Star Lake, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Star Lake's normal year runs from 12°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 10.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 31°C, 254 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationStar Lake
- Station IDUSC00298524
- Location35.92°N 107.47°W
- Elevation6,635 ft (2,022 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Star Lake is 64°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Star Lake.
- Jan 42° 12°
- Feb 48° 18°
- Mar 57° 23°
- Apr 64° 28°
- May 74° 37°
- Jun 85° 45°
- Jul 87° 53°
- Aug 85° 52°
- Sep 79° 44°
- Oct 67° 31°
- Nov 54° 20°
- Dec 42° 12°
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 Star Lake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.96 in), the least in February (0.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42°F | 12°F | 26.5°F | 0.58 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 10 h |
| February | 48°F | 18°F | 32.7°F | 0.41 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 57°F | 23°F | 39.7°F | 0.48 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 28°F | 45.9°F | 0.42 | 3 | <1 | 22 | 13 h |
| May | 74°F | 37°F | 55.4°F | 0.55 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 14 h |
| June | 85°F | 45°F | 65.1°F | 0.62 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 87°F | 53°F | 70.4°F | 1.37 | 7 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 85°F | 52°F | 68.4°F | 1.96 | 9 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 79°F | 44°F | 61.2°F | 1.45 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 31°F | 49.0°F | 0.90 | 5 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 54°F | 20°F | 36.7°F | 0.58 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 42°F | 12°F | 26.8°F | 0.69 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 31°F | 48.1°F | 10.01 | 54 | 21 | 196 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −11°C | −3.1°C | 15 mm |
| February | 9°C | −8°C | 0.4°C | 10 mm |
| March | 14°C | −5°C | 4.3°C | 12 mm |
| April | 18°C | −2°C | 7.7°C | 11 mm |
| May | 24°C | 3°C | 13.0°C | 14 mm |
| June | 29°C | 7°C | 18.4°C | 16 mm |
| July | 31°C | 12°C | 21.3°C | 35 mm |
| August | 29°C | 11°C | 20.2°C | 50 mm |
| September | 26°C | 7°C | 16.2°C | 37 mm |
| October | 19°C | −1°C | 9.4°C | 23 mm |
| November | 12°C | −7°C | 2.6°C | 15 mm |
| December | 6°C | −11°C | −2.9°C | 18 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Torreon (18 miles away), gets 18 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00298524; 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 Star Lake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00298524.
When is the last frost at Star Lake?
In Star Lake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 28 in half of years and after June 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 28 in half of years and before September 15 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 281 year in 10 after June 14; 9 in 10 after May 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 281 year in 10 before September 15; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 121 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 141 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 15 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Star Lake in zone 6a in ZIP code 87013, 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 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (15 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 USC00298524; 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 Star Lake?
In a normal year in Star Lake, 21 days a year reach 90°F, 196 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 54 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 21a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 196a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 10high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 54a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1922) is 101°F, on July 28, 1960; the lowest is −38°F, on January 6, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1992, with 13.62 in; the snowiest season is 1997–98, with 49.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00298524; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00298524. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Star Lake?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Star Lake, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (90%) and December the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 3.2 |
| February | 81% | 4.1 |
| March | 85% | 5.6 |
| April | 86% | 6.9 |
| May | 87% | 7.7 |
| June | 90% | 8.1 |
| July | 84% | 7.2 |
| August | 84% | 6.6 |
| September | 87% | 5.8 |
| October | 89% | 4.8 |
| November | 86% | 3.5 |
| December | 80% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Star Lake record?
A normal year at Star Lake brings 6,492 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 376 cooling degree days, 59% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,289 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,192 | 0 |
| February | 904 | 0 |
| March | 784 | 0 |
| April | 573 | 0 |
| May | 301 | 5 |
| June | 62 | 67 |
| July | 4 | 170 |
| August | 9 | 114 |
| September | 136 | 21 |
| October | 496 | 0 |
| November | 848 | 0 |
| December | 1,183 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,492 | 376 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00298524. 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 Star Lake's climate compare?
Star Lake is warmer than 10 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 13. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.1°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Star Lake 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 Star Lake share this climate record?
2 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.
- Ojo Encino, NM451 people · 7 mi E
- Pueblo Pintado, NM229 people · 9 mi W
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 Star Lake's climate
What is the coldest month at Star Lake?
January, with a normal high of 42°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow at Star Lake?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Torreon (18 miles away), records 18 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Star Lake?
August, with 1.96 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Star Lake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Star Lake in zone 6a in ZIP code 87013, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come at Star Lake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 28; in one year in ten it comes after June 14. Waiting until June 14 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
- Torreon, NM18 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Johnson Ranch, NM21 miles from this station, 48.1°F a year
- Lybrook, NM22 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Chaco Canyon National Mon, NM26 miles from this station, 49.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made