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Carlsbad, New Mexico climate

BWk Cold desert

Carlsbad has a seasonal mild-temperate climate (Cold desert, Köppen BWk). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 95°F, while the coldest is December averaging around 30°F at night. Precipitation totals about 12 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — September alone averages 2.6 inches while January barely receives 0.37 inches.

☀️ Summers

Very hot

Highs near 95°F in July.

About 118 days a year above 90 °F

❄️ Winters

Cold

Lows near 30°F in December.

About 69 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain

Fairly dry

About 12 in of rain a year.

Wettest in September

⛅ Sky & trend

Fairly sunny

More sun than cloud through the year.

+0.6 °F vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Clear vs cloudy days

Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day counts

Carlsbad climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	58	63	71	80	88	96	95	94	87	78	66	57
Avg temp (°F)	44	48	56	64	73	81	82	81	74	63	51	44
Avg low (°F)	30	34	40	48	57	66	69	68	61	49	37	30
Precipitation (in)	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.5	1.2	1.2	1.8	1.7	2.6	0.9	0.5	0.5

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°F)	58	63	71	80	88	96
Avg temp (°F)	44	48	56	64	73	81
Avg low (°F)	30	34	40	48	57	66
Precipitation (in)	0.4	0.4	0.5	0.5	1.2	1.2

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	95	94	87	78	66	57
Avg temp (°F)	82	81	74	63	51	44
Avg low (°F)	69	68	61	49	37	30
Precipitation (in)	1.8	1.7	2.6	0.9	0.5	0.5

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	4	3	3	2	4	4	6	6	6	4	3	3
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	0.0	0.8	5	17	25	26	25	14	4	0.1	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	21	13	5	0.7	0.0	—	—	—	—	0.9	9	19
Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days)	0.3	0.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.2

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	4	3	3	2	4	4
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	0.0	0.8	5	17	25
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	21	13	5	0.7	0.0	—
Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days)	0.3	0.1	—	—	—	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	6	6	6	4	3	3
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	26	25	14	4	0.1	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	—	—	—	0.9	9	19
Days with snowfall ≥ 1 in (days)	—	—	—	—	—	0.2

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	43	46	44	38	38	38	48	48	39	34	38	45
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	13	10	12	15	14	13	9	10	14	17	15	12
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	10	10	11	10	10	12	14	13	10	8	8	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	8	8	8	6	6	5	8	8	6	6	7	8
Relative humidity (%)	50	44	38	31	32	35	43	46	49	46	47	51
Wind speed (mph)	6.8	7.5	7.9	8.5	7.7	7.1	6.1	5.4	5.6	6.1	6.2	6.4

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	43	46	44	38	38	38
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	13	10	12	15	14	13
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	10	10	11	10	10	12
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	8	8	8	6	6	5
Relative humidity (%)	50	44	38	31	32	35
Wind speed (mph)	6.8	7.5	7.9	8.5	7.7	7.1

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	48	48	39	34	38	45
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	9	10	14	17	15	12
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	14	13	10	8	8	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	8	8	6	6	7	8
Relative humidity (%)	43	46	49	46	47	51
Wind speed (mph)	6.1	5.4	5.6	6.1	6.2	6.4

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Cavern City AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00093033), about 10 km from the city centre.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →