Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Rio Rancho New Mexico, United States

In Rio Rancho, the summers are hot and dry, the winters are very cold and snowy, and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 25°F to 92°F and is rarely below 16°F or above 98°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Rio Rancho for warm-weather activities is from late May to mid September.

The hot season lasts for 3.7 months, from May 24 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 82°F. The hottest month of the year in Rio Rancho is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 65°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 20 to February 19, with an average daily high temperature below 55°F. The coldest month of the year in Rio Rancho is December, with an average low of 27°F and high of 47°F.

In Rio Rancho, 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 Rio Rancho begins around May 16 and lasts for 1.7 months, ending around July 8.

The clearest month of the year in Rio Rancho is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 79% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around July 8 and lasts for 10 months, ending around May 16.

The cloudiest month of the year in Rio Rancho 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 Rio Rancho varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.0 months, from July 6 to September 7, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Rio Rancho is August, with an average of 8.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 10.0 months, from September 7 to July 6. The month with the fewest wet days in Rio Rancho is February, with an average of 1.8 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 Rio Rancho is August, with an average of 8.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 31% on August 8.

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. Rio Rancho experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from June 17 to November 9, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Rio Rancho is August, with an average rainfall of 1.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from November 9 to June 17. The month with the least rain in Rio Rancho 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. Rio Rancho experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.5 weeks, from December 20 to January 14, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Rio Rancho is January, with an average snowfall of 1.0 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 11 months, from January 14 to December 20. The least snow falls around July 19, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Rio Rancho varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 47 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 32 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:51 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 38 minutes later at 7:29 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:54 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 31 minutes later at 8:25 PM on June 28.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from January 26 to June 18, with average wind speeds of more than 8.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Rio Rancho is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.2 months, from June 18 to January 26. The calmest month of the year in Rio Rancho is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Rio Rancho varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 2.7 months, from June 29 to September 19, with a peak percentage of 39% on July 19. The wind is most often from the west for 9.3 months, from September 19 to June 29, with a peak percentage of 43% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Rio Rancho 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 Rio Rancho for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to mid September, with a peak score in the third 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 Rio Rancho 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 in Rio Rancho typically lasts for 6.6 months (202 days), from around April 10 to around October 29, rarely starting before March 17 or after April 30, and rarely ending before October 11 or after November 17.

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 Rio Rancho should appear around March 15, only rarely appearing before March 1 or after March 29.

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 2.9 months, from April 21 to July 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Rio Rancho is June, with an average of 8.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 3 to February 8, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Rio Rancho is December, with an average of 3.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Rio Rancho are 35.233 deg latitude, -106.664 deg longitude, and 5,279 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Rio Rancho contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 443 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 5,244 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (3,169 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,516 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Rio Rancho is covered by shrubs (93%), within 10 miles by shrubs (83%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (70%) and trees (15%).