Tularosa, NM Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Tularosa's primary NOAA station, TULAROSA.
The climate verdict for Tularosa
Dryness leads the climate profile for Tularosa, New Mexico, with 10.8 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 61°F. It scores 80/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 76% of them.
- 61°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 80/100
- comfort score, above 76% of station-mapped location scores
- 10.8"
- annual precipitation
- 213 days
- frost-free growing season
Tularosa: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00299165 · Tularosa, NM 61°F mean · 10.8" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-MIX · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 61°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,352
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Altus Dam
- PRCP-ARID 10.8"
- SWING-MID 37°F
- COMF-TOP 80/100
- LOAD-MIX H/C balanced
- STN-1 USC00299165
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Altus Dam, OK (+ 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.
- Tularosa (this station) 61°F
- Hot Avalon Catalina, CA 61°F
- Near Altus Dam, OK 61°F
- Near Ames Plantation, TN 61°F
- Near Auburn, CA 61°F
Climate Living Index · Tularosa
Tularosa: 52/100 · grade D
Tularosa publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Tularosa, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 80/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 61.2°F · 6.3° from 67.5°F | 80/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 213 days/year | 74/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 162 calendar days | 38/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 10.8 in · 24.2 from 35 in | 15/100 · F |
Tularosa · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Tularosa'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
- 79.4°F
- Coldest month
- 42.2°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 · balanced station
Where Tularosa sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Tularosa's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 22% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Tularosa sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 92%
- Tularosa'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 Tularosa is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Tularosa compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Tularosa's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
80 Top 24% score exceeds 76% 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%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Tularosa's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 39 complete annual observations from 1947 to 2018, TULAROSA warmed at a fitted rate of 0.10°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Tularosa primary station fitted change +0.09 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56°F (13°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 0.5" | 21.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 61°F (16°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.5" | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 69°F (20°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 0.3" | 6.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 77°F (25°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.3" | 1.4 | 0.5 |
| May | 85°F (29°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 0.5" | 0.0 | 8.2 |
| June | 94°F (34°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 24.5 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 79°F (26°C) | 1.8" | 0.0 | 25.4 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 1.8" | 0.0 | 22.0 |
| September | 86°F (30°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 1.7" | 0.0 | 9.5 |
| October | 76°F (24°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.1" | 1.0 | 0.6 |
| November | 64°F (18°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 0.7" | 8.7 | 0.0 |
| December | 55°F (13°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 0.9" | 21.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Tularosa works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 95°F by June 22 and hold at or above 90°F on 91 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 71 dates, bottoming at 28°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from May 31 through August 29, covering 91 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 21 to October 31.
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 February 9, then returns to freezing around December 1, covering 71 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 July 31, when 30% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is April 15 at 7%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 54 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 9 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 33°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Tularosa.
Where Tularosa Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 11 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Heat is a defining feature of the normals calendar — the normal daily high reaches 90°F on roughly 91 days a year, more than four out of five ranked stations record.
Tularosa earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
3.3 days with precipitation
3.5 days with precipitation
2.7 days with precipitation
2.0 days with precipitation
3.3 days with precipitation
3.9 days with precipitation
8.3 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
4.9 days with precipitation
3.1 days with precipitation
3.7 days with precipitation
Tularosa runs a summer-peaked wet season
40% of Tularosa'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 August at 1.8", on a 37.2°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: August, July, September, taking 49% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: April at 0.3".
- Winter share: 17% 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 Tularosa's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 53 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 10.8" between them, or roughly 0.20 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 4
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 5
50% probability date
Growing Season
213 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,031
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,661
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside NM closest to Tularosa 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 (61°F here).
- Auburn, CA 61°F · 0.0°F off
- Camden, SC 61°F · 0.0°F off
- Camp Hill, AL 61°F · 0.0°F off
- Chickamauga, GA 61°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (10.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Hatton, WA 10.8" · 0.0" off
- Boulder, MT 10.8" · 0.0" off
- Dubois, WY 10.9" · 0.0" off
- Eureka, NV 10.9" · 0.0" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Tularosa's limited precipitation lands
mixed demand · dry · mid swing
Local precipitation is sparse in this otherwise mixed profile. The station reports 10.8 inches annually, within PlainClimate's dry band. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The monthly distribution matters because the total alone does not reveal the timing.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Tularosa's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 37.2°F. The annual average is 61°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Heating and cooling both register in Tularosa's normal, at 3,031 and 1,661 degree days respectively. Neither total exceeds the other by more than two to one, so the record is better read as a mixed-demand calendar than as heating-led or cooling-led.
A roughly 213-day frost-free season sits inside this mixed heating-and-cooling profile. Start and end dates matter because both sides of the thermostat register during a normal year.
Tularosa wettest normal
August
August concentrates the scarce annual total (10.8 inches).
Tularosa driest normal
March
March is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Tularosa's climate
How dry is Tularosa? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Tularosa get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Tularosa? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Tularosa's primary station: TULAROSA (USC00299165). 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 3579980). Match rule for Tularosa: 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 Tularosa 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.