Average Weather in Tierra Amarilla New Mexico, United States

1. World
2. United States
3. New Mexico
4. Rio Arriba County
5. Tierra Amarilla

In Tierra Amarilla, the summers are warm and dry, the winters are freezing and snowy, and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 12°F to 81°F and is rarely below 0°F or above 87°F.

The warm season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 28 to September 17, with an average daily high temperature above 71°F. The hottest day of the year is July 6, with an average high of 81°F and low of 52°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 22 to February 25, with an average daily high temperature below 44°F. The coldest day of the year is January 8, with an average low of 12°F and high of 35°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 Tierra Amarilla, 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 Tierra Amarilla begins around September 1 and lasts for 2.2 months, ending around November 7. On September 29, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 20% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 7 and lasts for 9.8 months, ending around September 1. On February 15, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 40% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% 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 Tierra Amarilla varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.6 months, from July 8 to September 25, with a greater than 19% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 30% on August 10.

The drier season lasts 9.5 months, from September 25 to July 8. The smallest chance of a wet day is 8% on June 9.

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 Tierra Amarilla changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 9.1 months, from February 19 to November 23. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 30% on August 10.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.5 months, from December 4 to February 19. The highest chance of a day with snow alone is 8% on December 28.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 1.6 weeks, from November 23 to December 4. The highest chance of a day with mixed snow and rain is 6% on November 26.

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. Tierra Amarilla experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.7 months, from March 8 to November 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 6, with an average total accumulation of 1.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 29 to March 8. The least rain falls around January 16, with an average total accumulation of 0.2 inches.

Snowfall

We report snowfall in liquid-equivalent terms. The actual depth of new snowfall is typically between 5 and 10 times the liquid-equivalent amount, assuming the ground is frozen. Colder, drier snow tends to be on the higher end of that range and warmer, wetter snow on the lower end.

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from October 26 to April 13, with a sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent snowfall of at least 0.1 inches. The most snow falls during the 31 days centered around January 4, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.5 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from April 13 to October 26. The least snow falls around July 28, with an average total liquid-equivalent accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Tierra Amarilla varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 39 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 41 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:46 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 46 minutes later at 7:33 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:49 PM on December 6, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 39 minutes later at 8:29 PM on June 27.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from February 5 to June 24, with average wind speeds of more than 3.6 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is April 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.3 months, from June 24 to February 5. The calmest day of the year is August 3, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.6 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Tierra Amarilla 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 28 to July 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 12, with an average of 8.4 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 4.0 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 22, with an average of 2.9 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tierra Amarilla are 36.700 deg latitude, -106.550 deg longitude, and 7,562 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tierra Amarilla contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 636 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 7,601 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (3,878 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,543 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tierra Amarilla is covered by shrubs (52%), trees (19%), cropland (15%), and grassland (14%), within 10 miles by shrubs (58%) and trees (30%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (50%) and trees (44%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Tierra Amarilla, 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 4 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Tierra Amarilla.

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

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Stevens Field (30%, 79 kilometers, northwest); Taos Regional Airport (27%, 84 kilometers, east); Los Alamos County Airport (23%, 94 kilometers, south); and San Luis Valley Regional Airport (20%, 102 kilometers, northeast).

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.