Otis, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Otis's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 11.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.5°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 31°C, 283 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationOtis
- Station IDUSC00296465
- Location36.33°N 107.84°W
- Elevation6,880 ft (2,097 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Otis is 62°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 11%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Otis.
- Jan 40° 19°
- Feb 46° 24°
- Mar 55° 29°
- Apr 63° 34°
- May 73° 43°
- Jun 84° 53°
- Jul 88° 58°
- Aug 84° 57°
- Sep 77° 51°
- Oct 65° 40°
- Nov 51° 28°
- Dec 40° 19°
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 Otis each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.82 in), the least in March (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 19°F | 29.8°F | 0.52 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 46°F | 24°F | 34.6°F | 0.77 | 4 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 55°F | 29°F | 42.0°F | 0.43 | 3 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 63°F | 34°F | 48.4°F | 0.81 | 3 | <1 | 13 | 13 h |
| May | 73°F | 43°F | 57.8°F | 0.56 | 3 | <1 | 4 | 14 h |
| June | 84°F | 53°F | 68.8°F | 0.50 | 2 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 88°F | 58°F | 72.8°F | 1.58 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 84°F | 57°F | 70.6°F | 1.82 | 6 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 77°F | 51°F | 63.9°F | 1.27 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 40°F | 52.5°F | 1.01 | 4 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 28°F | 39.5°F | 0.68 | 3 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 40°F | 19°F | 29.8°F | 1.19 | 4 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 38°F | 50.9°F | 11.14 | 46 | 21 | 148 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −7°C | −1.2°C | 13 mm |
| February | 8°C | −5°C | 1.4°C | 20 mm |
| March | 13°C | −2°C | 5.6°C | 11 mm |
| April | 17°C | 1°C | 9.1°C | 21 mm |
| May | 23°C | 6°C | 14.3°C | 14 mm |
| June | 29°C | 12°C | 20.4°C | 13 mm |
| July | 31°C | 15°C | 22.7°C | 40 mm |
| August | 29°C | 14°C | 21.4°C | 46 mm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.7°C | 32 mm |
| October | 19°C | 4°C | 11.4°C | 26 mm |
| November | 11°C | −2°C | 4.2°C | 17 mm |
| December | 5°C | −7°C | −1.2°C | 30 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Lybrook (18 miles away), gets 17 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296465; 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 Otis?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00296465.
When is the last frost at Otis?
In Otis, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 1 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 41 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before October 30
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 184 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Otis in zone 6b in ZIP code 87037, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00296465; 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 at Otis?
In a normal year in Otis, 21 days a year reach 90°F, 148 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 46 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 21a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 148a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 46a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1957) is 100°F, on July 7, 2007; the lowest is −21°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 19.61 in; the snowiest season is 1961–62, with 64.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00296465; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00296465. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Otis?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Otis, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and December the cloudiest (76%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 3.0 |
| February | 79% | 3.9 |
| March | 83% | 5.4 |
| April | 84% | 6.7 |
| May | 87% | 7.7 |
| June | 91% | 8.3 |
| July | 86% | 7.4 |
| August | 87% | 6.7 |
| September | 88% | 5.8 |
| October | 87% | 4.6 |
| November | 84% | 3.4 |
| December | 76% | 2.6 |
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 Otis record?
A normal year at Otis brings 5,755 heating degree days, 7% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 638 cooling degree days, 30% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,823 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,091 | 0 |
| February | 850 | 0 |
| March | 713 | 0 |
| April | 497 | 0 |
| May | 240 | 15 |
| June | 29 | 143 |
| July | 1 | 245 |
| August | 7 | 182 |
| September | 85 | 52 |
| October | 387 | 1 |
| November | 764 | 0 |
| December | 1,093 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,755 | 638 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296465. 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 Otis been warmer than normal?
Over 31 complete years from 1959 to 2019, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°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 Otis's climate compare?
Otis is warmer than 31 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 28. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.9°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Otis is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Otis share this climate record?
Nageezi 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.
- Nageezi, NM279 people · 8 mi SE
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 Otis's climate
What is the coldest month at Otis?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow at Otis?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Lybrook (18 miles away), records 17 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Otis?
August, with 1.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Otis in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Otis in zone 6b in ZIP code 87037, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Otis?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 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
- Lybrook, NM18 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Chaco Canyon National Mon, NM22 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Bloomfield, NM24 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Navajo Dam, NM35 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made