Santa Rosa, NM Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Santa Rosa's primary NOAA station, SANTA ROSA.
The climate verdict for Santa Rosa
Dryness leads the climate profile for Santa Rosa, New Mexico, with 15.0 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 58°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 58°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.0"
- annual precipitation · 11" snow
- 186 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Santa Rosa: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00298107 · Santa Rosa, NM 58°F mean · 15.0" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 58°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,803
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Taylorsville
- PRCP-DRY 15.0"
- SWING-MID 37°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,674 HDD
- STN-1 USC00298107
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Taylorsville, NC ( -0.1 °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.
- Hot Clarkesville, GA 59°F
- Near Lake Lure, NC 59°F
- Santa Rosa (this station) 58°F
- Cold Georgetown Rang…, CA 58°F
- Near Taylorsville, NC 58°F
Climate Living Index · Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa: 42/100 · grade D
Santa Rosa publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Santa Rosa, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 58.4°F · 9.1° from 67.5°F | 71/100 · B |
| Snowfall burden | 11.3 inches/year | 61/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 186 days/year | 54/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 15.0 in · 20.0 from 35 in | 28/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 209 calendar days | 9/100 · F |
Santa Rosa · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Santa Rosa'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
- 77.2°F
- Coldest month
- 39.9°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 Santa Rosa sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Santa Rosa's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 30% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Santa Rosa sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 83%
- Santa Rosa's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 76%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Santa Rosa is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Santa Rosa compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Santa Rosa's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F (13°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.8" | 3.1" | 25.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 60°F (15°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 0.5" | 1.6" | 20.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 68°F (20°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 0.8" | 1.5" | 15.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 75°F (24°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 0.8" | 0.3" | 5.6 | 0.3 |
| May | 83°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 1.3" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 6.8 |
| June | 92°F (33°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 19.3 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 23.4 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 19.5 |
| September | 85°F (30°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 0.2 | 7.5 |
| October | 76°F (24°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.5" | 0.2" | 4.4 | 0.4 |
| November | 65°F (18°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 0.5" | 1.4" | 17.8 | 0.0 |
| December | 55°F (13°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 0.8" | 3.2" | 25.1 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Santa Rosa works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 94°F by June 27 and hold at or above 90°F on 86 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 123 dates, bottoming at 24°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 5 through August 29, covering 86 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 22 to November 3.
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 12, then returns to freezing around November 11, covering 123 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 2, when 27% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 18 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 51 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Santa Rosa.
Where Santa Rosa Stands Nationally
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 86 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Santa Rosa 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: 3.1"
2.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.6"
2.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
3.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
2.9 days with precipitation
3.8 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
5.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
3.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
2.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.2"
3.3 days with precipitation
Santa Rosa runs a summer-peaked wet season
41% of Santa Rosa'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 July at 2.4", on a 37.3°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: July, August, September, taking 44% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: November at 0.5".
- Winter share: 14% 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 Santa Rosa's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 51 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 15.0" between them, or roughly 0.30 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 Santa Rosa, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 11.3 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 6 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 23
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 20
50% probability date
Growing Season
186 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,674
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,278
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Santa Rosa 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 (58°F here).
- Camargo, OK 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Campo, CA 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Cornelia, GA 58°F · 0.0°F off
- Dayton, TN 58°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Polson, MT 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Bickleton, WA 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Pilot Rock, OR 15.0" · 0.0" off
- Ellicott, CO 15.0" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Santa Rosa's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Santa Rosa's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,674 annual heating degree days against 1,278 for cooling. Its 37.3°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Santa Rosa's frost-free season lasts about 186 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Santa Rosa's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 37.3°F. The annual average is 58°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Santa Rosa's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 15.0 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 11.3 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Santa Rosa'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 Santa Rosa, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Santa Rosa's climate
How much rain does Santa Rosa get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Santa Rosa get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Santa Rosa? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Santa Rosa's primary station: SANTA ROSA (USC00298107). 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 3570670). Match rule for Santa Rosa: 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 Santa Rosa 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.