Fort Bayard, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Fort Bayard's normal year runs from 30°F December nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 16.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.3°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 31°C, 411 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Bayard
- Station IDUSC00293265
- Location32.79°N 108.15°W
- Elevation6,099 ft (1,859 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Fort Bayard is 72°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Bayard.
- Jan 56° 32°
- Feb 59° 34°
- Mar 66° 38°
- Apr 73° 43°
- May 80° 50°
- Jun 90° 60°
- Jul 88° 64°
- Aug 87° 63°
- Sep 83° 58°
- Oct 74° 47°
- Nov 64° 37°
- Dec 55° 30°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Fort Bayard each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.91 in), the least in April (0.32 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F | 32°F | 43.6°F | 1.07 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 59°F | 34°F | 46.3°F | 0.91 | 6 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 38°F | 51.8°F | 0.48 | 5 | <1 | 12 | 12 h |
| April | 73°F | 43°F | 57.8°F | 0.32 | 2 | <1 | 5 | 13 h |
| May | 80°F | 50°F | 65.1°F | 0.57 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 90°F | 60°F | 74.8°F | 0.84 | 5 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 88°F | 64°F | 76.0°F | 3.91 | 15 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 87°F | 63°F | 74.9°F | 2.93 | 13 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 83°F | 58°F | 70.7°F | 2.10 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 47°F | 60.6°F | 0.99 | 5 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 64°F | 37°F | 50.5°F | 0.85 | 3 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 55°F | 30°F | 42.8°F | 1.22 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 73°F | 46°F | 59.6°F | 16.19 | 77 | 33 | 92 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 27 mm |
| February | 15°C | 1°C | 7.9°C | 23 mm |
| March | 19°C | 3°C | 11.0°C | 12 mm |
| April | 23°C | 6°C | 14.3°C | 8 mm |
| May | 27°C | 10°C | 18.4°C | 14 mm |
| June | 32°C | 15°C | 23.8°C | 21 mm |
| July | 31°C | 18°C | 24.4°C | 99 mm |
| August | 31°C | 17°C | 23.8°C | 74 mm |
| September | 28°C | 15°C | 21.5°C | 53 mm |
| October | 23°C | 8°C | 15.9°C | 25 mm |
| November | 18°C | 3°C | 10.3°C | 22 mm |
| December | 13°C | −1°C | 6.0°C | 31 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, White Signal (20 miles away), gets 13 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00293265; 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.
Which months are mildest at Fort Bayard?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00293265.
When is the last frost at Fort Bayard?
In Fort Bayard, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 4 in half of years and after April 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 8 in half of years and before October 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
- April 41 year in 10 after April 22; 9 in 10 after March 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 81 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 216 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 247 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 12 in half of springs and before November 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Bayard in zone 7b in ZIP code 88022, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (17 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 USC00293265; 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 at Fort Bayard?
In a normal year in Fort Bayard, 33 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 92 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 77 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 33a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 92a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 77a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 106°F, on June 26, 1994; the lowest is −12°F, on January 7, 1913.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1905, with 31.08 in; the snowiest season is 1912–13, with 37.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00293265; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00293265. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Fort Bayard?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Fort Bayard, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (93%) and July the cloudiest (85%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.6 |
| February | 86% | 4.6 |
| March | 89% | 6.0 |
| April | 92% | 7.4 |
| May | 93% | 8.2 |
| June | 93% | 8.2 |
| July | 85% | 7.1 |
| August | 87% | 6.6 |
| September | 88% | 5.9 |
| October | 91% | 5.1 |
| November | 89% | 3.9 |
| December | 86% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Fort Bayard record?
A normal year at Fort Bayard brings 3,178 heating degree days, 41% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,225 cooling degree days, 35% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,243 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 663 | 0 |
| February | 522 | 0 |
| March | 410 | 1 |
| April | 221 | 7 |
| May | 69 | 74 |
| June | 2 | 298 |
| July | 0 | 343 |
| August | 0 | 305 |
| September | 9 | 179 |
| October | 155 | 19 |
| November | 437 | 0 |
| December | 688 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,178 | 1,225 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00293265. 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 Fort Bayard's climate compare?
Fort Bayard is warmer than 75 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 70. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.6°F is warmer than 74%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Bayard 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 Fort Bayard share this climate record?
14 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.
- Silver City, NM9,399 people · 7 mi W
- Bayard, NM2,070 people · 3 mi S
- Santa Clara, NM1,613 people · 1 mi S
- Little Walnut Village, NM1,520 people · 8 mi W
- Hurley, NM1,232 people · 7 mi S
- Arenas Valley, NM915 people · 3 mi SW
- Tyrone, NM664 people · 11 mi SW
- Mimbres, NM409 people · 12 mi E
- Hanover, NM276 people · 4 mi E
- Rosedale, NM209 people · 6 mi W
- Pinos Altos, NM149 people · 6 mi NW
- Casas Adobes, NM133 people · 12 mi E
- North Hurley, NM81 people · 5 mi S
- Cobre, NM0 people · 3 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 Fort Bayard's climate
What is the coldest month at Fort Bayard?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow at Fort Bayard?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, White Signal (20 miles away), records 13 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Fort Bayard?
July, with 3.91 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.32 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Bayard in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Bayard in zone 7b in ZIP code 88022, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come at Fort Bayard?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 4; in one year in ten it comes after April 22. Waiting until April 22 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
- Faywood, NM20 miles from this station, 58.6°F a year
- White Signal, NM20 miles from this station, 56.7°F a year
- Cliff (11 mi SE), NM21 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Gila Hot Springs, NM28 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made