Climate and Average Weather Year Round in La Junta Chile

In La Junta, the summers are comfortable and mostly cloudy, the winters are very cold and overcast, and it is wet year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 36°F to 68°F and is rarely below 27°F or above 79°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit La Junta for warm-weather activities is from late December to early March.

The warm season lasts for 3.1 months, from December 11 to March 14, with an average daily high temperature above 64°F. The hottest month of the year in La Junta is January, with an average high of 68°F and low of 50°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.2 months, from May 21 to August 26, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F. The coldest month of the year in La Junta is July, with an average low of 36°F and high of 47°F.

In La Junta, 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 in La Junta begins around September 20 and lasts for 6.2 months, ending around March 27.

The clearest month of the year in La Junta is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 39% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 27 and lasts for 5.8 months, ending around September 20.

The cloudiest month of the year in La Junta is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 82% 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 in La Junta varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.2 months, from April 3 to September 8, with a greater than 42% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in La Junta is June, with an average of 15.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.8 months, from September 8 to April 3. The month with the fewest wet days in La Junta is January, with an average of 9.9 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. The month with the most days of rain alone in La Junta is June, with an average of 15.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 53% on May 27.

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. La Junta experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in La Junta. The month with the most rain in La Junta is June, with an average rainfall of 6.9 inches.

The month with the least rain in La Junta is January, with an average rainfall of 3.2 inches.

The length of the day in La Junta varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 8 hours, 53 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 15 hours, 29 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:00 AM on December 10, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 25 minutes later at 8:25 AM on June 26. The earliest sunset is at 5:17 PM on June 14, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 18 minutes later at 9:35 PM on January 2.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in La Junta during 2024, starting in the spring on September 8 and ending in the fall on April 6.

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 in La Junta, 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 in La Junta does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.5 miles per hour of 5.1 miles per hour throughout.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in La Junta is from the west throughout the year.

La Junta is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.9 months, from December 18 to March 15, with an average temperature above 55°F. The month of the year in La Junta with the warmest water is January, with an average temperature of 56°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.2 months, from May 30 to October 3, with an average temperature below 51°F. The month of the year in La Junta with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 49°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in La Junta 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 La Junta for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to early March, with a peak score in the last week of January.

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 La Junta for hot-weather activities is from mid January to late February, with a peak score in the last week of January.

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 in La Junta typically lasts for 6.8 months (206 days), from around October 1 to around April 25, rarely starting before August 28 or after October 31, and rarely ending before March 30 or after May 28.

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 in La Junta should appear around October 12, only rarely appearing before October 1 or after October 26.

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 3.5 months, from November 6 to February 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in La Junta is January, with an average of 6.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from April 22 to August 23, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in La Junta is June, with an average of 0.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of La Junta are -43.974 deg latitude, -72.406 deg longitude, and 167 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of La Junta contains extreme variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 3,442 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 581 feet. Within 10 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,013 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,844 feet).

The area within 2 miles of La Junta is covered by trees (93%), within 10 miles by trees (79%) and shrubs (12%), and within 50 miles by trees (50%) and water (17%).