Picacho, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Picacho's normal year runs from 26°F December nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 14.2 inches of precipitation and 12 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, December lows of −3°C, July highs of 32°C, 360 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPicacho
- Station IDUSC00296804
- Location33.35°N 105.14°W
- Elevation4,990 ft (1,521 m)
On October 22, the normal high in Picacho is 74°F and the normal low 40°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 Picacho.
- Jan 58° 27°
- Feb 61° 29°
- Mar 68° 34°
- Apr 75° 41°
- May 82° 49°
- Jun 90° 57°
- Jul 90° 61°
- Aug 88° 60°
- Sep 84° 53°
- Oct 75° 42°
- Nov 65° 33°
- Dec 57° 26°
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 Picacho each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.85 in), the least in January (0.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58°F | 27°F | 42.2°F | 0.35 | 3.0 | 2 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 61°F | 29°F | 45.1°F | 0.35 | 1.7 | 2 | <1 | 20 | 11 h |
| March | 68°F | 34°F | 51.1°F | 0.54 | 0.9 | 2 | <1 | 14 | 12 h |
| April | 75°F | 41°F | 57.6°F | 0.69 | 0.3 | 2 | <1 | 5 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 49°F | 65.5°F | 1.04 | 0.0 | 4 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 90°F | 57°F | 73.7°F | 1.45 | 0.0 | 5 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 90°F | 61°F | 75.6°F | 2.15 | 0.0 | 7 | 17 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 88°F | 60°F | 74.2°F | 2.85 | 0.0 | 9 | 12 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 53°F | 68.4°F | 2.54 | 0.0 | 7 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 42°F | 58.9°F | 1.14 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 33°F | 49.0°F | 0.48 | 1.0 | 2 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 57°F | 26°F | 41.8°F | 0.60 | 5.2 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 75°F | 43°F | 58.6°F | 14.18 | 12.4 | 49 | 57 | 107 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | −3°C | 5.7°C | 9 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 16°C | −2°C | 7.3°C | 9 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 20°C | 1°C | 10.6°C | 14 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 24°C | 5°C | 14.2°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 28°C | 9°C | 18.6°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 32°C | 14°C | 23.2°C | 37 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 16°C | 24.2°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 16°C | 23.4°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 12°C | 20.2°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 6°C | 14.9°C | 29 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 18°C | 0°C | 9.4°C | 12 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 14°C | −3°C | 5.4°C | 15 mm | 13 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296804; 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 Picacho?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September, October and November. Of those, March 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 USC00296804.
When is the last frost at Picacho?
In Picacho, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 19 in half of years and after May 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 11 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
- April 191 year in 10 after May 2; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 210 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 4 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Picacho in zone 7b in ZIP code 88351, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (17 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 USC00296804; 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 Picacho?
In a normal year in Picacho, 57 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 107 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 49 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 57a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 107a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 2high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 49a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00296804.
How sunny is it at Picacho?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Picacho, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (89%) and July the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.5 |
| February | 85% | 4.5 |
| March | 86% | 5.8 |
| April | 89% | 7.1 |
| May | 88% | 7.7 |
| June | 88% | 7.7 |
| July | 81% | 6.8 |
| August | 81% | 6.3 |
| September | 85% | 5.7 |
| October | 88% | 4.8 |
| November | 87% | 3.8 |
| December | 84% | 3.1 |
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 Picacho record?
A normal year at Picacho brings 3,430 heating degree days, 36% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,114 cooling degree days, 23% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,059 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 707 | 0 |
| February | 557 | 0 |
| March | 432 | 1 |
| April | 232 | 10 |
| May | 70 | 86 |
| June | 2 | 263 |
| July | 0 | 329 |
| August | 0 | 286 |
| September | 27 | 129 |
| October | 200 | 11 |
| November | 482 | 0 |
| December | 721 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,430 | 1,114 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00296804. 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.
How does Picacho's climate compare?
Picacho is warmer than 68 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 56. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.6°F is warmer than 71%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Picacho 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.
Questions about Picacho's climate
What is the coldest month at Picacho?
December, with a normal high of 57°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow at Picacho?
Yes: 12 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (5.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Picacho?
August, with 2.85 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Picacho in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Picacho in zone 7b in ZIP code 88351, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 6°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Picacho?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 19; in one year in ten it comes after May 2. Waiting until May 2 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
- Capitan, NM29 miles from this station, 53.6°F a year
- Ruidoso, NM30 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Elk, NM32 miles from this station, 53.7°F a year
- Roswell, NM37 miles from this station, 63.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made