Record breaking winter warmth continued as February 2026 was much warmer than average with below average precipitation. The average temperature was 38.2 degrees, about 7.1 degrees above average, making it the 5th warmest February on record. Most of the warmth came from daytime highs, as the average high for the month was 54.2 degrees, over 9 degrees above average.

For the winter months of Dec-Jan-Feb, it was the 2nd warmest on record (first warmest was 1906-07). The average high for winter ended up at 49.8 degrees (nearly 50 degrees!), the second warmest on record (first warmest was 1980-81). If you include the month of November, the four month period Nov through Feb ended up as the warmest on record (second warmest was 2017-2018), again mainly due to the daytime highs .

It was a little on the dry side though, as precipitation for the month was 0.46 inches at my northside location, nearly a quarter of an inch below average. Similar amounts fell across the northern half of the valley, with slightly lower amounts (around 0.30 to 0.40 inches) in the southern parts of the valley. Most of the precipitation fell as rain, with monthly snowfall at just 1.5 inches, the 12th least amount of snow in February.

The month started out very warm and dry during the first 10 days with highs in the 50s and lows from 15 to 25. A mild weather system brought all rain to the region on the 13th and 14th, with slightly cooler readings for a few days. Windy and colder weather blew through the area from the 17th to the 21st, with some snow showers mainly on the 20th as highs fell into the mid 30s to low 40s.

It then warmed up and remained dry the rest of the month as highs climbed into the 60s with lows in the 20s. The last 5 days of the month were quite warm with highs in the mid 60s, with daily records for warm high temperatures set on the 27th and 28th.

The warmest high was 67 degrees on the 25th (1 degree shy of the daily and monthly record), while the coldest high was 34 degrees on the 19th. The coldest low was 7 degrees on the 21st, while the warmest low was 31 degrees on the 16th.

Overall, wind speeds for the month were a little below average, but there were some windy periods, especially on the 17th to the 20th with several peak gusts over 35 mph. Strongest winds occurred on the 17th and 18th, with a peak gust of 46 mph on both days.

Here are the actual numbers for the month at my location…

Average Temp . . . . 38.2 degrees, +7.1 degrees above average (5th warmest)

Average High . . . . . 54.2 degrees, +9.2 degrees above average (1st warmest)

Average Low. . . . . . 22.2 degrees, +4.9 degrees above average

Total Pcpn . . . . . . . 0.46 inches, -0.23 inches below average

Total Snow . . . . . . . 1.5 inches, -5.7 inches below average (12th least snow)

FEB 2026 DAILY DATA for 4 NNW Taos

DATE	HIGH	LOW	DAILY DEP.	MON. DEP.	PCPN	SNOW	REMARK
1	54	18	+8.3	+8.3
2	55	18	+9.3	+8.8
3	51	18	+6.8	+8.1
4	49	17	+4.6	+7.2
5	57	19	+8.8	+7.5
6	59	21	+11.7	+8.2
7	57	25	+11.9	+8.8
8	56	20	+8.0	+8.7
9	59	22	+10.8	+8.9
10	58	21	+9.5	+9.0
11	57	29	+12.9	+9.3
12	58	30	+13.2	+9.6	0.02″
13	49	30	+8.2	+9.5	0.28″
14	50	28	+7.2	+9.4	0.02″
15	54	23	+6.4	+9.2
16	59	31	+13.3	+9.4
17	48	28	+5.6	+9.2	0.01″	0.1″
18	42	23	0	+8.7	0.02″	0.2″
19	34	13	-8.5	+7.8
20	35	16	-6.6	+7.1	0.11″	1.2″
21	43	7	-7.6	+6.4
22	51	12	-1.2	+6.0
23	58	18	+4.8	+6.0
24	64	28	+13.0	+6.3
25	67	30	+14.9	+6.6
26	64	30	+13.1	+6.9
27	64*	21	+8.8	+6.9			*Record warm high
28	66*	25	+12.3	+7.1			*Record warm high
AVGS/ TOTAL	54.2	22.2	38.2	+7.1	0.46″	1.5″

DAILY DEP. – Departure from the long term daily average temperature

MON. DEP. – Cumulative departure from the long term monthly average temperature

PCPN – Precipitation

T – Trace of precipitation

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