Clayton, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Clayton's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 16.1 inches of precipitation and 22 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.4°C, December lows of −6°C, July highs of 32°C, 409 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationClayton Municipal Air Park
- Station IDUSW00023051
- Location36.45°N 103.15°W
- Elevation4,960 ft (1,512 m)
- Population2,559
On October 23, the normal high in Clayton is 67°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Clayton.
- Jan 50° 21°
- Feb 52° 23°
- Mar 60° 30°
- Apr 67° 37°
- May 76° 47°
- Jun 86° 56°
- Jul 90° 61°
- Aug 87° 60°
- Sep 80° 53°
- Oct 69° 40°
- Nov 58° 30°
- Dec 49° 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 in Clayton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.08 in), the least in February (0.30 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 21°F | 35.5°F | 0.33 | 3.7 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 23°F | 37.5°F | 0.30 | 2.7 | 3 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 30°F | 44.9°F | 0.91 | 3.4 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 37°F | 52.0°F | 1.12 | 1.3 | 6 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 76°F | 47°F | 61.5°F | 1.85 | 0.5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 86°F | 56°F | 71.2°F | 1.97 | 0.0 | 7 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 90°F | 61°F | 75.4°F | 2.81 | 0.0 | 10 | 19 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 60°F | 73.1°F | 3.08 | 0.0 | 9 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 80°F | 53°F | 66.4°F | 1.75 | 0.0 | 6 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 40°F | 54.7°F | 1.13 | 1.2 | 4 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 30°F | 43.7°F | 0.45 | 2.7 | 3 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 49°F | 22°F | 35.3°F | 0.42 | 6.8 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 40°F | 54.3°F | 16.12 | 22.3 | 68 | 51 | 127 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −6°C | 1.9°C | 8 mm | 9 cm |
| February | 11°C | −5°C | 3.1°C | 8 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 16°C | −1°C | 7.2°C | 23 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 20°C | 3°C | 11.1°C | 28 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 25°C | 8°C | 16.4°C | 47 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 30°C | 13°C | 21.8°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 16°C | 24.1°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 15°C | 22.8°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 11°C | 19.1°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 5°C | 12.6°C | 29 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 14°C | −1°C | 6.5°C | 11 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 9°C | −6°C | 1.8°C | 11 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023051; 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 Clayton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, 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 USW00023051.
When is the last frost in Clayton?
In Clayton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 27 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 2 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 271 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 192 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 16 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Clayton in zone 6b in ZIP code 88415, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Clayton's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (26 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023051; 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 Clayton?
In a normal year in Clayton, 51 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 127 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 68 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 51a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 127a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 11high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 68a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in Clayton's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1896) is 105°F, on June 27, 1924; the lowest is −21°F, on January 4, 1959.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 37.62 in; the snowiest season is 1923–24, with 55.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023051; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record CAOthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Clayton, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 52°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 55°F; the driest air comes in January (17°F). March is the windiest month (13.6 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (82%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°F | 47% | 29% | 11.7 mph | – | – |
| February | 18°F | 42% | 24% | 12.6 mph | 75% | 19% |
| March | 25°F | 41% | 23% | 13.6 mph | 75% | 17% |
| April | 32°F | 42% | 24% | 13.5 mph | – | – |
| May | 44°F | 47% | 27% | 12.6 mph | 75% | 8% |
| June | 50°F | 45% | 26% | 12.2 mph | 82% | 6% |
| July | 55°F | 54% | 33% | 10.6 mph | 71% | 11% |
| August | 51°F | 52% | 31% | 11.0 mph | 82% | 8% |
| September | 41°F | 48% | 28% | 11.7 mph | 80% | 14% |
| October | 27°F | 46% | 27% | 11.7 mph | 82% | 13% |
| November | 18°F | 46% | 29% | 12.0 mph | 75% | 18% |
| December | 17°F | 51% | 34% | 11.9 mph | 81% | 15% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023051. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Clayton?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Clayton, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (88%) and December the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.1 |
| February | 81% | 4.0 |
| March | 82% | 5.3 |
| April | 83% | 6.5 |
| May | 85% | 7.3 |
| June | 88% | 7.7 |
| July | 87% | 7.3 |
| August | 87% | 6.6 |
| September | 88% | 5.7 |
| October | 86% | 4.5 |
| November | 86% | 3.4 |
| December | 80% | 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 Clayton need?
A normal year in Clayton brings 4,848 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 968 cooling degree days, 7% more 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 3,475 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 916 | 0 |
| February | 770 | 0 |
| March | 624 | 1 |
| April | 394 | 5 |
| May | 161 | 53 |
| June | 18 | 205 |
| July | 2 | 325 |
| August | 5 | 257 |
| September | 68 | 110 |
| October | 331 | 12 |
| November | 640 | 1 |
| December | 920 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,848 | 968 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023051. 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 Clayton been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 56.5°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.3°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.1°F | +0.8°F | 11.04 | 17.0 |
| 2022 | 54.4°F | +0.1°F | 10.18 | 13.6 |
| 2023 | 55.3°F | +1.0°F | 16.40 | 10.6 |
| 2024 | 56.5°F | +2.2°F | 14.51 | 40.5 |
Over 93 complete years from 1897 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023051; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Clayton's climate compare?
Clayton is warmer than 50 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 68. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.3°F is warmer than 58%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Clayton 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 Clayton 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.
- Texline, TX492 people · 9 mi SE
- Felt, OK109 people · 21 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Clayton's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Clayton. This page uses Clayton Municipal Air Park; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton (1 mi N) USC00291883 | 3 mi W | 5,000 ft | 53.4°F | 18°F | 90°F | 17.9 | 19 | May 4 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Clayton's climate
What is the coldest month in Clayton?
December, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Clayton?
Yes: 22 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (6.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Clayton?
August, with 3.08 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.30 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Clayton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Clayton in zone 6b in ZIP code 88415, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Clayton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (26 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Clayton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 27; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Clayton in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- New Mexico climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Grenville, NM28 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Kenton, OK33 miles from this station, 56.0°F a year
- Pasamonte, NM34 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Amistad (5 mi SSW), NM40 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made