Cochiti, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cochiti's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 94°F July afternoons, with 11.8 inches of precipitation and 8 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.3°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 35°C, 299 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCochiti Dam
- Station IDUSC00291982
- Location35.64°N 106.33°W
- Elevation5,560 ft (1,695 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population (census place)481
On October 14, the normal high in Cochiti is 74°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 17%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cochiti.
- Jan 50° 20°
- Feb 56° 24°
- Mar 64° 30°
- Apr 71° 37°
- May 81° 46°
- Jun 92° 56°
- Jul 94° 61°
- Aug 92° 59°
- Sep 86° 52°
- Oct 74° 40°
- Nov 60° 28°
- Dec 50° 20°
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 Cochiti each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 94°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.03 in), the least in February (0.50 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 20°F | 35.0°F | 0.62 | 2.1 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 24°F | 39.8°F | 0.50 | 1.8 | 4 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 64°F | 30°F | 46.9°F | 0.72 | 0.8 | 4 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 71°F | 37°F | 54.0°F | 0.62 | 0.1 | 4 | <1 | 8 | 13 h |
| May | 81°F | 46°F | 63.6°F | 0.83 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 92°F | 56°F | 74.0°F | 0.72 | 0.0 | 5 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 94°F | 61°F | 77.5°F | 2.03 | 0.0 | 10 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 92°F | 59°F | 75.5°F | 1.72 | 0.0 | 11 | 19 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 86°F | 52°F | 68.7°F | 1.41 | 0.0 | 6 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 40°F | 56.6°F | 1.26 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 28°F | 44.2°F | 0.72 | 0.6 | 4 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 20°F | 35.1°F | 0.64 | 2.8 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 39°F | 55.9°F | 11.79 | 8.2 | 65 | 70 | 137 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −7°C | 1.7°C | 16 mm | 5 cm |
| February | 13°C | −5°C | 4.3°C | 13 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 18°C | −1°C | 8.3°C | 18 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 22°C | 3°C | 12.2°C | 16 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 8°C | 17.6°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 33°C | 13°C | 23.3°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 16°C | 25.3°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 15°C | 24.2°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 30°C | 11°C | 20.4°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 4°C | 13.7°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 16°C | −2°C | 6.8°C | 18 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 10°C | −6°C | 1.7°C | 16 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291982; 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 Cochiti?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May and October. Of those, April 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 USC00291982.
When is the last frost in Cochiti?
In Cochiti, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 8 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 261 year in 10 after May 8; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 178 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 197 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 15 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cochiti in zone 7a in ZIP code 87041, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cochiti's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (16 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 USC00291982; 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 Cochiti?
In a normal year in Cochiti, 70 days a year reach 90°F (5 of them 100°F or more), 137 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 65 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 70a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 137a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 65a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1975) is 108°F, on June 17, 2025; the lowest is −14°F, on February 3, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1986, with 19.86 in; the snowiest season is 2006–07, with 37.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00291982; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00291982. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cochiti?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cochiti, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (90%) and December the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.1 |
| March | 85% | 5.6 |
| April | 85% | 6.8 |
| May | 87% | 7.7 |
| June | 90% | 8.1 |
| July | 85% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.6 |
| September | 87% | 5.8 |
| October | 88% | 4.7 |
| November | 86% | 3.5 |
| 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 much heating and cooling does Cochiti need?
A normal year in Cochiti brings 4,499 heating degree days, 16% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,210 cooling degree days, 33% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,823 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 930 | 0 |
| February | 707 | 0 |
| March | 561 | 0 |
| April | 333 | 3 |
| May | 111 | 67 |
| June | 5 | 274 |
| July | 0 | 388 |
| August | 0 | 326 |
| September | 33 | 145 |
| October | 270 | 8 |
| November | 623 | 0 |
| December | 927 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,499 | 1,210 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00291982. 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 Cochiti been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 57.7°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.9°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 57.7°F | +1.8°F | 10.56 | 0.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00291982. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cochiti's climate compare?
Cochiti is warmer than 56 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 32. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.9°F is warmer than 63%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cochiti 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 Cochiti share this climate record?
4 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.
- Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM2,162 people · 8 mi S
- Peña Blanca, NM701 people · 5 mi S
- Cochiti Lake, NM453 people · 1 mi NW
- La Bajada, NM15 people · 8 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 Cochiti's climate
What is the coldest month in Cochiti?
January, with a normal high of 50°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (94°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Cochiti?
Yes: 8 inches in a normal year, falling on 3 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (2.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cochiti?
July, with 2.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.50 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cochiti in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cochiti in zone 7a in ZIP code 87041, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cochiti's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Cochiti?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; in one year in ten it comes after May 8. Waiting until May 8 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
- Santa Fe, NM14 miles from this station, 52.0°F a year
- Los Alamos, NM16 miles from this station, 49.8°F a year
- Jemez Dam, NM21 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Jemez Springs, NM22 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made