New Mexico Climate
Top 5 Cities: Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, and Roswell
This month in numbers
New Mexico experienced its warmest February to April period on record, with an average temperature of 11.32°C, an anomaly of +4.6°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. This marks the 1st warmest such period in 77 years of records. Maximum temperatures for the same three-month period also ranked 1st, reaching 20.5°C, a significant +5.3°C above average. In contrast, precipitation for February to April was exceptionally low, ranking as the 76th driest on record with only 5.67 mm, a deficit of 10.2 mm. April 2026 alone was the 6th warmest April on record, with an average temperature of 13.22°C, 2.4°C above the baseline.
What changed
This exceptionally warm and dry three-month trend for New Mexico stands in stark contrast to the national picture, where the contiguous United States experienced a more modest +1.9°C temperature anomaly in April. New Mexico's three-month temperature anomaly of +4.6°C places it as the 7th warmest region globally in our cross-region rankings, highlighting a striking concentration of warmth across US states, with 9 of the top 10 warmest regions being in the US. The state's snowpack is at a historic low, and spring temperatures have soared to record highs, leading to record low runoff and below-average river flows.
What’s driving change?
The significant warming and drying trend in New Mexico is being driven by a combination of factors, including and . The historically low snowpack and soaring spring temperatures have led to extremely dry soil conditions, which in turn amplify warming as the land cannot cool itself through evaporation. New Mexico is also experiencing an unusual concentration of extreme weather events, with four wildfires and two drought events recorded in the past month, representing 100% of the annual total for each type, alongside a recent flood event. These conditions have prompted Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to declare a statewide drought and severe fire emergency. The current ENSO state is Neutral, but forecasts indicate a strong likelihood of El Niño developing by May-July, with an 82% chance, and persisting through the winter. Historically, El Niño winters in the Southwest USA tend to be wetter, which could offer some relief to the ongoing drought. More information on active extreme weather events can be found at Extreme Weather tracker and on the evolving ENSO phase at ENSO tracker.
Looking ahead
The NOAA CPC 3-month outlook suggests that El Niño is likely to emerge in the coming months and continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27, which typically brings wetter conditions to the Southwest USA.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for New Mexico
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in New Mexico changing?
New Mexico is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for New Mexico come from?
Climate data for New Mexico comes from NOAA Climate at a Glance (temperature and precipitation), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the New Mexico climate data cover?
The New Mexico climate profile covers Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe and surrounding areas. New Mexico climate data from NOAA Climate at a Glance
How often is the New Mexico climate update refreshed?
The New Mexico climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.