Climate and Average Weather Year Round in La Cienega United States

In La Cienega, the summers are warm; the winters are short, very cold, and snowy; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 21°F to 88°F and is rarely below 11°F or above 95°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit La Cienega for warm-weather activities is from early June to early September.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 24 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in La Cienega is July, with an average high of 87°F and low of 60°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 21 to February 19, with an average daily high temperature below 52°F. The coldest month of the year in La Cienega is December, with an average low of 23°F and high of 44°F.

In La Cienega, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in La Cienega begins around May 15 and lasts for 1.8 months, ending around July 7.

The clearest month of the year in La Cienega is June, 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 July 7 and lasts for 10 months, ending around May 15.

The cloudiest month of the year in La Cienega is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 37% 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 Cienega varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.2 months, from July 3 to September 8, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in La Cienega is August, with an average of 9.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.8 months, from September 8 to July 3. The month with the fewest wet days in La Cienega is January, with an average of 2.4 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 in La Cienega changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 12 months, from January 10 to December 27. The month with the most days of rain alone in La Cienega is August, with an average of 9.6 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.0 weeks, from December 27 to January 10. The month with the most days of snow alone in La Cienega is December, with an average of 0.9 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. La Cienega experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.5 months, from April 2 to November 18, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in La Cienega is August, with an average rainfall of 1.6 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.5 months, from November 18 to April 2. The month with the least rain in La Cienega is January, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 17 to February 25, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in La Cienega is December, with an average snowfall of 2.1 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.7 months, from February 25 to November 17. The least snow falls around July 18, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in La Cienega varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 45 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 34 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:48 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 40 minutes later at 7:27 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:51 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 33 minutes later at 8:24 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in La Cienega 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 in La Cienega, 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 Cienega experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from January 7 to June 20, with average wind speeds of more than 7.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in La Cienega is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.6 months, from June 20 to January 7. The calmest month of the year in La Cienega is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in La Cienega varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 1.2 months, from July 5 to August 12, with a peak percentage of 35% on July 20. The wind is most often from the west for 11 months, from August 12 to July 5, with a peak percentage of 44% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in La Cienega 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 Cienega for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to early September, with a peak score in the last week of June.

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 Cienega for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late July, 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 in La Cienega typically lasts for 5.8 months (176 days), from around April 27 to around October 20, rarely starting before April 6 or after May 16, and rarely ending before October 3 or after November 6.

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 Cienega should appear around March 26, only rarely appearing before March 13 or after April 9.

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 2.8 months, from April 21 to July 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in La Cienega is June, with an average of 8.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 4 to February 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in La Cienega is December, with an average of 3.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of La Cienega are 35.563 deg latitude, -106.131 deg longitude, and 5,925 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of La Cienega contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 610 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,074 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,142 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (8,127 feet).

The area within 2 miles of La Cienega is covered by shrubs (92%), within 10 miles by shrubs (77%) and grassland (21%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (51%) and trees (35%).