Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport United States

At Cortez-Montezuma County Airport, the summers are hot, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are freezing, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 15°F to 88°F and is rarely below 1°F or above 95°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Cortez-Montezuma County Airport for warm-weather activities is from mid June to late August.

The hot season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 29 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is July, with an average high of 88°F and low of 55°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 20 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 49°F. The coldest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is January, with an average low of 16°F and high of 40°F.

At Cortez-Montezuma County Airport, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport begins around August 13 and lasts for 2.6 months, ending around November 2.

The clearest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 2 and lasts for 9.4 months, ending around August 13.

The cloudiest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.2 months, from July 8 to March 15, with a greater than 14% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is August, with an average of 6.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 3.8 months, from March 15 to July 8. The month with the fewest wet days at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is June, with an average of 2.0 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 11 months, from January 28 to December 13. The month with the most days of rain alone at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is August, with an average of 6.7 days.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 1.5 months, from December 13 to January 28. The month with the most days of mixed snow and rain at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is February, with an average of 1.6 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cortez-Montezuma County Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport. The month with the most rain at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is September, with an average rainfall of 1.3 inches.

The month with the least rain at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 0.4 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cortez-Montezuma County Airport experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.7 months, from November 6 to March 28, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 3.2 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from March 28 to November 6. The least snow falls around July 30, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 36 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 44 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:53 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 47 minutes later at 7:40 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:56 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 43 minutes later at 8:39 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from February 9 to June 23, with average wind speeds of more than 6.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.5 months, from June 23 to February 9. The calmest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.6 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 7.4 months, from March 8 to October 19, with a peak percentage of 43% on June 12. The wind is most often from the north for 4.6 months, from October 19 to March 8, with a peak percentage of 35% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cortez-Montezuma County Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to late August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cortez-Montezuma County Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early August, with a peak score in the first week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport typically lasts for 4.4 months (134 days), from around May 20 to around October 1, rarely starting before April 27 or after June 13, and rarely ending before September 13 or after October 19.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport should appear around April 7, only rarely appearing before March 25 or after April 22.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from May 2 to July 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is June, with an average of 8.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 1 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is December, with an average of 2.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cortez-Montezuma County Airport are 37.303 deg latitude, -108.629 deg longitude, and 5,912 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cortez-Montezuma County Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 394 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,946 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (4,521 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,976 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Cortez-Montezuma County Airport is covered by shrubs (60%), cropland (28%), and grassland (12%), within 10 miles by shrubs (65%) and cropland (18%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (71%) and trees (22%).