Gascon, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Gascon's normal year runs from 18°F December nights to 76°F July afternoons, with 24.9 inches of precipitation and 108 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, December lows of −8°C, July highs of 24°C, 633 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGascon
- Station IDUSC00293488
- Location35.89°N 105.45°W
- Elevation8,250 ft (2,515 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Gascon is 59°F and the normal low 30°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 Gascon.
- Jan 44° 18°
- Feb 45° 20°
- Mar 51° 24°
- Apr 57° 29°
- May 65° 36°
- Jun 75° 43°
- Jul 76° 47°
- Aug 74° 47°
- Sep 69° 41°
- Oct 61° 32°
- Nov 52° 24°
- Dec 44° 18°
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 Gascon each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.68 in), the least in January (0.96 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 18°F | 31.3°F | 0.96 | 14.5 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| February | 45°F | 20°F | 32.6°F | 1.46 | 16.9 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 51°F | 24°F | 37.7°F | 1.92 | 22.9 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 29°F | 42.9°F | 1.91 | 15.8 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 13 h |
| May | 65°F | 36°F | 50.6°F | 1.88 | 2.3 | 6 | <1 | 11 | 14 h |
| June | 75°F | 43°F | 59.2°F | 1.79 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 76°F | 47°F | 61.7°F | 4.68 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 74°F | 47°F | 60.2°F | 3.87 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 69°F | 41°F | 55.1°F | 2.26 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 32°F | 46.9°F | 1.63 | 7.0 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 52°F | 24°F | 37.8°F | 1.30 | 11.0 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 44°F | 18°F | 31.1°F | 1.28 | 17.9 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 32°F | 45.6°F | 24.94 | 108.3 | 77 | <1 | 192 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −8°C | −0.4°C | 24 mm | 37 cm |
| February | 7°C | −7°C | 0.3°C | 37 mm | 43 cm |
| March | 11°C | −4°C | 3.2°C | 49 mm | 58 cm |
| April | 14°C | −2°C | 6.1°C | 49 mm | 40 cm |
| May | 18°C | 2°C | 10.3°C | 48 mm | 6 cm |
| June | 24°C | 6°C | 15.1°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 9°C | 16.5°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 8°C | 15.7°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 5°C | 12.8°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 0°C | 8.3°C | 41 mm | 18 cm |
| November | 11°C | −5°C | 3.2°C | 33 mm | 28 cm |
| December | 7°C | −8°C | −0.5°C | 33 mm | 45 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00293488; 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 Gascon?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, May has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00293488.
When is the last frost at Gascon?
In Gascon, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 28 in half of years and after June 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 12 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 281 year in 10 after June 10; 9 in 10 after May 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 12; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 119 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 143 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 14 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gascon in zone 6b in ZIP code 87742, 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 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (28 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 USC00293488; 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 Gascon?
In a normal year in Gascon, a 90°F day is rare, 192 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 77 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 192a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 14high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 77a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 26a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1953) is 92°F, on August 20, 2020; the lowest is −26°F, on January 6, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 36.37 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 228.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00293488; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00293488. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Gascon?
Over a year 84% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Gascon, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (87%) and July the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.3 |
| February | 83% | 4.2 |
| March | 84% | 5.5 |
| April | 84% | 6.8 |
| May | 85% | 7.5 |
| June | 87% | 7.8 |
| July | 80% | 6.9 |
| August | 83% | 6.4 |
| September | 85% | 5.7 |
| October | 87% | 4.7 |
| November | 86% | 3.5 |
| December | 82% | 2.9 |
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 Gascon record?
A normal year at Gascon brings 7,080 heating degree days, 32% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 22 cooling degree days, 98% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,275 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,046 | 0 |
| February | 906 | 0 |
| March | 845 | 0 |
| April | 663 | 0 |
| May | 446 | 1 |
| June | 182 | 8 |
| July | 112 | 9 |
| August | 153 | 4 |
| September | 298 | 1 |
| October | 563 | 0 |
| November | 818 | 0 |
| December | 1,051 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,080 | 22 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00293488. 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.
Have recent years at Gascon been warmer than normal?
Over 54 complete years from 1954 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.1°F per century (+0.23°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gascon's climate compare?
Gascon is warmer than 6 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 94. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.6°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gascon is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. 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 Gascon share this climate record?
Mora 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.
- Mora, NM518 people · 8 mi NE
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 Gascon's climate
What is the coldest month at Gascon?
December, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (76°F by day, 47°F at night).
Does it snow at Gascon?
Yes: 108 inches in a normal year, falling on 27 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (22.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Gascon?
July, with 4.68 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.96 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gascon in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gascon in zone 6b in ZIP code 87742, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −7°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come at Gascon?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 28; in one year in ten it comes after June 10. Waiting until June 10 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
- Las Vegas, NM24 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Pecos, NM27 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Ocate (2 mi NW), NM30 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Valmora, NM30 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made