El Rito, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
El Rito's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 11.7 inches of precipitation and 24 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.4°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 29°C, 298 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEl Rito
- Station IDUSC00292820
- Location36.35°N 106.19°W
- Elevation6,870 ft (2,094 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population (census place)961
On October 23, the normal high in El Rito is 62°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for El Rito.
- Jan 41° 18°
- Feb 46° 21°
- Mar 54° 26°
- Apr 63° 32°
- May 72° 40°
- Jun 81° 48°
- Jul 84° 54°
- Aug 82° 53°
- Sep 76° 47°
- Oct 65° 36°
- Nov 51° 25°
- Dec 41° 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 El Rito each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.90 in), the least in February (0.47 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 18°F | 29.6°F | 0.65 | 6.5 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 10 h |
| February | 46°F | 21°F | 33.3°F | 0.47 | 3.6 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 26°F | 40.3°F | 0.71 | 3.6 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 32°F | 47.2°F | 0.86 | 1.1 | 4 | <1 | 15 | 13 h |
| May | 72°F | 40°F | 56.0°F | 0.88 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 14 h |
| June | 81°F | 48°F | 64.3°F | 0.74 | 0.0 | 5 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 84°F | 54°F | 69.2°F | 1.77 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 82°F | 53°F | 67.6°F | 1.90 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 76°F | 47°F | 61.3°F | 1.50 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 36°F | 50.4°F | 0.85 | 0.9 | 5 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 25°F | 38.0°F | 0.64 | 1.5 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 41°F | 19°F | 29.7°F | 0.77 | 6.7 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 35°F | 48.9°F | 11.74 | 23.9 | 65 | 17 | 167 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −8°C | −1.3°C | 17 mm | 17 cm |
| February | 8°C | −6°C | 0.7°C | 12 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 12°C | −3°C | 4.6°C | 18 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 17°C | 0°C | 8.4°C | 22 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 22°C | 5°C | 13.3°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 9°C | 17.9°C | 19 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 12°C | 20.7°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 12°C | 19.8°C | 48 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 8°C | 16.3°C | 38 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 2°C | 10.2°C | 22 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 10°C | −4°C | 3.3°C | 16 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 5°C | −7°C | −1.3°C | 20 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00292820; 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 El Rito?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. 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 USC00292820.
When is the last frost in El Rito?
In El Rito, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 15 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 23 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 151 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after April 30
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 23; 9 in 10 before October 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 143 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 165 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 2 in half of springs and before October 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts El Rito in zone 7a in ZIP code 87530, 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 USC00292820; 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 El Rito?
In a normal year in El Rito, 17 days a year reach 90°F, 167 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 65 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 17a 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
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 65a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00292820.
How sunny is El Rito?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around El Rito, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (79%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 3.1 |
| February | 80% | 4.0 |
| March | 81% | 5.3 |
| April | 81% | 6.5 |
| May | 83% | 7.4 |
| June | 87% | 7.9 |
| July | 80% | 6.8 |
| August | 80% | 6.3 |
| September | 84% | 5.6 |
| October | 85% | 4.5 |
| November | 83% | 3.3 |
| December | 79% | 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 El Rito need?
A normal year in El Rito brings 6,150 heating degree days, 14% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 311 cooling degree days, 66% 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 2,277 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,097 | 0 |
| February | 886 | 0 |
| March | 766 | 0 |
| April | 534 | 0 |
| May | 286 | 7 |
| June | 74 | 53 |
| July | 7 | 137 |
| August | 17 | 96 |
| September | 129 | 18 |
| October | 453 | 0 |
| November | 809 | 0 |
| December | 1,093 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,150 | 311 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00292820. 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 El Rito's climate compare?
El Rito is warmer than 16 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.9°F is warmer than 36%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, El Rito 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 El Rito 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.
- La Madera, NM168 people · 8 mi E
- Canjilon, NM158 people · 16 mi NW
- Ojo Caliente, NM91 people · 9 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.
Questions about El Rito's climate
What is the coldest month in El Rito?
January, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in El Rito?
Yes: 24 inches in a normal year, falling on 10 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (6.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in El Rito?
August, with 1.90 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is El Rito in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts El Rito in zone 7a in ZIP code 87530, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in El Rito?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 15; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 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
- Abiquiu, NM16 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Alcalde, NM19 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Tres Piedras, NM24 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Española, NM25 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made