Alcalde, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Alcalde's normal year runs from 15°F December nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 11.1 inches of precipitation and 11 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 31°C, 282 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlcalde
- Station IDUSC00290245
- Location36.09°N 106.06°W
- Elevation5,680 ft (1,731 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (census place)237
On October 23, the normal high in Alcalde is 66°F and the normal low 29°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 Alcalde.
- Jan 45° 15°
- Feb 51° 20°
- Mar 60° 25°
- Apr 67° 32°
- May 76° 40°
- Jun 86° 48°
- Jul 88° 55°
- Aug 86° 54°
- Sep 80° 45°
- Oct 69° 32°
- Nov 55° 22°
- Dec 45° 15°
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 Alcalde each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.75 in), the least in February (0.39 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 15°F | 30.2°F | 0.51 | 2.2 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 51°F | 20°F | 35.3°F | 0.39 | 1.5 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 25°F | 42.4°F | 0.69 | 1.4 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 32°F | 49.6°F | 0.70 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 16 | 13 h |
| May | 76°F | 40°F | 58.1°F | 0.78 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 48°F | 67.1°F | 0.78 | 0.0 | 4 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 55°F | 71.8°F | 1.65 | 0.0 | 8 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 54°F | 69.6°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 9 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 80°F | 45°F | 62.2°F | 1.25 | 0.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 32°F | 50.3°F | 1.14 | 0.6 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 22°F | 38.7°F | 0.73 | 1.4 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 45°F | 15°F | 29.8°F | 0.73 | 3.3 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 34°F | 50.4°F | 11.10 | 10.7 | 55 | 40 | 182 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −9°C | −1.0°C | 13 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 11°C | −7°C | 1.8°C | 10 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 16°C | −4°C | 5.8°C | 18 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 20°C | 0°C | 9.8°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 25°C | 4°C | 14.5°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 30°C | 9°C | 19.5°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 13°C | 22.1°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 12°C | 20.9°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 7°C | 16.8°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 0°C | 10.2°C | 29 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 13°C | −6°C | 3.7°C | 19 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 7°C | −9°C | −1.2°C | 19 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00290245; 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 Alcalde?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00290245.
When is the last frost in Alcalde?
In Alcalde, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 10 in half of years and after May 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 24 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
- May 101 year in 10 after May 24; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 24; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 168 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alcalde in zone 7a in ZIP code 87566, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00290245; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Alcalde?
In a normal year in Alcalde, 40 days a year reach 90°F, 182 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 55 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 40a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 182a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 55a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1953) is 102°F, on July 14, 1971; the lowest is −34°F, on January 7, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 17.58 in; the snowiest season is 2009–10, with 23.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00290245; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00290245. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Alcalde?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Alcalde, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (79%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 3.1 |
| February | 80% | 4.0 |
| March | 81% | 5.3 |
| April | 81% | 6.5 |
| May | 83% | 7.4 |
| June | 87% | 7.9 |
| July | 80% | 6.8 |
| August | 80% | 6.3 |
| September | 84% | 5.6 |
| October | 85% | 4.5 |
| November | 83% | 3.3 |
| December | 79% | 2.7 |
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 Alcalde need?
A normal year in Alcalde brings 5,785 heating degree days, 8% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 496 cooling degree days, 45% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,583 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,079 | 0 |
| February | 832 | 0 |
| March | 701 | 0 |
| April | 461 | 0 |
| May | 226 | 10 |
| June | 32 | 95 |
| July | 1 | 211 |
| August | 8 | 152 |
| September | 112 | 28 |
| October | 456 | 0 |
| November | 789 | 0 |
| December | 1,090 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,785 | 496 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00290245. 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 Alcalde been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 52.1°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.4°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 51.1°F | +0.7°F | 10.52 | 16.8 |
| 2024 | 51.8°F | +1.4°F | 11.10 | 11.4 |
| 2025 | 52.1°F | +1.7°F | 10.23 | – |
Over 40 complete years from 1955 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.4°F per century (+0.25°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00290245; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Alcalde's climate compare?
Alcalde is warmer than 29 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 27. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.4°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Alcalde 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 Alcalde share this climate record?
14 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.
- Dixon, NM1,551 people · 11 mi NE
- La Villita, NM1,440 people · 1 mi N
- Ohkay Owingeh, NM1,178 people · 3 mi S
- Chamita, NM829 people · 3 mi SW
- Hernandez, NM802 people · 4 mi SW
- Los Luceros, NM757 people · 2 mi NE
- El Duende, NM730 people · 4 mi W
- Canova, NM454 people · 7 mi NE
- Velarde, NM248 people · 7 mi NE
- Medanales, NM246 people · 9 mi NW
- Chili, NM185 people · 5 mi W
- Ojo Sarco, NM153 people · 15 mi E
- Lyden, NM95 people · 5 mi NE
- Pueblito, NM40 people · 2 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Alcalde's climate
What is the coldest month in Alcalde?
December, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Alcalde?
Yes: 11 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (3.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Alcalde?
August, with 1.75 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.39 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Alcalde in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Alcalde in zone 7a in ZIP code 87566, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Alcalde?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 10; in one year in ten it comes after May 24. Waiting until May 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- New Mexico climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Española, NM6 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- El Rito, NM19 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Los Alamos, NM22 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Abiquiu, NM23 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made