Cerro, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Cerro's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 13.4 inches of precipitation and 62 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 28°C, 340 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCerro
- Station IDUSC00291630
- Location36.74°N 105.60°W
- Elevation7,650 ft (2,332 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Cerro is 62°F and the normal low 27°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 Cerro.
- Jan 37° 8°
- Feb 42° 14°
- Mar 53° 21°
- Apr 62° 27°
- May 70° 35°
- Jun 80° 44°
- Jul 83° 49°
- Aug 81° 48°
- Sep 75° 41°
- Oct 65° 30°
- Nov 51° 19°
- Dec 38° 9°
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 Cerro each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.25 in), the least in February (0.66 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 8°F | 22.3°F | 0.67 | 12.7 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 42°F | 14°F | 28.1°F | 0.66 | 11.7 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 53°F | 21°F | 37.1°F | 0.91 | 8.0 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 27°F | 44.4°F | 0.97 | 4.3 | 5 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 70°F | 35°F | 52.4°F | 1.12 | 0.7 | 5 | <1 | 11 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 80°F | 44°F | 62.1°F | 0.67 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 49°F | 66.1°F | 1.68 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 81°F | 48°F | 64.3°F | 2.25 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 75°F | 41°F | 58.3°F | 1.68 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 30°F | 47.2°F | 1.04 | 3.4 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 19°F | 34.9°F | 0.81 | 6.8 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 38°F | 9°F | 23.5°F | 0.91 | 13.9 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 29°F | 45.1°F | 13.37 | 61.5 | 64 | 6 | 206 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −13°C | −5.4°C | 17 mm | 32 cm |
| February | 6°C | −10°C | −2.2°C | 17 mm | 30 cm |
| March | 12°C | −6°C | 2.8°C | 23 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 17°C | −3°C | 6.9°C | 25 mm | 11 cm |
| May | 21°C | 2°C | 11.3°C | 28 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 27°C | 7°C | 16.7°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 10°C | 18.9°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 9°C | 17.9°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 5°C | 14.6°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | −1°C | 8.4°C | 26 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 11°C | −7°C | 1.6°C | 21 mm | 17 cm |
| December | 3°C | −13°C | −4.7°C | 23 mm | 35 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291630; 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 Cerro?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June 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 USC00291630.
When is the last frost at Cerro?
In Cerro, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 31 in half of years and after June 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 14 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 311 year in 10 after June 13; 9 in 10 after May 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 14; 9 in 10 before October 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 116 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 138 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 18 in half of springs and before October 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cerro in zone 5b in ZIP code 87519, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (16 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00291630; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get at Cerro?
In a normal year in Cerro, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 206 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 64 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 206a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 25high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 64a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 18a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1910) is 100°F, on June 19, 1924; the lowest is −34°F, on January 29, 1919.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1957, with 18.33 in; the snowiest season is 1959–60, with 127.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00291630; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00291630. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Cerro?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Cerro, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (86%) and July the cloudiest (77%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.1 |
| March | 82% | 5.4 |
| April | 82% | 6.6 |
| May | 82% | 7.3 |
| June | 84% | 7.7 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 80% | 6.2 |
| September | 84% | 5.6 |
| October | 86% | 4.6 |
| November | 85% | 3.4 |
| 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Cerro record?
A normal year at Cerro brings 7,384 heating degree days, 37% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 130 cooling degree days, 86% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,747 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,322 | 0 |
| February | 1,035 | 0 |
| March | 867 | 0 |
| April | 620 | 0 |
| May | 391 | 2 |
| June | 118 | 29 |
| July | 26 | 60 |
| August | 55 | 34 |
| September | 208 | 5 |
| October | 553 | 0 |
| November | 903 | 0 |
| December | 1,288 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,384 | 130 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291630. 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.
Have recent years at Cerro been warmer than normal?
2021 averaged 47.6°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.1°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.6°F | +2.5°F | 8.32 | 38.5 |
Over 43 complete years from 1920 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.8°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00291630; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cerro's climate compare?
Cerro is warmer than 6 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 51. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.1°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cerro is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. 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 Cerro share this climate record?
2 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.
- Questa, NM1,801 people · 2 mi S
- San Cristobal, NM116 people · 9 mi S
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 Cerro's climate
What is the coldest month at Cerro?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow at Cerro?
Yes: 62 inches in a normal year, falling on 19 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (13.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Cerro?
August, with 2.25 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.66 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cerro in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cerro in zone 5b in ZIP code 87519, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Cerro?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 31; in one year in ten it comes after June 13. Waiting until June 13 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
- Red River, NM10 miles from this station, 39.1°F a year
- Tres Piedras, NM22 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Eagle Nest, NM22 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Taos, NM24 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made