Columbus, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Columbus's normal year runs from 31°F December nights to 96°F July afternoons, with 10.3 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.2 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.2°C, December lows of 0°C, July highs of 36°C, 261 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationColumbus
- Station IDUSW00023058
- Location31.83°N 107.64°W
- Elevation4,065 ft (1,239 m)
- Population1,495
On October 22, the normal high in Columbus is 80°F and the normal low 49°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 8%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Columbus.
- Jan 59° 31°
- Feb 65° 36°
- Mar 73° 41°
- Apr 81° 48°
- May 89° 57°
- Jun 98° 67°
- Jul 96° 70°
- Aug 94° 69°
- Sep 90° 63°
- Oct 81° 51°
- Nov 68° 38°
- Dec 59° 31°
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 Columbus each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 96°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.65 in), the least in April (0.15 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59°F | 31°F | 45.2°F | 0.56 | 3 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 65°F | 36°F | 50.3°F | 0.39 | 2 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| March | 73°F | 41°F | 56.9°F | 0.37 | 1 | <1 | 4 | 12 h |
| April | 81°F | 48°F | 64.2°F | 0.15 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 89°F | 57°F | 73.1°F | 0.28 | 2 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 98°F | 67°F | 82.4°F | 0.95 | 2 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 96°F | 70°F | 83.2°F | 2.65 | 6 | 27 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 94°F | 69°F | 81.4°F | 1.87 | 6 | 25 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 90°F | 63°F | 76.3°F | 1.19 | 3 | 17 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 81°F | 51°F | 66.3°F | 0.78 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 68°F | 38°F | 53.3°F | 0.49 | 2 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 59°F | 31°F | 44.9°F | 0.60 | 2 | <1 | 18 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 79°F | 50°F | 64.8°F | 10.28 | 32 | 116 | 60 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 0°C | 7.3°C | 14 mm |
| February | 18°C | 2°C | 10.2°C | 10 mm |
| March | 23°C | 5°C | 13.8°C | 9 mm |
| April | 27°C | 9°C | 17.9°C | 4 mm |
| May | 32°C | 14°C | 22.8°C | 7 mm |
| June | 36°C | 20°C | 28.0°C | 24 mm |
| July | 36°C | 21°C | 28.4°C | 67 mm |
| August | 34°C | 20°C | 27.4°C | 47 mm |
| September | 32°C | 17°C | 24.6°C | 30 mm |
| October | 27°C | 11°C | 19.1°C | 20 mm |
| November | 20°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 12 mm |
| December | 15°C | 0°C | 7.2°C | 15 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023058; 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 Columbus?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (1).
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 USW00023058.
When is the last frost in Columbus?
In Columbus, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 18 in half of years and after April 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 11 in half of years and before October 29 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
- March 181 year in 10 after April 6; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 111 year in 10 before October 29; 9 in 10 before November 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 237 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 266 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 28 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Columbus in zone 8a in ZIP code 88029, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023058; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Columbus?
In a normal year in Columbus, 116 days a year reach 90°F (23 of them 100°F or more), 60 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 32 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 116a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 23a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 60a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 32a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1923) is 111°F, on June 27, 1994; the lowest is −12°F, on January 29, 1948.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1991, with 16.10 in; the snowiest season is 1982–83, with 20.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023058; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00023058. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Columbus?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Columbus, 5.9 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (94%) and January the cloudiest (87%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.8 |
| February | 88% | 4.8 |
| March | 91% | 6.2 |
| April | 93% | 7.4 |
| May | 94% | 8.1 |
| June | 94% | 8.1 |
| July | 89% | 7.3 |
| August | 89% | 6.8 |
| September | 90% | 6.0 |
| October | 92% | 5.1 |
| November | 90% | 4.0 |
| December | 87% | 3.5 |
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 Columbus need?
A normal year in Columbus brings 2,414 heating degree days, 55% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,362 cooling degree days, 2.6 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,906 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 614 | 0 |
| February | 412 | 0 |
| March | 258 | 7 |
| April | 83 | 61 |
| May | 8 | 257 |
| June | 0 | 522 |
| July | 0 | 564 |
| August | 0 | 508 |
| September | 2 | 341 |
| October | 61 | 99 |
| November | 354 | 3 |
| December | 623 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,414 | 2,362 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023058. 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.
How does Columbus's climate compare?
Columbus is warmer than 97 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 18. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.8°F is warmer than 87%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Columbus is BSh: hot 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 Columbus share this climate record?
City of the Sun has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- City of the Sun, NM0 people · 1 mi NW
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 Columbus's climate
What is the coldest month in Columbus?
December, with a normal high of 59°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (96°F by day, 70°F at night).
Does it snow in Columbus?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.2 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Columbus?
July, with 2.65 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.15 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Columbus in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Columbus in zone 8a in ZIP code 88029, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Columbus?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 18; in one year in ten it comes after April 6. Waiting until April 6 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
- Deming, NM30 miles from this station, 61.5°F a year
- Gage, NM38 miles from this station, 62.1°F a year
- Hachita, NM42 miles from this station, 60.0°F a year
- Santa Teresa, NM55 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made