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Albuquerque, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (90%) and December the cloudiest (81%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 81st (with 7 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.1 |
| March | 85% | 5.6 |
| April | 85% | 6.8 |
| May | 87% | 7.7 |
| June | 90% | 8.1 |
| July | 85% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.6 |
| September | 87% | 5.8 |
| October | 88% | 4.7 |
| November | 86% | 3.5 |
| December | 81% | 2.8 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Albuquerque need?
A normal year in Albuquerque brings 3,996 heating degree days, 26% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,438 cooling degree days, 58% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,250 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 856 | 0 |
| February | 645 | 0 |
| March | 481 | 0 |
| April | 255 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 105 |
| June | 2 | 336 |
| July | 0 | 429 |
| August | 0 | 367 |
| September | 20 | 179 |
| October | 220 | 13 |
| November | 579 | 0 |
| December | 870 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,996 | 1,438 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023050. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Albuquerque been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 60.8°F, 2.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 57.9°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.0°F | +1.1°F | 5.50 | 9.4 |
| 2022 | 58.1°F | +0.2°F | 9.31 | 9.4 |
| 2023 | 59.0°F | +1.1°F | 5.77 | 4.1 |
| 2024 | 60.0°F | +2.1°F | 6.96 | 5.5 |
| 2025 | 60.8°F | +2.9°F | 6.71 | 3.3 |
Over 83 complete years from 1935 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.6°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023050; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Albuquerque's climate compare?
Albuquerque is warmer than 63 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 3. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.9°F is warmer than 69%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Albuquerque is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Albuquerque share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Kirtland AFB, NM3,421 people · 3 mi E
- Ponderosa Pine, NM1,091 people · 16 mi E
- Carnuel, NM842 people · 9 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Albuquerque's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Albuquerque. This page uses Albuquerque International Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque Foothills NE USC00290225 | 9 mi E | 5,994 ft | 55.3°F | 26°F | 89°F | 14.9 | 24 | April 21 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Albuquerque's climate
What is the coldest month in Albuquerque?
December, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Albuquerque?
Yes: 8 inches in a normal year, falling on 9 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (2.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Albuquerque?
July, with 1.64 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.36 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Albuquerque in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Albuquerque in zones 7b to 8a across its 13 ZIP code areas (7b in 87120, the largest). By the same method at Albuquerque's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 11°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Albuquerque?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 6; in one year in ten it comes after April 23. Waiting until April 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Albuquerque in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- New Mexico climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- South Valley, NM4 miles from this station, 56.9°F a year
- Rio Grande Nature Center, NM7 miles from this station, 56.7°F a year
- Petroglyph National Mon, NM9 miles from this station, 57.6°F a year
- Corrales, NM14 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made