Ocate (2 mi NW), New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Ocate (2 mi NW)'s normal year runs from 17°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 19.7 inches of precipitation and 43 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.5°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 28°C, 499 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOcate (2 mi NW)
- Station IDUSC00296275
- Location36.18°N 105.06°W
- Elevation7,655 ft (2,333 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Ocate (2 mi NW) is 62°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ocate (2 mi NW).
- Jan 46° 17°
- Feb 48° 19°
- Mar 55° 23°
- Apr 61° 29°
- May 70° 37°
- Jun 80° 44°
- Jul 82° 49°
- Aug 79° 48°
- Sep 74° 41°
- Oct 64° 32°
- Nov 53° 23°
- Dec 46° 17°
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 Ocate (2 mi NW) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 17°F. The most precipitation falls in July (4.02 in), the least in February (0.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 17°F | 31.2°F | 0.49 | 8.1 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 10 h |
| February | 48°F | 19°F | 33.2°F | 0.41 | 8.3 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 55°F | 23°F | 38.9°F | 0.72 | 6.3 | 3 | <1 | 27 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 29°F | 44.8°F | 1.28 | 5.3 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 13 h |
| May | 70°F | 37°F | 53.3°F | 1.92 | 0.4 | 5 | <1 | 7 | 14 h |
| June | 80°F | 44°F | 62.0°F | 1.88 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 82°F | 49°F | 65.7°F | 4.02 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 79°F | 48°F | 63.8°F | 3.97 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 74°F | 41°F | 57.7°F | 2.54 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | 2 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 32°F | 47.9°F | 1.32 | 3.5 | 3 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 53°F | 23°F | 37.9°F | 0.58 | 4.2 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 46°F | 17°F | 31.2°F | 0.53 | 6.8 | 3 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 32°F | 47.3°F | 19.66 | 42.9 | 56 | 3 | 183 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −9°C | −0.4°C | 12 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 9°C | −7°C | 0.7°C | 10 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 13°C | −5°C | 3.8°C | 18 mm | 16 cm |
| April | 16°C | −2°C | 7.1°C | 33 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 21°C | 3°C | 11.8°C | 49 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 7°C | 16.7°C | 48 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28°C | 10°C | 18.7°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 9°C | 17.7°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 5°C | 14.3°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 0°C | 8.8°C | 34 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 12°C | −5°C | 3.3°C | 15 mm | 11 cm |
| December | 8°C | −8°C | −0.4°C | 13 mm | 17 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296275; 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 Ocate (2 mi NW)?
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 (5).
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 USC00296275.
When is the last frost at Ocate (2 mi NW)?
In Ocate (2 mi NW), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 26 in half of years and after June 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 26 in half of years and before September 13 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 261 year in 10 after June 8; 9 in 10 after May 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 261 year in 10 before September 13; 9 in 10 before October 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 121 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 142 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 11 in half of springs and before October 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ocate (2 mi NW) in zone 6a in ZIP code 87734, 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 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (29 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 USC00296275; 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 Ocate (2 mi NW)?
In a normal year in Ocate (2 mi NW), 3 days a year reach 90°F, 183 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 56 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 183a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 56a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 97°F, on June 29, 1998; the lowest is −32°F, on February 7, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1994, with 26.85 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 98.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00296275; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00296275. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Ocate (2 mi NW)?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Ocate (2 mi NW), 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (86%) and July the cloudiest (77%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.1 |
| March | 82% | 5.4 |
| April | 82% | 6.6 |
| May | 82% | 7.3 |
| June | 84% | 7.7 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 80% | 6.2 |
| September | 84% | 5.6 |
| October | 86% | 4.6 |
| November | 85% | 3.4 |
| December | 81% | 2.8 |
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 Ocate (2 mi NW) record?
A normal year at Ocate (2 mi NW) brings 6,536 heating degree days, 22% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 102 cooling degree days, 89% 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 1,743 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,049 | 0 |
| February | 892 | 0 |
| March | 809 | 0 |
| April | 606 | 0 |
| May | 366 | 2 |
| June | 111 | 21 |
| July | 29 | 52 |
| August | 64 | 25 |
| September | 221 | 2 |
| October | 529 | 0 |
| November | 813 | 0 |
| December | 1,048 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,536 | 102 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296275. 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 Ocate (2 mi NW) been warmer than normal?
2022 averaged 48.0°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.3°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.6°F | +1.3°F | 22.36 | – |
| 2022 | 48.0°F | +0.7°F | 16.04 | 29.5 |
Over 39 complete years from 1964 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.6°F per century (+0.03°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00296275; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ocate (2 mi NW)'s climate compare?
Ocate (2 mi NW) is warmer than 9 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 87. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.3°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ocate (2 mi NW) 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.
Questions about Ocate (2 mi NW)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Ocate (2 mi NW)?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 17°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow at Ocate (2 mi NW)?
Yes: 43 inches in a normal year, falling on 12 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (8.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Ocate (2 mi NW)?
July, with 4.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ocate (2 mi NW) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ocate (2 mi NW) in zone 6a in ZIP code 87734, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −12°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Ocate (2 mi NW)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 26; in one year in ten it comes after June 8. Waiting until June 8 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
- Angel Fire, NM19 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Cimarron, NM21 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Valmora, NM27 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Eagle Nest, NM28 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made