Red River, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Red River's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 75°F July afternoons, with 22.0 inches of precipitation and 157 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 3.9°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 24°C, 559 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationRed River
- Station IDUSC00297323
- Location36.71°N 105.42°W
- Elevation8,667 ft (2,642 m)
- Population537
On October 23, the normal high in Red River is 53°F and the normal low 23°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Red River.
- Jan 35° 7°
- Feb 37° 9°
- Mar 45° 16°
- Apr 52° 23°
- May 62° 30°
- Jun 72° 36°
- Jul 75° 42°
- Aug 72° 40°
- Sep 68° 34°
- Oct 56° 25°
- Nov 44° 16°
- Dec 35° 8°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Red River each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.14 in), the least in January (1.05 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 7°F | 21.0°F | 1.05 | 19.1 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 37°F | 9°F | 23.3°F | 1.46 | 26.1 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 45°F | 16°F | 30.5°F | 1.85 | 31.4 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 52°F | 23°F | 37.7°F | 1.99 | 26.7 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 62°F | 30°F | 45.8°F | 1.79 | 6.2 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 72°F | 36°F | 54.4°F | 1.11 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 75°F | 42°F | 58.1°F | 3.14 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 72°F | 40°F | 56.3°F | 3.01 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 68°F | 34°F | 50.7°F | 2.03 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 9 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 56°F | 25°F | 40.4°F | 1.78 | 9.7 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 44°F | 16°F | 29.6°F | 1.59 | 19.0 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 35°F | 8°F | 21.6°F | 1.22 | 18.5 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 55°F | 24°F | 39.1°F | 22.02 | 156.7 | 115 | <1 | 237 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −14°C | −6.1°C | 27 mm | 49 cm |
| February | 3°C | −13°C | −4.8°C | 37 mm | 66 cm |
| March | 7°C | −9°C | −0.8°C | 47 mm | 80 cm |
| April | 11°C | −5°C | 3.2°C | 51 mm | 68 cm |
| May | 17°C | −1°C | 7.7°C | 45 mm | 16 cm |
| June | 22°C | 2°C | 12.4°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 5°C | 14.5°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22°C | 5°C | 13.5°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20°C | 1°C | 10.4°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13°C | −4°C | 4.7°C | 45 mm | 25 cm |
| November | 7°C | −9°C | −1.3°C | 40 mm | 48 cm |
| December | 2°C | −13°C | −5.8°C | 31 mm | 47 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00297323; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Red River?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00297323.
When is the last frost in Red River?
In Red River, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 19 in half of years and after July 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 7 in half of years and before August 17 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
- June 191 year in 10 after July 3; 9 in 10 after June 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 71 year in 10 before August 17; 9 in 10 before September 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 77 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 108 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after June 2 in half of springs and before September 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Red River in zone 6a in ZIP code 87558, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Red River's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (19 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in New Mexico · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00297323; 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 in Red River?
In a normal year in Red River, a 90°F day is rare, 237 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 115 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 237a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 115a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 38a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1906) is 94°F, on June 30, 1916; the lowest is −40°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1927, with 28.64 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 250.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00297323; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00297323. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Red River?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Red River, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. October is the sunniest month (86%) and July the cloudiest (77%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.1 |
| March | 82% | 5.4 |
| April | 82% | 6.6 |
| May | 82% | 7.3 |
| June | 84% | 7.7 |
| July | 77% | 6.7 |
| August | 80% | 6.2 |
| September | 84% | 5.6 |
| October | 86% | 4.6 |
| November | 85% | 3.4 |
| December | 81% | 2.8 |
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 much heating and cooling does Red River need?
A normal year in Red River brings 9,416 heating degree days, 75% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 0 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 681 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,364 | 0 |
| February | 1,168 | 0 |
| March | 1,070 | 0 |
| April | 821 | 0 |
| May | 595 | 0 |
| June | 320 | 0 |
| July | 214 | 0 |
| August | 270 | 0 |
| September | 428 | 0 |
| October | 761 | 0 |
| November | 1,062 | 0 |
| December | 1,345 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 9,416 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00297323. 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 Red River's climate compare?
Red River is warmer than 0 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 92. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 39.1°F is warmer than 4%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Red River is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. 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 Red River share this climate record?
Taos Ski Valley 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.
- Taos Ski Valley, NM82 people · 8 mi S
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 Red River's climate
What is the coldest month in Red River?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (75°F by day, 42°F at night).
Does it snow in Red River?
Yes: 157 inches in a normal year, falling on 45 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in March (31.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Red River?
July, with 3.14 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.05 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Red River in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Red River in zone 6a in ZIP code 87558, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Red River's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Red River?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 19; in one year in ten it comes after July 3. Waiting until July 3 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
- Cerro, NM10 miles from this station, 45.1°F a year
- Eagle Nest, NM14 miles from this station, 41.7°F a year
- Angel Fire, NM23 miles from this station, 41.4°F a year
- Taos, NM24 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made