Pedernal, NM Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Pedernal's primary NOAA station, PEDERNAL 9 E.
The climate verdict for Pedernal
Dryness leads the climate profile for Pedernal, New Mexico, with 13.8 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 52°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.
- 52°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 13.8"
- annual precipitation · 26" snow
- 150 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Pedernal: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00296687 · Pedernal, NM 52°F mean · 13.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,293
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Elkins Randolph…
- PRCP-DRY 13.8"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,420 HDD
- STN-1 USC00296687
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Elkins Randolph County, WV (+ 0 °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.
- Pedernal (this station) 52°F
- Hot Orderville, UT 52°F
- Near Elkins Randolph…, WV 52°F
- Near Connell, WA 52°F
- Near Rock Cave, WV 52°F
Climate Living Index · Pedernal
Pedernal: 35/100 · grade F
Pedernal publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Pedernal, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 51.7°F · 15.8° from 67.5°F | 48/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 25.7 inches/year | 43/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 174 calendar days | 29/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 150 days/year | 25/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 13.8 in · 21.2 from 35 in | 24/100 · F |
Pedernal · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Pedernal'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
- 72.3°F
- Coldest month
- 32.0°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 Pedernal sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Pedernal's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 48th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 85%
- Pedernal's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 37th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Pedernal compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Pedernal'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
Pedernal's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 55 complete annual observations from 1957 to 2025, PEDERNAL 9 E warmed at a fitted rate of 0.28°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Pedernal primary station fitted change +0.28 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F (8°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.5" | 5.7" | 30.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 52°F (11°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.4" | 4.6" | 25.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 60°F (16°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 0.6" | 2.8" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 67°F (20°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 0.4" | 1.4" | 15.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 76°F (25°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.1" | 0.2" | 2.7 | 1.1 |
| June | 87°F (31°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 12.0 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 15.1 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 8.8 |
| September | 80°F (27°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 1.8" | 0.0" | 0.6 | 2.2 |
| October | 69°F (21°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.2" | 1.2" | 10.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 57°F (14°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 0.6" | 2.6" | 25.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 46°F (8°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 0.8" | 7.2" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around June 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 174 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 17°F near December 30.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 16, then returns to freezing around October 26, covering 174 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 July 31, when 31% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is April 11 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 53 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 9 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 37°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Pedernal.
Where Pedernal Stands Nationally
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 37°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 14 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Pedernal 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: 5.7"
3.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.6"
3.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.8"
2.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
2.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
3.8 days with precipitation
4.4 days with precipitation
8.2 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.6"
2.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 7.2"
3.4 days with precipitation
Pedernal runs a summer-peaked wet season
46% of Pedernal'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 August at 2.5", on a 40.3°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: August, July, September, taking 49% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.4".
- Winter share: 12% 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 Pedernal's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 53 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 13.8" 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 Pedernal
Pedernal averages 25.7 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 11 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: 25.7 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 11 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 19% 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 6
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 9
50% probability date
Growing Season
150 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,420
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
614
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Pedernal 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 (52°F here).
- Burlington, CO 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Conception, MO 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Connell, WA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Donnellson, IA 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (13.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Carter, MT 13.8" · 0.0" off
- Brigham City, UT 13.8" · 0.0" off
- Redondo Beach, CA 13.8" · 0.0" off
- Buffalo, WY 13.8" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Pedernal
heating led · dry · mid swing
Pedernal's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,420 annual heating degree days against 614 for cooling. Its 40.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Pedernal's frost-free season lasts about 150 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Pedernal coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 32°F (0°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Pedernal typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Pedernal snow peak
December
Pedernal averages 25.7 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Pedernal's climate
How much snow does Pedernal get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Pedernal get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Pedernal? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Pedernal's primary station: PEDERNAL 9 E (USC00296687). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Pedernal; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Pedernal 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.