Average Weather in Roswell New Mexico, United States

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4. Chaves County
5. Roswell

In Roswell, the summers are long and hot; the winters are short, chilly, dry, and windy; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 28°F to 95°F and is rarely below 18°F or above 103°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 17 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 87°F. The hottest day of the year is June 25, with an average high of 95°F and low of 67°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.8 months, from November 22 to February 16, with an average daily high temperature below 63°F. The coldest day of the year is January 1, with an average low of 28°F and high of 55°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 Roswell, 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 Roswell begins around April 17 and lasts for 2.9 months, ending around July 13. On June 10, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 79% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 21% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around July 13 and lasts for 9.1 months, ending around April 17. On February 23, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 37% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 63% 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 Roswell varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.5 months, from June 13 to September 28, with a greater than 16% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 29% on August 10.

The drier season lasts 8.5 months, from September 28 to June 13. The smallest chance of a wet day is 4% on January 10.

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 throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 29% on August 10.

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. Roswell experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.5 months, from April 23 to November 8, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 15, with an average total accumulation of 1.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from November 8 to April 23. The least rain falls around January 15, with an average total accumulation of 0.1 inches.

The length of the day in Roswell varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 56 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 22 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:47 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 32 minutes later at 7:19 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:50 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 22 minutes later at 8:11 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Roswell 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 Roswell, 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, staying within 3% of 3% 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 Roswell experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.3 months, from January 12 to June 22, with average wind speeds of more than 5.1 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is April 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.7 months, from June 22 to January 12. The calmest day of the year is August 15, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 5.1 months, from May 18 to October 20, with a peak percentage of 69% on July 22. The wind is most often from the west for 6.9 months, from October 20 to May 18, with a peak percentage of 47% on January 1.

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 3.6 months, from April 10 to July 29, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 10, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.0 months, from November 6 to February 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.3 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 20, with an average of 3.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Roswell are 33.394 deg latitude, -104.525 deg longitude, and 3,599 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Roswell is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 89 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,587 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (715 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (6,900 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Roswell is covered by shrubs (48%), artificial surfaces (26%), and cropland (20%), within 10 miles by shrubs (74%) and cropland (18%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (66%) and grassland (31%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Roswell, 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 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Roswell.

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

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Roswell Industrial Air Center Airport (97%, 10 kilometers, south); Sierra Blanca Regional Airport (1.9%, 92 kilometers, west); and Cannon Air Force Base (1.5%, 157 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.