Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Chimayo United States

In Chimayo, the summers are warm and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 22°F to 85°F and is rarely below 11°F or above 92°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 27 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 77°F. The hottest month of the year in Chimayo is July, with an average high of 84°F and low of 60°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.1 months, from November 20 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F. The coldest month of the year in Chimayo is January, with an average low of 23°F and high of 43°F.

In Chimayo, 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 Chimayo begins around September 1 and lasts for 2.3 months, ending around November 10.

The clearest month of the year in Chimayo is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 76% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 10 and lasts for 9.7 months, ending around September 1.

The cloudiest month of the year in Chimayo is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 39% 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 Chimayo varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.2 months, from July 1 to September 8, with a greater than 23% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Chimayo is August, with an average of 10.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.8 months, from September 8 to July 1. The month with the fewest wet days in Chimayo is January, with an average of 2.5 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 Chimayo is August, with an average of 10.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 38% on August 1.

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. Chimayo experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.7 months, from March 5 to November 26, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Chimayo is August, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 26 to March 5. The month with the least rain in Chimayo is January, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 27 to March 1, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Chimayo is January, with an average snowfall of 1.7 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.9 months, from March 1 to November 27. The least snow falls around July 17, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Chimayo varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 43 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 37 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:46 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 41 minutes later at 7:27 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:49 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 35 minutes later at 8:24 PM on June 28.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.7 months, from October 28 to June 20, with average wind speeds of more than 6.8 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Chimayo is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.3 months, from June 20 to October 28. The calmest month of the year in Chimayo is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.0 miles per hour.

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

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Chimayo 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 Chimayo 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 Chimayo 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 Chimayo typically lasts for 6.1 months (185 days), from around April 21 to around October 23, rarely starting before March 31 or after May 11, and rarely ending before October 5 or after November 11.

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 Chimayo should appear around April 4, only rarely appearing before March 22 or after April 17.

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 23 to July 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Chimayo is June, with an average of 8.2 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 Chimayo is December, with an average of 3.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Chimayo are 36.004 deg latitude, -105.947 deg longitude, and 6,073 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Chimayo contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,155 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 6,210 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,049 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (7,982 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Chimayo is covered by shrubs (83%) and cropland (14%), within 10 miles by shrubs (73%) and trees (21%), and within 50 miles by trees (50%) and shrubs (42%).