Pedernal (9 mi E), New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Pedernal (9 mi E)'s normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 13.8 inches of precipitation and 26 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.9°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 31°C, 351 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPedernal (9 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00296687
- Location34.62°N 105.47°W
- Elevation6,150 ft (1,875 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Pedernal (9 mi E) is 67°F and the normal low 33°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pedernal (9 mi E).
- Jan 46° 18°
- Feb 52° 21°
- Mar 60° 26°
- Apr 67° 32°
- May 76° 41°
- Jun 87° 51°
- Jul 88° 56°
- Aug 86° 55°
- Sep 80° 47°
- Oct 69° 36°
- Nov 57° 25°
- Dec 46° 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 Pedernal (9 mi E) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.53 in), the least in February (0.42 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 18°F | 32.0°F | 0.48 | 5.7 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 21°F | 36.4°F | 0.42 | 4.6 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 11 h |
| March | 60°F | 26°F | 42.9°F | 0.58 | 2.8 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 67°F | 32°F | 49.7°F | 0.44 | 1.4 | 2 | <1 | 15 | 13 h |
| May | 76°F | 41°F | 58.9°F | 1.15 | 0.2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 h |
| June | 87°F | 51°F | 69.0°F | 1.39 | 0.0 | 4 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 88°F | 56°F | 72.3°F | 2.42 | 0.0 | 8 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 55°F | 70.3°F | 2.53 | 0.0 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 80°F | 47°F | 63.7°F | 1.84 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 69°F | 36°F | 52.4°F | 1.22 | 1.2 | 4 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 57°F | 25°F | 41.1°F | 0.57 | 2.6 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 46°F | 18°F | 32.3°F | 0.76 | 7.2 | 3 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 36°F | 51.7°F | 13.80 | 25.7 | 53 | 39 | 165 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −8°C | 0.0°C | 12 mm | 14 cm |
| February | 11°C | −6°C | 2.4°C | 11 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 16°C | −3°C | 6.1°C | 15 mm | 7 cm |
| April | 20°C | 0°C | 9.8°C | 11 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 25°C | 5°C | 14.9°C | 29 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 31°C | 11°C | 20.6°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 13°C | 22.4°C | 61 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 13°C | 21.3°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 8°C | 17.6°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 2°C | 11.3°C | 31 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 14°C | −4°C | 5.1°C | 14 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 8°C | −8°C | 0.2°C | 19 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296687; 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 Pedernal (9 mi E)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, April 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 USC00296687.
When is the last frost at Pedernal (9 mi E)?
In Pedernal (9 mi E), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after May 22 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 26 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 91 year in 10 after May 22; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 150 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 167 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pedernal (9 mi E) in zone 6b in ZIP code 88321, 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 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (29 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00296687; 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 Pedernal (9 mi E)?
In a normal year in Pedernal (9 mi E), 39 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 165 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 53 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 39a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 165a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 53a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1956) is 105°F, on June 27, 1994; the lowest is −29°F, on January 6, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2006, with 21.50 in; the snowiest season is 1986–87, with 61.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00296687; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00296687. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Pedernal (9 mi E)?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Pedernal (9 mi E), 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (83%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 84% | 4.3 |
| March | 86% | 5.7 |
| April | 88% | 7.0 |
| May | 88% | 7.7 |
| June | 89% | 8.0 |
| July | 84% | 7.1 |
| August | 85% | 6.6 |
| September | 86% | 5.8 |
| October | 88% | 4.7 |
| November | 86% | 3.6 |
| December | 83% | 3.0 |
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 Pedernal (9 mi E) record?
A normal year at Pedernal (9 mi E) brings 5,420 heating degree days, 1% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 614 cooling degree days, 32% 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 2,845 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,021 | 0 |
| February | 801 | 0 |
| March | 685 | 0 |
| April | 459 | 0 |
| May | 212 | 21 |
| June | 24 | 142 |
| July | 4 | 230 |
| August | 6 | 170 |
| September | 90 | 49 |
| October | 392 | 1 |
| November | 716 | 0 |
| December | 1,012 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,420 | 614 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296687. 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 Pedernal (9 mi E) been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 53.3°F, 1.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 51.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52.4°F | +0.7°F | 10.80 | 24.3 |
| 2022 | 51.3°F | −0.4°F | 14.83 | 23.5 |
| 2023 | 52.5°F | +0.8°F | 10.32 | 18.5 |
| 2024 | 53.3°F | +1.6°F | 12.54 | 29.4 |
| 2025 | 53.3°F | +1.6°F | 14.83 | 18.2 |
Over 55 complete years from 1957 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.0°F per century (+0.28°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00296687; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pedernal (9 mi E)'s climate compare?
Pedernal (9 mi E) is warmer than 35 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.7°F is warmer than 48%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pedernal (9 mi E) 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 Pedernal (9 mi E) share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Vaughn, NM275 people · 15 mi E
- Encino, NM56 people · 3 mi N
- Duran, NM17 people · 12 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 Pedernal (9 mi E)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Pedernal (9 mi E)?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow at Pedernal (9 mi E)?
Yes: 26 inches in a normal year, falling on 11 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (7.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Pedernal (9 mi E)?
August, with 2.53 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.42 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pedernal (9 mi E) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pedernal (9 mi E) in zone 6b in ZIP code 88321, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Pedernal (9 mi E)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after May 22. Waiting until May 22 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
- Clines Corners (7 mi SE), NM23 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Clines Corners, NM29 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Corona (10 mi SW), NM35 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Estancia, NM35 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made