Arch, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Arch's normal year runs from 21°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 16.7 inches of precipitation and 5 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.2°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 34°C, 423 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationArch
- Station IDUSC00290525
- Location34.11°N 103.17°W
- Elevation3,940 ft (1,201 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Arch is 73°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Arch.
- Jan 54° 21°
- Feb 59° 24°
- Mar 67° 31°
- Apr 74° 38°
- May 82° 48°
- Jun 92° 60°
- Jul 93° 63°
- Aug 91° 62°
- Sep 84° 54°
- Oct 75° 41°
- Nov 63° 29°
- Dec 55° 22°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Arch each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.82 in), the least in February (0.42 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54°F | 21°F | 37.6°F | 0.53 | 2.5 | 2 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 59°F | 24°F | 41.3°F | 0.42 | 0.8 | 2 | <1 | 24 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 31°F | 49.3°F | 0.88 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 38°F | 56.3°F | 0.86 | 0.1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 48°F | 65.3°F | 1.53 | 0.0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 92°F | 60°F | 75.5°F | 1.89 | 0.0 | 6 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 93°F | 63°F | 78.1°F | 2.63 | 0.0 | 5 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 62°F | 76.4°F | 2.82 | 0.0 | 5 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 54°F | 69.1°F | 2.39 | 0.0 | 5 | 9 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 41°F | 58.2°F | 1.53 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 29°F | 46.0°F | 0.54 | 0.7 | 2 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 55°F | 22°F | 38.1°F | 0.65 | 1.1 | 2 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 74°F | 41°F | 57.6°F | 16.67 | 5.2 | 41 | 80 | 132 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°C | −6°C | 3.1°C | 13 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 15°C | −5°C | 5.2°C | 11 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 20°C | 0°C | 9.6°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 24°C | 3°C | 13.5°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 28°C | 9°C | 18.5°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 33°C | 15°C | 24.2°C | 48 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 17°C | 25.6°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 16°C | 24.7°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 12°C | 20.6°C | 61 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 5°C | 14.6°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | −2°C | 7.8°C | 14 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 13°C | −6°C | 3.4°C | 17 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00290525; 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.
Which months are mildest at Arch?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September and October. Of those, March has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00290525.
When is the last frost at Arch?
In Arch, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 8 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 231 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 180 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 200 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Arch in zone 7a in ZIP code 88130, 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 USC00290525; 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 at Arch?
In a normal year in Arch, 80 days a year reach 90°F (8 of them 100°F or more), 132 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 41 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 80a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 132a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 5high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 41a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00290525.
How sunny is it at Arch?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Arch, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (83%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 83% | 4.2 |
| March | 84% | 5.5 |
| April | 87% | 6.9 |
| May | 87% | 7.5 |
| June | 91% | 7.9 |
| July | 89% | 7.4 |
| August | 89% | 6.7 |
| September | 88% | 5.7 |
| October | 86% | 4.6 |
| November | 86% | 3.5 |
| December | 83% | 3.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Arch record?
A normal year at Arch brings 4,035 heating degree days, 25% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,361 cooling degree days, 50% 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 4,184 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 849 | 0 |
| February | 663 | 0 |
| March | 490 | 2 |
| April | 269 | 9 |
| May | 88 | 96 |
| June | 3 | 318 |
| July | 1 | 405 |
| August | 0 | 353 |
| September | 37 | 158 |
| October | 231 | 19 |
| November | 570 | 1 |
| December | 835 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,035 | 1,361 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00290525. 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.
How does Arch's climate compare?
Arch is warmer than 63 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 76. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 57.6°F is warmer than 68%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Arch 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 Arch share this climate record?
Dora has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Dora, NM114 people · 16 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 Arch's climate
What is the coldest month at Arch?
January, with a normal high of 54°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow at Arch?
Yes: 5 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (2.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Arch?
August, with 2.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.42 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Arch in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Arch in zone 7a in ZIP code 88130, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Arch?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 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
- Portales, NM11 miles from this station, 60.1°F a year
- Clovis, NM22 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Muleshoe, TX26 miles from this station, 56.7°F a year
- Elida, NM30 miles from this station, 59.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made