Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Las Animas United States

In Las Animas, the summers are hot and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 19°F to 95°F and is rarely below 4°F or above 102°F.

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

The hot season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 31 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 85°F. The hottest month of the year in Las Animas is July, with an average high of 94°F and low of 65°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 22 to February 22, with an average daily high temperature below 55°F. The coldest month of the year in Las Animas is January, with an average low of 20°F and high of 46°F.

In Las Animas, 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 Las Animas begins around May 31 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around November 6.

The clearest month of the year in Las Animas is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 75% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 6 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around May 31.

The cloudiest month of the year in Las Animas is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 41% 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 Las Animas varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from April 30 to September 5, with a greater than 17% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Las Animas is July, with an average of 8.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.8 months, from September 5 to April 30. The month with the fewest wet days in Las Animas is December, with an average of 1.1 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. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Las Animas changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 9.8 months, from February 5 to November 29. The month with the most days of rain alone in Las Animas is July, with an average of 8.5 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.2 months, from November 29 to February 5. The month with the most days of snow alone in Las Animas is January, with an average of 1.0 days.

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. Las Animas experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from March 20 to October 31, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Las Animas is July, with an average rainfall of 1.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from October 31 to March 20. The month with the least rain in Las Animas is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from November 30 to April 5, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Las Animas is January, with an average snowfall of 1.6 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.8 months, from April 5 to November 30. The least snow falls around July 12, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Las Animas varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 31 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 49 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:29 AM on June 13, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 51 minutes later at 7:20 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:32 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 47 minutes later at 8:19 PM on June 27.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from February 29 to June 25, with average wind speeds of more than 10.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Las Animas is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 8.1 months, from June 25 to February 29. The calmest month of the year in Las Animas is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.9 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the north for 1.3 weeks, from February 11 to February 20 and for 1.7 months, from March 2 to April 24, with a peak percentage of 30% on February 13. The wind is most often from the west for 1.6 weeks, from February 20 to March 2 and for 3.6 months, from October 23 to February 11, with a peak percentage of 29% on February 25. The wind is most often from the south for 6.0 months, from April 24 to October 23, with a peak percentage of 45% on July 16.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Las Animas 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 Las Animas for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

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 Las Animas for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid August, with a peak score in the second 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 Las Animas typically lasts for 5.8 months (178 days), from around April 19 to around October 13, rarely starting before April 1 or after May 6, and rarely ending before September 25 or after October 31.

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 Las Animas should appear around March 10, only rarely appearing before February 24 or after March 28.

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 3.4 months, from April 24 to August 6, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Las Animas is June, with an average of 8.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 4 to February 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Las Animas is December, with an average of 2.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Las Animas are 38.067 deg latitude, -103.223 deg longitude, and 3,894 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Las Animas is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 82 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 3,898 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (502 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,165 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Las Animas is covered by grassland (48%), shrubs (27%), and cropland (19%), within 10 miles by grassland (63%) and shrubs (22%), and within 50 miles by grassland (70%) and shrubs (18%).