Cimarron, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cimarron's normal year runs from 17°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 17.2 inches of precipitation and 40 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, December lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 438 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCimarron (4 mi SW)
- Station IDUSC00291813
- Location36.47°N 104.95°W
- Elevation6,540 ft (1,993 m)
- Population794
On October 23, the normal high in Cimarron is 66°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cimarron.
- Jan 48° 18°
- Feb 50° 20°
- Mar 58° 26°
- Apr 65° 32°
- May 73° 40°
- Jun 83° 49°
- Jul 84° 53°
- Aug 82° 52°
- Sep 77° 45°
- Oct 68° 34°
- Nov 56° 24°
- Dec 48° 17°
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 Cimarron each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.11 in), the least in December (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 18°F | 32.9°F | 0.66 | 7.0 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| February | 50°F | 20°F | 34.9°F | 0.57 | 7.1 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 58°F | 26°F | 42.0°F | 0.95 | 7.0 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 32°F | 48.4°F | 1.51 | 5.0 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 40°F | 56.7°F | 1.70 | 0.5 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 14 h |
| June | 83°F | 49°F | 65.6°F | 1.74 | 0.0 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 84°F | 53°F | 68.6°F | 3.03 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 82°F | 52°F | 66.8°F | 3.11 | 0.0 | 12 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 45°F | 61.0°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 34°F | 51.2°F | 1.22 | 2.1 | 4 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 24°F | 40.3°F | 0.57 | 5.1 | 2 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 48°F | 17°F | 32.5°F | 0.43 | 6.2 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 66°F | 34°F | 50.1°F | 17.24 | 40.0 | 66 | 10 | 167 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −8°C | 0.5°C | 17 mm | 18 cm |
| February | 10°C | −7°C | 1.6°C | 14 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 15°C | −3°C | 5.6°C | 24 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 18°C | 0°C | 9.1°C | 38 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 23°C | 5°C | 13.7°C | 43 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 28°C | 9°C | 18.7°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 12°C | 20.3°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 11°C | 19.3°C | 79 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 7°C | 16.1°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 1°C | 10.7°C | 31 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 13°C | −4°C | 4.6°C | 14 mm | 13 cm |
| December | 9°C | −8°C | 0.3°C | 11 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291813; 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 Cimarron?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, October 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 USC00291813.
When is the last frost in Cimarron?
In Cimarron, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 11 in half of years and after May 25 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 3 in half of years and before September 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
- May 111 year in 10 after May 25; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 31 year in 10 before September 21; 9 in 10 before October 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cimarron in zone 6a in ZIP code 87714, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cimarron's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (24 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 USC00291813; 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 Cimarron?
In a normal year in Cimarron, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 167 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 66 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 167a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 66a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1904) is 101°F, on July 17, 1939; the lowest is −32°F, on January 12, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2004, with 26.97 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 103.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00291813; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00291813. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cimarron?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cimarron, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (86%) and July the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.2 |
| February | 83% | 4.1 |
| March | 83% | 5.4 |
| April | 83% | 6.5 |
| May | 83% | 7.3 |
| June | 84% | 7.5 |
| July | 81% | 6.9 |
| August | 82% | 6.4 |
| September | 85% | 5.6 |
| October | 86% | 4.5 |
| November | 86% | 3.4 |
| December | 83% | 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 Cimarron need?
A normal year in Cimarron brings 5,708 heating degree days, 6% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 287 cooling degree days, 68% 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 2,317 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 997 | 0 |
| February | 841 | 0 |
| March | 713 | 0 |
| April | 498 | 0 |
| May | 264 | 8 |
| June | 51 | 67 |
| July | 10 | 120 |
| August | 22 | 77 |
| September | 136 | 15 |
| October | 427 | 0 |
| November | 741 | 0 |
| December | 1,007 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,708 | 287 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291813. 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 Cimarron been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 50.1°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 50.1°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 50.1°F | at normal | 15.31 | – |
Over 91 complete years from 1905 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00291813; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cimarron's climate compare?
Cimarron is warmer than 25 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 82. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.1°F is warmer than 40%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cimarron 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.
Questions about Cimarron's climate
What is the coldest month in Cimarron?
December, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Cimarron?
Yes: 40 inches in a normal year, falling on 12 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (7.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cimarron?
August, with 3.11 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is December with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cimarron in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cimarron in zone 6a in ZIP code 87714, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cimarron's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Cimarron?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 25. Waiting until May 25 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
- Eagle Nest, NM19 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Angel Fire, NM19 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Ocate (2 mi NW), NM21 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Maxwell, NM21 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made