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

In Carlsbad, the summers are hot; the winters are short, cold, snowy, and windy; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 31°F to 97°F and is rarely below 21°F or above 105°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit Carlsbad for warm-weather activities are from late April to mid July and from early August to early October.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 15 to September 10, with an average daily high temperature above 89°F. The hottest month of the year in Carlsbad is July, with an average high of 96°F and low of 70°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from November 21 to February 16, with an average daily high temperature below 65°F. The coldest month of the year in Carlsbad is December, with an average low of 32°F and high of 59°F.

In Carlsbad, 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 Carlsbad begins around April 20 and lasts for 2.7 months, ending around July 12.

The clearest month of the year in Carlsbad 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 12 and lasts for 9.3 months, ending around April 20.

The cloudiest month of the year in Carlsbad 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 Carlsbad varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from May 27 to October 2, with a greater than 15% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Carlsbad is August, with an average of 7.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.8 months, from October 2 to May 27. The month with the fewest wet days in Carlsbad is January, with an average of 1.5 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 Carlsbad is August, with an average of 7.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 26% on July 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. Carlsbad experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 24 to November 10, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Carlsbad is September, with an average rainfall of 1.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from November 10 to April 24. The month with the least rain in Carlsbad is January, with an average rainfall of 0.2 inches.

The length of the day in Carlsbad varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 1 minute of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 17 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:49 AM on June 11, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 26 minutes later at 7:15 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:51 PM on December 3, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 17 minutes later at 8:08 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Carlsbad 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.

Carlsbad experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from June 10 to October 1, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 3% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Carlsbad is August, with 3.8 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 13, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Carlsbad experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from January 17 to June 12, with average wind speeds of more than 9.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Carlsbad is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.2 months, from June 12 to January 17. The calmest month of the year in Carlsbad is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.7 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 4.8 months, from May 24 to October 19, with a peak percentage of 62% on July 22. The wind is most often from the west for 7.2 months, from October 19 to May 24, with a peak percentage of 47% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Carlsbad 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 times of year to visit Carlsbad for general outdoor tourist activities are from late April to mid July and from early August to early October, with a peak score in the first 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 Carlsbad for hot-weather activities is from early June to late 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 Carlsbad typically lasts for 7.7 months (236 days), from around March 21 to around November 12, rarely starting before February 27 or after April 13, and rarely ending before October 24 or after December 1.

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 Carlsbad should appear around February 1, only rarely appearing before January 21 or after February 16.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from April 9 to July 30, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Carlsbad is June, with an average of 7.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 5 to February 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Carlsbad is December, with an average of 3.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Carlsbad are 32.421 deg latitude, -104.229 deg longitude, and 3,100 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Carlsbad contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 125 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,120 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (988 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,620 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Carlsbad is covered by shrubs (56%), cropland (21%), and artificial surfaces (13%), within 10 miles by shrubs (86%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (83%) and grassland (15%).