Tatum, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tatum's normal year runs from 23°F January nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 15.2 inches of precipitation and 6 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 34°C, 387 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTatum
- Station IDUSC00298713
- Location33.24°N 103.36°W
- Elevation4,012 ft (1,223 m)
- Population712
On October 23, the normal high in Tatum is 73°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tatum.
- Jan 55° 23°
- Feb 60° 27°
- Mar 67° 33°
- Apr 75° 40°
- May 84° 50°
- Jun 92° 60°
- Jul 93° 64°
- Aug 92° 62°
- Sep 84° 55°
- Oct 76° 43°
- Nov 63° 31°
- Dec 55° 25°
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 Tatum each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 23°F. The most precipitation falls in September (2.52 in), the least in February (0.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55°F | 23°F | 39.0°F | 0.45 | 1.3 | 2 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 60°F | 27°F | 43.1°F | 0.41 | 1.1 | 3 | <1 | 22 | 11 h |
| March | 67°F | 33°F | 49.8°F | 0.79 | 0.3 | 3 | <1 | 15 | 12 h |
| April | 75°F | 40°F | 57.5°F | 0.70 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 13 h |
| May | 84°F | 50°F | 66.9°F | 1.86 | 0.0 | 5 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 92°F | 60°F | 76.0°F | 1.74 | 0.0 | 5 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 93°F | 64°F | 78.1°F | 2.24 | 0.0 | 6 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 92°F | 62°F | 77.0°F | 2.11 | 0.0 | 6 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 84°F | 55°F | 69.7°F | 2.52 | 0.0 | 6 | 10 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 43°F | 59.4°F | 1.19 | 0.1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 63°F | 31°F | 47.3°F | 0.65 | 0.9 | 3 | <1 | 17 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 55°F | 25°F | 39.7°F | 0.58 | 2.4 | 3 | <1 | 26 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 75°F | 43°F | 58.6°F | 15.24 | 6.1 | 48 | 84 | 114 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | −5°C | 3.9°C | 11 mm | 3 cm |
| February | 15°C | −3°C | 6.2°C | 10 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 19°C | 0°C | 9.9°C | 20 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 24°C | 4°C | 14.2°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 29°C | 10°C | 19.4°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 33°C | 16°C | 24.4°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 18°C | 25.6°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 17°C | 25.0°C | 54 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 13°C | 20.9°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 24°C | 6°C | 15.2°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 17°C | 0°C | 8.5°C | 17 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 13°C | −4°C | 4.3°C | 15 mm | 6 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00298713; 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 Tatum?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September and October. Of those, April 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 USC00298713.
When is the last frost in Tatum?
In Tatum, 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 26 in half of years and before October 12 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 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 261 year in 10 before October 12; 9 in 10 before November 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 209 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 8 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tatum in zone 7b in ZIP code 88267, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Tatum's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (23 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 USC00298713; 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 Tatum?
In a normal year in Tatum, 84 days a year reach 90°F (11 of them 100°F or more), 114 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 48 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 84a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 114a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 6high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 48a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1919) is 115°F, on June 28, 1994; the lowest is −16°F, on January 11, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2004, with 34.82 in; the snowiest season is 1960–61, with 35.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00298713; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00298713. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tatum?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tatum, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (92%) and December the cloudiest (84%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.5 |
| February | 84% | 4.4 |
| March | 85% | 5.6 |
| April | 88% | 7.0 |
| May | 88% | 7.5 |
| June | 92% | 7.9 |
| July | 89% | 7.4 |
| August | 88% | 6.7 |
| September | 86% | 5.7 |
| October | 87% | 4.7 |
| November | 86% | 3.7 |
| 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 much heating and cooling does Tatum need?
A normal year in Tatum brings 3,756 heating degree days, 30% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,457 cooling degree days, 61% 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 4,395 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 807 | 0 |
| February | 613 | 0 |
| March | 474 | 2 |
| April | 242 | 16 |
| May | 70 | 129 |
| June | 2 | 333 |
| July | 1 | 405 |
| August | 1 | 373 |
| September | 30 | 171 |
| October | 200 | 28 |
| November | 533 | 1 |
| December | 783 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,756 | 1,457 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00298713. 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.
Has Tatum been warmer than normal lately?
Over 30 complete years from 1948 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.3°F per century (+0.18°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Tatum's climate compare?
Tatum is warmer than 68 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 63. 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, Tatum 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 Tatum's climate
What is the coldest month in Tatum?
January, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 23°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 64°F at night).
Does it snow in Tatum?
Yes: 6 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (2.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Tatum?
September, with 2.52 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tatum in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tatum in zone 7b in ZIP code 88267, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Tatum's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Tatum?
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
- Caprock, NM20 miles from this station, 58.8°F a year
- Plains, TX31 miles from this station, 59.5°F a year
- Denver City, TX37 miles from this station, 60.5°F a year
- Hobbs, NM38 miles from this station, 62.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made