Cloudcroft, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cloudcroft's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 72°F July afternoons, with 28.4 inches of precipitation and 67 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 22°C, 723 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCloudcroft
- Station IDUSC00291931
- Location32.95°N 105.74°W
- Elevation8,679 ft (2,645 m)
- Population756
On October 22, the normal high in Cloudcroft is 59°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cloudcroft.
- Jan 42° 19°
- Feb 45° 22°
- Mar 51° 26°
- Apr 58° 31°
- May 66° 38°
- Jun 74° 45°
- Jul 72° 48°
- Aug 71° 47°
- Sep 67° 42°
- Oct 60° 34°
- Nov 51° 26°
- Dec 43° 19°
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 Cloudcroft each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 72°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in July (5.53 in), the least in April (0.85 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 19°F | 30.7°F | 1.59 | 13.1 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 45°F | 22°F | 33.2°F | 1.69 | 13.3 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 11 h |
| March | 51°F | 26°F | 38.2°F | 1.45 | 9.8 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 12 h |
| April | 58°F | 31°F | 44.6°F | 0.85 | 3.7 | 4 | <1 | 18 | 13 h |
| May | 66°F | 38°F | 52.0°F | 1.22 | 0.1 | 5 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 74°F | 45°F | 59.6°F | 2.22 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 72°F | 48°F | 60.1°F | 5.53 | 0.0 | 17 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 71°F | 47°F | 59.1°F | 5.01 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 67°F | 42°F | 54.8°F | 3.23 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 60°F | 34°F | 47.1°F | 2.13 | 3.2 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 51°F | 26°F | 38.0°F | 1.38 | 7.3 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 43°F | 19°F | 31.1°F | 2.15 | 16.3 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 33°F | 45.7°F | 28.45 | 66.8 | 94 | <1 | 172 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −7°C | −0.7°C | 40 mm | 33 cm |
| February | 7°C | −6°C | 0.7°C | 43 mm | 34 cm |
| March | 10°C | −4°C | 3.4°C | 37 mm | 25 cm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.0°C | 22 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 19°C | 3°C | 11.1°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 7°C | 15.3°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 140 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22°C | 9°C | 15.1°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 6°C | 12.7°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 1°C | 8.4°C | 54 mm | 8 cm |
| November | 10°C | −4°C | 3.3°C | 35 mm | 19 cm |
| December | 6°C | −7°C | −0.5°C | 55 mm | 41 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291931; 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 Cloudcroft?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, May 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 USC00291931.
When is the last frost in Cloudcroft?
In Cloudcroft, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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 181 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 134 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cloudcroft in zone 7a in ZIP code 88317, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cloudcroft's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (28 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 USC00291931; 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 Cloudcroft?
In a normal year in Cloudcroft, a 90°F day is rare, 172 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 94 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 172a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 94a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 20a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00291931.
How sunny is Cloudcroft?
Over a year 88% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cloudcroft, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (91%) and July the cloudiest (84%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.6 |
| February | 86% | 4.6 |
| March | 88% | 5.9 |
| April | 91% | 7.3 |
| May | 91% | 7.9 |
| June | 90% | 7.9 |
| July | 84% | 7.0 |
| August | 84% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 5.8 |
| October | 89% | 5.0 |
| November | 88% | 3.9 |
| December | 85% | 3.3 |
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 Cloudcroft need?
A normal year in Cloudcroft brings 7,031 heating degree days, 31% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 8 cooling degree days, 99% 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 1,187 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,063 | 0 |
| February | 892 | 0 |
| March | 831 | 0 |
| April | 612 | 0 |
| May | 403 | 0 |
| June | 168 | 4 |
| July | 155 | 3 |
| August | 183 | 0 |
| September | 308 | 0 |
| October | 557 | 0 |
| November | 809 | 0 |
| December | 1,051 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,031 | 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291931. 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 Cloudcroft been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 45.4°F, 0.3°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 45.7°F. 0 of the 2 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 44.8°F | −0.9°F | 39.57 | 69.6 |
| 2023 | 45.4°F | −0.3°F | 22.84 | 50.4 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00291931. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cloudcroft's climate compare?
Cloudcroft is warmer than 6 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 94. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.7°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cloudcroft 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 Cloudcroft share this climate record?
3 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.
- Timberon, NM406 people · 22 mi S
- Twin Forks, NM304 people · 5 mi E
- Sacramento, NM0 people · 15 mi SE
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 Cloudcroft's climate
What is the coldest month in Cloudcroft?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (72°F by day, 48°F at night).
Does it snow in Cloudcroft?
Yes: 67 inches in a normal year, falling on 23 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (16.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cloudcroft?
July, with 5.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.85 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cloudcroft in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cloudcroft in zone 7a in ZIP code 88317, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cloudcroft's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −2°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Cloudcroft?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 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
- Mountain Park, NM5 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Alamogordo, NM13 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Tularosa, NM19 miles from this station, 61.2°F a year
- Elk, NM23 miles from this station, 53.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made