Portales, NM Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Portales's primary NOAA station, PORTALES.
The climate verdict for Portales
Dryness leads the climate profile for Portales, New Mexico, with 16.1 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 60°F. It scores 78/100 for climate comfort (good), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 72% of them.
- 60°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 78/100
- comfort score, above 72% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.1"
- annual precipitation · 8" snow
- 194 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Portales: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00297008 · Portales, NM 60°F mean · 16.1" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 60°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,146
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Elgin
- PRCP-DRY 16.1"
- SWING-MID 40°F
- COMF-TOP 78/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,434 HDD
- STN-1 USC00297008
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Elgin, NV (+ 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.
- Portales (this station) 60°F
- Cold Alum Fork, AR 60°F
- Hot Jerome, AZ 60°F
- Near Elgin, NV 60°F
- Near Independence, MS 60°F
Climate Living Index · Portales
Portales: 49/100 · grade D
Portales publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Portales, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 78/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 60.1°F · 7.4° from 67.5°F | 77/100 · B |
| Snowfall burden | 7.6 inches/year | 67/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 194 days/year | 60/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 16.1 in · 18.9 from 35 in | 32/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 193 calendar days | 18/100 · F |
Portales · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Portales'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
- 79.8°F
- Coldest month
- 40.2°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 Portales sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Portales's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 25% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Portales sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 80%
- Portales's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 34th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Portales compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Portales's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
78 Top 28% score exceeds 72% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Portales's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 74 complete annual observations from 1915 to 2024, PORTALES warmed at a fitted rate of 0.09°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Portales primary station fitted change +0.09 °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 | 55°F (13°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.5" | 1.7" | 25.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 61°F (16°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.4" | 1.4" | 19.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 69°F (20°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 0.7" | 0.7" | 12.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 77°F (25°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 0.7" | 0.2" | 3.6 | 1.0 |
| May | 85°F (29°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 9.9 |
| June | 93°F (34°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 2.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 21.0 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 2.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 24.2 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 2.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 20.0 |
| September | 85°F (30°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 8.5 |
| October | 76°F (24°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 1.8" | 0.3" | 3.1 | 0.7 |
| November | 63°F (17°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 0.6" | 0.5" | 14.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 55°F (13°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.7" | 2.8" | 25.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Portales works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 94°F by June 22 and hold at or above 90°F on 87 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 106 dates, bottoming at 25°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from May 31 through August 25, covering 87 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 20 to October 30.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 3, then returns to freezing around November 19, covering 106 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 August 4, when 28% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 17 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 63 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 9 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 35°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Portales.
Where Portales Stands Nationally
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 87 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 35°F between the normal high and low.
Portales 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: 1.7"
3.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
3.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
4.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
3.7 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
5.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.5"
3.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.8"
3.7 days with precipitation
Portales runs a summer-peaked wet season
46% of Portales'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 2.9", on a 39.6°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, June, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.4".
- Winter share: 10% 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 Portales's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 63 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 16.1" 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.
Snow reaches Portales, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 7.6 inches of snow a year here, most likely in December. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 4 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 15
50% probability date
Growing Season
194 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,434
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,672
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Portales 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 (60°F here).
- Anadarko, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Apex, NC 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Calistoga, CA 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Catawba, NC 60°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Crosby, ND 16.1" · 0.0" off
- Edgemont, SD 16.1" · 0.0" off
- Ridgway, CO 16.1" · 0.0" off
- Kim, CO 16.1" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Portales's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Portales's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,434 annual heating degree days against 1,672 for cooling. Its 39.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Portales's frost-free season lasts about 194 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Portales's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 39.6°F. The annual average is 60°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Portales's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 16.1 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 7.6 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Portales's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Portales, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Portales's climate
How much rain does Portales get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Portales get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Portales? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Portales's primary station: PORTALES (USC00297008). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 3559260). Match rule for Portales: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Portales 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.