Average Weather in Silver City New Mexico, United States

1. World
2. United States
3. New Mexico
4. Grant County
5. Silver City

In Silver City, the summers are warm and partly cloudy and the winters are chilly, dry, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 27°F to 88°F and is rarely below 18°F or above 95°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 23 to September 14, with an average daily high temperature above 81°F. The hottest day of the year is June 29, with an average high of 88°F and low of 60°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 22 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 58°F. The coldest day of the year is January 4, with an average low of 27°F and high of 51°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Silver City, 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 Silver City begins around September 2 and lasts for 3.2 months, ending around December 7. On September 29, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 19% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around December 7 and lasts for 8.8 months, ending around September 2. On July 30, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 47% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 53% 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 Silver City varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.2 months, from July 4 to September 9, with a greater than 23% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 43% on August 4.

The drier season lasts 9.8 months, from September 9 to July 4. The smallest chance of a wet day is 4% on April 14.

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 throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on August 4.

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. Silver City experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.9 months, from June 15 to February 12, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around July 31, with an average total accumulation of 2.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from February 12 to June 15. The least rain falls around April 10, with an average total accumulation of 0.2 inches.

Snowfall

The sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent quantity of snowfall in Silver City does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 0.1 inches of 0.1 inches throughout.

The length of the day in Silver City varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 60 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 19 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:04 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 29 minutes later at 7:33 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:06 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 19 minutes later at 8:25 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Silver City during 2017, starting in the spring on March 12, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 5.

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 Silver City, 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 Silver City experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from January 29 to June 24, with average wind speeds of more than 4.3 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is April 16, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.2 months, from June 24 to January 29. The calmest day of the year is August 15, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Silver City varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 2.0 months, from July 20 to September 19, with a peak percentage of 36% on September 2. The wind is most often from the west for 10 months, from September 19 to July 20, with a peak percentage of 39% on January 1.

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 2.7 months, from April 14 to July 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.4 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 8, with an average of 8.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 5 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.4 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 20, with an average of 3.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Silver City are 32.770 deg latitude, -108.280 deg longitude, and 6,040 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Silver City contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 886 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,046 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,009 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (7,228 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Silver City is covered by shrubs (95%), within 10 miles by shrubs (64%) and trees (27%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (71%) and trees (26%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Silver City, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Silver City.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Silver City according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Silver City is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Silver City and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Silver City Airport (85%, 19 kilometers, southeast); Truth or Consequences Municipal Airport (9%, 108 kilometers, northeast); and Safford Municipal Airport (6%, 127 kilometers, west).

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.