Average Weather in Tucumcari New Mexico, United States

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4. Quay County
5. Tucumcari

In Tucumcari, the summers are hot; the winters are chilly, dry, and windy; and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 26°F to 94°F and is rarely below 14°F or above 102°F.

The hot season lasts for 3.6 months, from May 25 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 86°F. The hottest day of the year is July 5, with an average high of 94°F and low of 67°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 22 to February 21, with an average daily high temperature below 61°F. The coldest day of the year is January 5, with an average low of 26°F and high of 52°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 Tucumcari, 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 Tucumcari begins around August 22 and lasts for 2.6 months, ending around November 9. On October 5, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 78% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 22% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 9 and lasts for 9.4 months, ending around August 22. On February 15, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 38% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 62% 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 Tucumcari varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.8 months, from May 21 to September 16, with a greater than 20% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 36% on August 11.

The drier season lasts 8.2 months, from September 16 to May 21. The smallest chance of a wet day is 4% on January 11.

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 Tucumcari changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 11 months, from February 1 to December 26. The highest chance of a day with rain alone is 36% on August 11.

Snow alone is the most common for 1.2 months, from December 26 to February 1. The highest chance of a day with snow alone is 3% on December 15.

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. Tucumcari experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 8.1 months, from March 13 to November 15, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around August 3, with an average total accumulation of 2.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from November 15 to March 13. The least rain falls around January 12, with an average total accumulation of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

The sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent quantity of snowfall in Tucumcari does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 0.1 inches of 0.1 inches throughout.

The length of the day in Tucumcari varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 47 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 32 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:39 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 39 minutes later at 7:19 AM on November 4. The earliest sunset is at 4:42 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 31 minutes later at 8:13 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Tucumcari 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 Tucumcari, 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 1% of 1% 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 Tucumcari experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from February 2 to June 26, with average wind speeds of more than 5.8 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is April 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.1 months, from June 26 to February 2. The calmest day of the year is August 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 5.4 months, from May 5 to October 16, with a peak percentage of 66% on July 19. The wind is most often from the west for 6.6 months, from October 16 to May 5, with a peak percentage of 46% 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 extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from April 14 to August 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 11, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 5 to February 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.1 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 20, with an average of 3.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Tucumcari are 35.172 deg latitude, -103.727 deg longitude, and 4,075 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Tucumcari contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 289 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,089 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,152 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,493 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Tucumcari is covered by shrubs (41%), grassland (26%), and cropland (23%), within 10 miles by grassland (67%) and shrubs (23%), and within 50 miles by grassland (72%) and shrubs (23%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Tucumcari, 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 Tucumcari.

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

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Tucumcari Municipal Airport (97%, 11 kilometers, east); Las Vegas Municipal Airport (1.8%, 139 kilometers, northwest); and Raton Municipal Airport/Crews Field (1.3%, 188 kilometers, north).

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.