Fort Bayard, NM Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Fort Bayard's primary NOAA station, FT BAYARD.
The climate verdict for Fort Bayard
Dryness leads the climate profile for Fort Bayard, New Mexico, with 16.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 60°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 60°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.2"
- precipitation, annual total
- 218 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Fort Bayard: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00293265 · Fort Bayard, NM 60°F mean · 16.2" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 60°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,077
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Chiricahua Nati…
- PRCP-DRY 16.2"
- SWING-MID 33°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,178 HDD
- STN-1 USC00293265
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Chiricahua National Monument, AZ ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every NM station list.
- Fort Bayard (this station) 60°F
- Hot Placerville, CA 60°F
- Near Chiricahua Nati…, AZ 60°F
- Cold Marfa, TX 59°F
- Near East Park Rsvr, CA 59°F
Climate Living Index · Fort Bayard
Fort Bayard: 70/100 · grade B
Fort Bayard publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Fort Bayard, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 75 calendar days | 84/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 218 days/year | 76/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 59.6°F · 7.9° from 67.5°F | 75/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 16.2 in · 18.8 from 35 in | 33/100 · F |
Fort Bayard · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Fort Bayard's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 76.0°F
- Coldest month
- 42.8°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Fort Bayard sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Fort Bayard's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 26% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Fort Bayard sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 80%
- Fort Bayard's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 86%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Fort Bayard is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Fort Bayard compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Fort Bayard's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F (13°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 1.1" | 21.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 59°F (15°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 0.9" | 17.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 66°F (19°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 0.5" | 12.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 73°F (23°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 0.3" | 5.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 80°F (27°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 0.6" | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| June | 90°F (32°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 12.5 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 3.9" | 0.0 | 11.9 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 2.9" | 0.0 | 6.1 |
| September | 83°F (28°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 2.1" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| October | 74°F (23°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.0" | 1.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 64°F (18°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 0.8" | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 55°F (13°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.2" | 21.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Fort Bayard works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 92°F by June 20 and hold at or above 90°F on 26 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 49 dates, bottoming at 30°F around December 18.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 11 through July 6, covering 26 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 31 to October 29.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into January 20, then returns to freezing around December 3, covering 49 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 27, when 50% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is April 20 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 77 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 5 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 32°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Fort Bayard.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
5.8 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
2.4 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
4.7 days with precipitation
14.6 days with precipitation
13.2 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
5.3 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
Fort Bayard runs a summer-peaked wet season
47% of Fort Bayard's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is July at 3.9", on a 33.2°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: July, August, September, taking 55% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: April at 0.3".
- Winter share: 20% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
How Fort Bayard's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 77 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 16.2" between them, or roughly 0.21 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 8
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 4
50% probability date
Growing Season
218 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,178
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,225
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Fort Bayard on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (60°F here).
- Addison, AL 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Clarksville, VA 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Enid, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Erick, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Lamar, CO 16.2" · 0.0" off
- Plains, TX 16.2" · 0.0" off
- Genoa, CO 16.2" · 0.0" off
- Kahului, HI 16.2" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Fort Bayard's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Fort Bayard's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,178 annual heating degree days against 1,225 for cooling. Its 33.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Fort Bayard's frost-free season lasts about 218 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Fort Bayard's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 33.2°F. The annual average is 60°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Fort Bayard's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.2 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Fort Bayard's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Fort Bayard, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Fort Bayard's climate
How much rain does Fort Bayard get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Fort Bayard get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Fort Bayard? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Fort Bayard's primary station: FT BAYARD (USC00293265). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Fort Bayard; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Fort Bayard comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.