Tierra Amarilla, NM Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Tierra Amarilla's primary NOAA station, TIERRA AMARILLA 4 N.
The climate verdict for Tierra Amarilla
Dryness leads the climate profile for Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico, with 16.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 34/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 2% of scores.
- 43°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 34/100
- comfort score, above 2% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.6"
- annual precipitation · 75" snow
- 101 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Tierra Amarilla: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00298845 · Tierra Amarilla, NM 43°F mean · 16.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #892
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Bright Angel Ra…
- PRCP-DRY 16.6"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 34/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,928 HDD
- STN-1 USC00298845
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Bright Angel Ranger Station, AZ (+ 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.
- Hot Blanca, CO 44°F
- Tierra Amarilla (this station) 43°F
- Cold Dagget Pass, NV 43°F
- Near Bright Angel Ra…, AZ 43°F
- Near Tahoma, CA 43°F
Climate Living Index · Tierra Amarilla
Tierra Amarilla: 11/100 · grade F
Tierra Amarilla publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Tierra Amarilla, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 34/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 16.6 in · 18.4 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.4°F · 24.1° from 67.5°F | 14/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 75.1 inches/year | 8/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 232 calendar days | 1/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 101 days/year | 0/100 · F |
Tierra Amarilla · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Tierra Amarilla is a continental Köppen climate: Dfb
Coldest-month mean 22.9°F and warmest-month mean 64.8°F place this station in continental, no dry season, warm summer climates (Dfb). Class Dfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 64.8°F
- Coldest month
- 22.9°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 Tierra Amarilla sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Tierra Amarilla's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 87%
- Among 6,861 stations, Tierra Amarilla sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Tierra Amarilla's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 44th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Tierra Amarilla compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Tierra Amarilla's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
34 2nd percentile score exceeds 2% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 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 | 40°F (5°C) | 6°F (-15°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 1.2" | 17.7" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
| February | 43°F (6°C) | 10°F (-12°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 1.3" | 15.3" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 51°F (11°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.9" | 9.8" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 1.1" | 6.6" | 28.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 68°F (20°C) | 31°F (0°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.5" | 0.7" | 18.4 | 0.1 |
| June | 80°F (26°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 5.0 | 0.3 |
| July | 83°F (29°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.3 | 3.3 |
| August | 81°F (27°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| September | 74°F (23°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| October | 63°F (17°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 1.4" | 1.6" | 25.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 50°F (10°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 1.2" | 8.4" | 29.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 40°F (4°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 1.3" | 15.0" | 30.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 84°F around July 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 232 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 6°F near January 6.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 19, then returns to freezing around October 1, covering 232 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 6, when 37% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 3 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 83 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 15 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 42°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Tierra Amarilla.
Where Tierra Amarilla Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 232 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 42°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Tierra Amarilla 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: 17.7"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.3"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.8"
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.6"
6.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
5.7 days with precipitation
4.3 days with precipitation
9.3 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
7.0 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.6"
6.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.4"
5.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.0"
6.8 days with precipitation
Tierra Amarilla spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 28% of the annual total and December through February 23%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Tierra Amarilla has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 41.9°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: August averages 2.2" and June 0.7". The three wettest months together take 35% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Tierra Amarilla is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 83 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 23% of the calendar, and they carry 16.6" between them. At roughly 0.20 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is August at about 11 wet days; the driest is June at about 4.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Tierra Amarilla
Tierra Amarilla averages 75.1 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 32 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 75.1 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 32 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 45% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 20
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
June 11
50% probability date
Growing Season
101 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,928
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
58
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Tierra Amarilla 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 (43°F here).
- Ashton, ID 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Atlanta, MI 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Buffalo, WY 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Minot, ND 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Campo, CO 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Seibert, CO 16.6" · 0.0" off
- Harrisburg, NE 16.5" · 0.1" off
- Pine Ridge, SD 16.6" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Tierra Amarilla
heating led · dry · mid swing
Tierra Amarilla's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 7,928 annual heating degree days against 58 for cooling. Its 41.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 101 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Tierra Amarilla coldest normal
January
Averaging 23°F (-5°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Tierra Amarilla typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Tierra Amarilla snow peak
January
Tierra Amarilla averages 75.1 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Tierra Amarilla's climate
How much snow does Tierra Amarilla get? ▼
How cold does Tierra Amarilla get in winter? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Tierra Amarilla's primary station: TIERRA AMARILLA 4 N (USC00298845). 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 a census-designated place (GEOID 3577670), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Tierra Amarilla: 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 Tierra Amarilla 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.