Chama, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chama's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 80°F July afternoons, with 22.4 inches of precipitation and 92 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 27°C, 568 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChama
- Station IDUSC00291664
- Location36.92°N 106.58°W
- Elevation7,850 ft (2,393 m)
- Population913
On October 23, the normal high in Chama is 58°F and the normal low 25°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 21%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chama.
- Jan 38° 7°
- Feb 41° 11°
- Mar 48° 18°
- Apr 56° 24°
- May 66° 32°
- Jun 77° 39°
- Jul 80° 46°
- Aug 78° 46°
- Sep 72° 38°
- Oct 61° 27°
- Nov 48° 17°
- Dec 38° 8°
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 Chama each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.02 in), the least in June (0.80 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 7°F | 22.3°F | 2.04 | 22.6 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 41°F | 11°F | 25.8°F | 1.94 | 23.0 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 48°F | 18°F | 33.4°F | 1.45 | 13.9 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 56°F | 24°F | 40.2°F | 1.51 | 5.9 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 66°F | 32°F | 48.5°F | 1.59 | 1.1 | 8 | <1 | 18 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 77°F | 39°F | 57.6°F | 0.80 | 0.0 | 5 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 80°F | 46°F | 63.2°F | 2.32 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 78°F | 46°F | 61.7°F | 3.02 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 72°F | 38°F | 54.7°F | 2.32 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 6 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 27°F | 43.9°F | 1.73 | 2.1 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 48°F | 17°F | 32.3°F | 1.69 | 9.7 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 38°F | 8°F | 22.9°F | 1.94 | 13.6 | 8 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 26°F | 42.2°F | 22.35 | 91.9 | 96 | 2 | 231 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −14°C | −5.4°C | 52 mm | 57 cm |
| February | 5°C | −12°C | −3.4°C | 49 mm | 58 cm |
| March | 9°C | −8°C | 0.8°C | 37 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 13°C | −4°C | 4.6°C | 38 mm | 15 cm |
| May | 19°C | 0°C | 9.2°C | 40 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 25°C | 4°C | 14.2°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 27°C | 8°C | 17.3°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 8°C | 16.5°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 3°C | 12.6°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | −3°C | 6.6°C | 44 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 9°C | −8°C | 0.2°C | 43 mm | 25 cm |
| December | 3°C | −13°C | −5.1°C | 49 mm | 35 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291664; 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 Chama?
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 (5).
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 USC00291664.
When is the last frost in Chama?
In Chama, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 14 in half of years and after June 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 18 in half of years and before September 7 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
- June 141 year in 10 after June 30; 9 in 10 after June 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 181 year in 10 before September 7; 9 in 10 before September 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 93 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 117 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after June 1 in half of springs and before September 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chama in zone 5b in ZIP code 87520, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chama's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (26 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 USC00291664; 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 in Chama?
In a normal year in Chama, 2 days a year reach 90°F, 231 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 96 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 231a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 20high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 96a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 26a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 99°F, on July 18, 1936; the lowest is −30°F, on January 5, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 30.95 in; the snowiest season is 1931–32, with 202.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00291664; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00291664. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chama?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chama, 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 Chama need?
A normal year in Chama brings 8,319 heating degree days, 55% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 33 cooling degree days, 96% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,239 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,324 | 0 |
| February | 1,098 | 0 |
| March | 981 | 0 |
| April | 744 | 0 |
| May | 512 | 0 |
| June | 224 | 3 |
| July | 76 | 20 |
| August | 112 | 10 |
| September | 309 | 0 |
| October | 656 | 0 |
| November | 981 | 0 |
| December | 1,304 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,319 | 33 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291664. 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 Chama been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 43.8°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 42.2°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 43.8°F | +1.6°F | 21.73 | – |
Over 84 complete years from 1890 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.1°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00291664; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Chama's climate compare?
Chama is warmer than 3 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 93. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.2°F is warmer than 10%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chama 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.
Questions about Chama's climate
What is the coldest month in Chama?
January, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (80°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow in Chama?
Yes: 92 inches in a normal year, falling on 32 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (23.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Chama?
August, with 3.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.80 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chama in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chama in zone 5b in ZIP code 87520, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Chama's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Chama?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 14; in one year in ten it comes after June 30. Waiting until June 30 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
- Tierra Amarilla, NM11 miles from this station, 43.4°F a year
- Brazos, NM14 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Dulce, NM24 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- El Vado Dam, NM24 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made