Maxwell, 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 Maxwell's primary NOAA station, MAXWELL 3 NW.
The climate verdict for Maxwell
Dryness leads the climate profile for Maxwell, New Mexico, with 14.1 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 49°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 49°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 14.1"
- annual precipitation · 21" snow
- 137 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Maxwell: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00295490 · Maxwell, NM 49°F mean · 14.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 49°F
- RANK-COOL #2,333
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Summer Lake
- PRCP-DRY 14.1"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,233 HDD
- STN-1 USC00295490
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Summer Lake, OR (+ 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.
- Maxwell (this station) 49°F
- Cold Lee Vining, CA 49°F
- Hot Summer Lake, OR 49°F
- Near Pullman Moscow…, WA 49°F
- Near Mitchell, OR 49°F
Climate Living Index · Maxwell
Maxwell: 27/100 · grade F
Maxwell publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Maxwell, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 21.4 inches/year | 47/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 48.7°F · 18.8° from 67.5°F | 35/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 14.1 in · 20.9 from 35 in | 25/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 137 days/year | 17/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 197 calendar days | 16/100 · F |
Maxwell · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Maxwell'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
- 69.2°F
- Coldest month
- 29.1°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 Maxwell sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Maxwell's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 34th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 85%
- Maxwell's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 36th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Maxwell compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Maxwell's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F (8°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 0.3" | 5.2" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 51°F (10°C) | 14°F (-10°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.3" | 3.5" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 59°F (15°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.7" | 3.3" | 28.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 65°F (18°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.8" | 2.1" | 20.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 74°F (23°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.6" | 0.1" | 5.0 | 0.7 |
| June | 83°F (28°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 7.5 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 2.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 11.2 |
| August | 84°F (29°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| September | 79°F (26°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| October | 68°F (20°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.0" | 0.9" | 16.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 56°F (13°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.3" | 1.9" | 28.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 46°F (8°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 0.3" | 4.4" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 87°F around July 13, short of 90°F on every date, while 197 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 11°F near December 22.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 27, then returns to freezing around October 14, covering 197 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 August 2, when 33% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 7 at 6%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 55 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 7 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 38°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Maxwell.
Where Maxwell Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 197 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 38°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Maxwell earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 5.2"
1.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.5"
2.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.3"
3.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
3.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
6.0 days with precipitation
6.6 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.9"
3.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.9"
1.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
1.8 days with precipitation
Maxwell runs a summer-peaked wet season
49% of Maxwell'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 2.6", on a 40.1°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, June, taking 49% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.3".
- Winter share: 7% 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 Maxwell's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 54 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 14.1" between them, or roughly 0.26 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.
Winter brings real snow to Maxwell
Maxwell averages 21.4 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 9 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 21.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 9 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 15% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
137 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,233
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
328
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Maxwell 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 (49°F here).
- Clarkson, NE 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Dove Creek, CO 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Guernsey, WY 49°F · 0.0°F off
- Loveland, CO 49°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Condon, OR 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Alder, MT 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Medicine Lake, MT 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Culver City, CA 14.1" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Maxwell
heating led · dry · mid swing
Maxwell's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,233 annual heating degree days against 328 for cooling. Its 40.1°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 137 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Maxwell coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 29°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Maxwell typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Maxwell snow peak
January
Maxwell averages 21.4 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Maxwell's climate
How much snow does Maxwell get? ▼
How cold does Maxwell get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Maxwell? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Maxwell's primary station: MAXWELL 3 NW (USC00295490). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3547080). Match rule for Maxwell: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Maxwell 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.