Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant, New Mexico climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 97°F July afternoons, with 13.1 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.2 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.7°C, January lows of −2°C, July highs of 36°C, 334 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWaste Isolt'n Pilot Plant
- Station IDUSC00299569
- Location32.38°N 103.80°W
- Elevation3,411 ft (1,040 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant is 78°F and the normal low 46°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 Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant.
- Jan 60° 28°
- Feb 65° 33°
- Mar 74° 40°
- Apr 81° 47°
- May 90° 56°
- Jun 97° 65°
- Jul 97° 69°
- Aug 95° 68°
- Sep 89° 61°
- Oct 80° 49°
- Nov 68° 37°
- Dec 60° 29°
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 Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 97°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in September (2.34 in), the least in January (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 28°F | 44.1°F | 0.43 | 3 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 65°F | 33°F | 48.7°F | 0.44 | 3 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| March | 74°F | 40°F | 56.5°F | 0.53 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 h |
| April | 81°F | 47°F | 63.9°F | 0.52 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 90°F | 56°F | 72.7°F | 1.11 | 4 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 97°F | 65°F | 81.1°F | 1.65 | 5 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 97°F | 69°F | 82.9°F | 1.95 | 6 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 95°F | 68°F | 81.5°F | 1.90 | 5 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 89°F | 61°F | 74.8°F | 2.34 | 6 | 16 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 80°F | 49°F | 64.4°F | 1.12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 68°F | 37°F | 52.4°F | 0.49 | 3 | <1 | 9 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 60°F | 29°F | 44.2°F | 0.66 | 3 | <1 | 20 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 80°F | 48°F | 63.9°F | 13.14 | 49 | 130 | 71 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | −2°C | 6.7°C | 11 mm |
| February | 18°C | 0°C | 9.3°C | 11 mm |
| March | 23°C | 4°C | 13.6°C | 13 mm |
| April | 27°C | 8°C | 17.7°C | 13 mm |
| May | 32°C | 13°C | 22.6°C | 28 mm |
| June | 36°C | 18°C | 27.3°C | 42 mm |
| July | 36°C | 20°C | 28.3°C | 50 mm |
| August | 35°C | 20°C | 27.5°C | 48 mm |
| September | 32°C | 16°C | 23.8°C | 59 mm |
| October | 27°C | 9°C | 18.0°C | 28 mm |
| November | 20°C | 3°C | 11.3°C | 12 mm |
| December | 15°C | −2°C | 6.8°C | 17 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00299569; 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 Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. 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 USC00299569.
When is the last frost at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
In Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 6 in half of years and after April 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 in half of years and before October 20 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 61 year in 10 after April 26; 9 in 10 after March 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 210 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 235 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 21 in half of springs and before November 11 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant in zone 8a in ZIP code 88256, 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 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (21 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 USC00299569; 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 Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
In a normal year in Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant, 130 days a year reach 90°F (39 of them 100°F or more), 71 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 49 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 130a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 39a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 71a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 49a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00299569.
How sunny is it at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
Over a year 88% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (92%) and December the cloudiest (83%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.6 |
| February | 84% | 4.4 |
| March | 85% | 5.7 |
| April | 89% | 7.0 |
| May | 89% | 7.6 |
| June | 92% | 7.9 |
| July | 90% | 7.4 |
| August | 90% | 6.8 |
| September | 87% | 5.7 |
| October | 88% | 4.8 |
| November | 86% | 3.7 |
| December | 83% | 3.2 |
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 Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant record?
A normal year at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant brings 2,645 heating degree days, 51% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,288 cooling degree days, 2.5 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,784 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 649 | 0 |
| February | 457 | 1 |
| March | 279 | 15 |
| April | 105 | 72 |
| May | 18 | 258 |
| June | 0 | 483 |
| July | 0 | 555 |
| August | 0 | 511 |
| September | 7 | 303 |
| October | 104 | 85 |
| November | 382 | 4 |
| December | 643 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,645 | 2,288 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00299569. 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.
Have recent years at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 65.0°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.9°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 65.0°F | +1.1°F | 14.02 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00299569. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant's climate compare?
Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant is warmer than 97 of the 98 places with their own NOAA record in New Mexico, and wetter than 49. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.9°F is warmer than 85%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant 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 Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant's climate
What is the coldest month at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
January, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is July (97°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.2 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
September, with 2.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant in zone 8a in ZIP code 88256, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 10°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Waste Isolt'n Pilot Plant?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 6; in one year in ten it comes after April 26. Waiting until April 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
- Ochoa, NM26 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Carlsbad, NM27 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Brantley Dam, NM35 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Jal, NM40 miles from this station, 63.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made