Average Weather in Gallup New Mexico, United States

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3. New Mexico
4. McKinley County
5. Gallup

In Gallup, the summers are warm, the winters are freezing and windy, and it is dry and mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 16°F to 87°F and is rarely below 2°F or above 93°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 29 to September 16, with an average daily high temperature above 78°F. The hottest day of the year is July 4, with an average high of 87°F and low of 53°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 21 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 52°F. The coldest day of the year is January 8, with an average low of 16°F and high of 43°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 Gallup, 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 Gallup begins around August 30 and lasts for 2.1 months, ending around November 2. On September 29, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 18% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 2 and lasts for 9.9 months, ending around August 30. On February 5, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 39% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 61% 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 Gallup varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.0 months, from July 9 to September 9, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 30% on August 5.

The drier season lasts 10 months, from September 9 to July 9. The smallest chance of a wet day is 4% on June 8.

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 in Gallup changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 11 months, from January 2 to January 11 and from January 21 to December 23. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 30% on August 5.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 2.9 weeks, from January 11 to January 21 and from December 23 to January 2. The highest chance of a day with mixed snow and rain is 4% on December 29.

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. Gallup experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from June 27 to November 12, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 3, with an average total accumulation of 1.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from November 12 to June 27. The least rain falls around June 3, with an average total accumulation of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

The sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent quantity of snowfall in Gallup 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 Gallup varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 45 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 34 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:58 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 41 minutes later at 7:40 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:01 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 33 minutes later at 8:34 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Gallup 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 Gallup, 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 Gallup experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.9 months, from January 29 to June 27, with average wind speeds of more than 5.1 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is April 10, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.1 months, from June 27 to January 29. The calmest day of the year is August 15, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.6 miles per hour.

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

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 2.6 months, from April 25 to July 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 12, with an average of 8.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 3 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 24, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Gallup are 35.528 deg latitude, -108.743 deg longitude, and 6,640 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Gallup contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 492 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,606 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,549 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,934 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Gallup is covered by shrubs (100%), within 10 miles by shrubs (96%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (74%) and trees (20%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Gallup, 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 Gallup.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Gallup 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 Gallup is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Gallup and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Gallup Municipal Airport (97%, 4.9 kilometers, west); Grants-Milan Municipal Airport (2.3%, 86 kilometers, southeast); and Four Corners Regional Airport (1.0%, 143 kilometers, north).

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.