Fort Hancock, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fort Hancock's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 96°F July afternoons, with 8.3 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.1 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.9°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 36°C, 211 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Hancock (8 mi SSE)
- Station IDUSC00413266
- Location31.18°N 105.74°W
- Elevation3,493 ft (1,065 m)
- Population (census place)956
On October 23, the normal high in Fort Hancock is 80°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 9%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Hancock.
- Jan 61° 27°
- Feb 67° 32°
- Mar 75° 38°
- Apr 83° 46°
- May 91° 54°
- Jun 98° 65°
- Jul 96° 69°
- Aug 94° 68°
- Sep 90° 61°
- Oct 82° 48°
- Nov 71° 36°
- Dec 61° 28°
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 Fort Hancock each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 96°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in July (1.58 in), the least in March (0.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61°F | 27°F | 44.1°F | 0.57 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 67°F | 32°F | 49.5°F | 0.33 | 2 | <1 | 17 | 11 h |
| March | 75°F | 38°F | 56.5°F | 0.20 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 h |
| April | 83°F | 46°F | 64.2°F | 0.21 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 12 h 50 min |
| May | 91°F | 54°F | 72.7°F | 0.38 | 2 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 98°F | 65°F | 81.5°F | 0.68 | 3 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 96°F | 69°F | 82.8°F | 1.58 | 6 | 28 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 94°F | 68°F | 81.1°F | 1.36 | 6 | 27 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 90°F | 61°F | 75.3°F | 1.18 | 4 | 18 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 82°F | 48°F | 65.3°F | 0.87 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 71°F | 36°F | 53.1°F | 0.38 | 2 | <1 | 13 | 10 h 40 min |
| December | 61°F | 28°F | 44.1°F | 0.58 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 81°F | 48°F | 64.2°F | 8.32 | 34 | 133 | 93 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | −3°C | 6.7°C | 14 mm |
| February | 20°C | 0°C | 9.7°C | 8 mm |
| March | 24°C | 3°C | 13.6°C | 5 mm |
| April | 28°C | 8°C | 17.9°C | 5 mm |
| May | 33°C | 12°C | 22.6°C | 10 mm |
| June | 37°C | 18°C | 27.5°C | 17 mm |
| July | 36°C | 21°C | 28.2°C | 40 mm |
| August | 35°C | 20°C | 27.3°C | 35 mm |
| September | 32°C | 16°C | 24.1°C | 30 mm |
| October | 28°C | 9°C | 18.5°C | 22 mm |
| November | 21°C | 2°C | 11.7°C | 10 mm |
| December | 16°C | −2°C | 6.7°C | 15 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00413266; 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 Fort Hancock?
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 USC00413266.
When is the last frost in Fort Hancock?
In Fort Hancock, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 29 in half of years and after April 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 6 in half of years and before October 24 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 291 year in 10 after April 15; 9 in 10 after March 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 61 year in 10 before October 24; 9 in 10 before November 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 221 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 247 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 11 in half of springs and before November 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Hancock in zone 8a in ZIP code 79839, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00413266; 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 Fort Hancock?
In a normal year in Fort Hancock, 133 days a year reach 90°F (33 of them 100°F or more), 93 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 34 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 133a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 33a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 93a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 34a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1966) is 113°F, on June 27, 1994; the lowest is −1°F, on December 16, 1987.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1991, with 16.38 in; the snowiest season is 1987–88, with 9.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00413266; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00413266. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Fort Hancock?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fort Hancock, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (93%) and December the cloudiest (86%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.7 |
| February | 88% | 4.7 |
| March | 89% | 6.0 |
| April | 92% | 7.3 |
| May | 93% | 7.9 |
| June | 93% | 8.0 |
| July | 87% | 7.1 |
| August | 87% | 6.7 |
| September | 89% | 5.9 |
| October | 91% | 5.1 |
| November | 89% | 4.0 |
| December | 86% | 3.4 |
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 Fort Hancock need?
A normal year in Fort Hancock brings 2,545 heating degree days, 53% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,275 cooling degree days, 2.5 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 5,773 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 649 | 0 |
| February | 433 | 0 |
| March | 273 | 7 |
| April | 88 | 63 |
| May | 12 | 252 |
| June | 0 | 496 |
| July | 0 | 552 |
| August | 0 | 501 |
| September | 4 | 313 |
| October | 77 | 87 |
| November | 363 | 4 |
| December | 646 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,545 | 2,275 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00413266. 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 Fort Hancock been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 66.0°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 64.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.8°F | +0.6°F | 9.93 |
| 2022 | 63.6°F | −0.6°F | 13.51 |
| 2023 | 65.8°F | +1.6°F | 5.40 |
| 2024 | 66.0°F | +1.8°F | 4.62 |
| 2025 | 66.0°F | +1.8°F | 5.98 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00413266. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Fort Hancock's climate compare?
Fort Hancock is warmer than 98 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 1. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.2°F is warmer than 86%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Hancock is BWk: cold desert. 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 Hancock share this climate record?
Sierra Blanca 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.
- Sierra Blanca, TX694 people · 24 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 Hancock's climate
What is the coldest month in Fort Hancock?
January, with a normal high of 61°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (96°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow in Fort Hancock?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.1 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Fort Hancock?
July, with 1.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Hancock in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Hancock in zone 8a in ZIP code 79839, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Fort Hancock?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 29; in one year in ten it comes after April 15. Waiting until April 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Tornillo, TX24 miles from this station, 63.7°F a year
- Cornudas Service Station, TX44 miles from this station, 60.7°F a year
- Van Horn, TX55 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- El Paso, TX57 miles from this station, 66.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made