Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tierra Amarilla's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 16.6 inches of precipitation and 75 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.3°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 29°C, 421 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTierra Amarilla (4 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00298845
- Location36.77°N 106.55°W
- Elevation7,464 ft (2,275 m)
- Population (census place)637
On October 23, the normal high in Tierra Amarilla is 60°F and the normal low 25°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 20%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tierra Amarilla.
- Jan 40° 6°
- Feb 43° 10°
- Mar 51° 18°
- Apr 59° 24°
- May 68° 31°
- Jun 80° 38°
- Jul 83° 46°
- Aug 81° 46°
- Sep 74° 38°
- Oct 63° 27°
- Nov 50° 17°
- Dec 40° 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 Tierra Amarilla each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.19 in), the least in June (0.69 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 6°F | 22.9°F | 1.20 | 17.7 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 43°F | 10°F | 26.6°F | 1.32 | 15.3 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 51°F | 18°F | 34.7°F | 0.95 | 9.8 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 24°F | 41.5°F | 1.15 | 6.6 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 68°F | 31°F | 49.7°F | 1.50 | 0.7 | 6 | <1 | 18 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 80°F | 38°F | 58.9°F | 0.69 | 0.0 | 4 | <1 | 5 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 83°F | 46°F | 64.8°F | 1.74 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 81°F | 46°F | 63.2°F | 2.19 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 74°F | 38°F | 55.7°F | 1.93 | 0.0 | 7 | <1 | 7 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 63°F | 27°F | 44.7°F | 1.37 | 1.6 | 6 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 50°F | 17°F | 33.6°F | 1.22 | 8.4 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 40°F | 8°F | 23.9°F | 1.31 | 15.0 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 26°F | 43.4°F | 16.57 | 75.1 | 83 | 5 | 235 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −15°C | −5.1°C | 30 mm | 45 cm |
| February | 6°C | −12°C | −3.0°C | 34 mm | 39 cm |
| March | 11°C | −8°C | 1.5°C | 24 mm | 25 cm |
| April | 15°C | −4°C | 5.3°C | 29 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 20°C | 0°C | 9.8°C | 38 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 26°C | 3°C | 14.9°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 8°C | 18.2°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 8°C | 17.3°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 3°C | 13.2°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | −3°C | 7.1°C | 35 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 10°C | −8°C | 0.9°C | 31 mm | 21 cm |
| December | 4°C | −13°C | −4.5°C | 33 mm | 38 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00298845; 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 Tierra Amarilla?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00298845.
When is the last frost in Tierra Amarilla?
In Tierra Amarilla, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 11 in half of years and after June 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before September 8 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 111 year in 10 after June 26; 9 in 10 after May 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before September 8; 9 in 10 before September 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 98 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 122 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 28 in half of springs and before September 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tierra Amarilla in zone 5b in ZIP code 87575, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Tierra Amarilla's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (18 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 USC00298845; 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 Tierra Amarilla?
In a normal year in Tierra Amarilla, 5 days a year reach 90°F, 235 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 83 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 235a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 16high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 83a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 28a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1927) is 102°F, on July 28, 1951; the lowest is −40°F, on February 8, 1933.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1986, with 24.85 in; the snowiest season is 1996–97, with 125.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00298845; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00298845. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tierra Amarilla?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tierra Amarilla, 5.3 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (79%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 3.1 |
| February | 80% | 4.0 |
| March | 81% | 5.3 |
| April | 81% | 6.5 |
| May | 83% | 7.4 |
| June | 87% | 7.9 |
| July | 80% | 6.8 |
| August | 80% | 6.3 |
| September | 84% | 5.6 |
| October | 85% | 4.5 |
| November | 83% | 3.3 |
| December | 79% | 2.7 |
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 Tierra Amarilla need?
A normal year in Tierra Amarilla brings 7,928 heating degree days, 48% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 58 cooling degree days, 94% 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 1,406 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,304 | 0 |
| February | 1,077 | 0 |
| March | 939 | 0 |
| April | 705 | 0 |
| May | 475 | 0 |
| June | 187 | 4 |
| July | 42 | 36 |
| August | 73 | 17 |
| September | 280 | 1 |
| October | 631 | 0 |
| November | 942 | 0 |
| December | 1,274 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,928 | 58 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00298845. 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 Tierra Amarilla's climate compare?
Tierra Amarilla is warmer than 4 of the other 97 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 73. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.4°F is warmer than 13%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tierra Amarilla 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 Tierra Amarilla 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.
- Ensenada, NM216 people · 3 mi S
- Los Ojos, NM20 people · 2 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 Tierra Amarilla's climate
What is the coldest month in Tierra Amarilla?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow in Tierra Amarilla?
Yes: 75 inches in a normal year, falling on 32 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (17.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Tierra Amarilla?
August, with 2.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.69 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tierra Amarilla in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tierra Amarilla in zone 5b in ZIP code 87575, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Tierra Amarilla's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −14°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Tierra Amarilla?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 11; in one year in ten it comes after June 26. Waiting until June 26 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
- Brazos, NM6 miles from this station, 44.8°F a year
- Chama, NM11 miles from this station, 42.2°F a year
- El Vado Dam, NM16 miles from this station, 44.7°F a year
- Dulce, NM27 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made