September 2026 continued the trend of the summer of 2026 by being warmer than average, but it also broke the summer dry spell by ending up as the wettest September on record! The monthly average temperature was 63.7 degrees, which was about 4 degrees above average, making it the 5th warmest on record. Overnight low temperatures were the main reason for the record warmth, as the average low of 50.5 degrees was 7.4 degrees above average, making the month the warmest on record for lows.
But September of 2026 will be most remembered by the amount of rain that fell, mostly during the last 9 days of the month. The total rainfall at my northside location ended up at 4.88 inches, which made it the wettest September on record (the old record was 4.48 inches in Sep 2013). Higher amounts of 5.25 to 5.75 inches fell over the eastern third of the valley (including the towns of Taos and Ranchos de Taos), while smaller amounts of about 4.25 inches occurred in the western third of the valley (see rainfall map below).
The first half of the month was again warm and mostly dry, with some record daily warm highs and lows (see monthly data table below), as highs were in the 80s with lows in the 50s. From the 14th to the 19th however, cooler and wetter weather moved in with highs dropping into the 70s, but lows stayed pretty much in the low to mid 50s due to the moisture in the air. Another batch of monsoon moisture flowed into the area starting on the 22nd and lasting to the 25th, with some cool highs in the upper 50 and 60s, and lows of 45 to 50.
The main rain event of the month occurred on the 28th to the 30th as the tropical remains of Hurricane Polo got pulled up into the region ahead of slow moving upper level low pressure system coming into the area from Arizona. Over half of the monthly rainfall total fell during the 3 day period, as most areas received about 2.25 to 3 inches of rain. Temperatures also remained quite cool, with readings in the 50s during the rain.
Another record was tied during the month, the most number of days with 0.01″ of rain or more. September 2026 ended up with 16 days of rain, tying it with 1931 for the most in any September.
The warmest high was 90 degrees on the 8th (a record warm high), while the coolest high was just 53 degrees on the 30th (a record cool high). The warmest low was 62 degrees on the 7th, a record warm low for the day and for the month of September, while the coolest low was 39 degrees on the 21st.
Overall, wind speeds for the month were below average, with just 1 day of gusts 35 mph or higher. Strongest overall winds occurred on the 8th and 9th, while the highest gust of 44 mph occurred during a thunderstorm on the 14th.
Here are the actual numbers for the month at my location…
Average Temp . . . . 63.7 degrees, +4.1 degrees above average (5th warmest)
Average High . . . . . 76.8 degrees, +0.8 degrees above average
Average Low. . . . . . 50.5 degrees, +7.4 degrees above average (1st warmest)
Total Rain . . . . . . . . 4.88 inches, +3.57 inches above average (1st wettest)
SEP 2026 rainfall totals (from rain gauges)
SEP 2026 DAILY DATA for 4 NNW Taos
| DATE | HIGH | LOW | DAILY DEP. | MON. DEP. | RAIN | REMARK |
| 1 | 75 | 55 | +1.1 | +1.1 | 0.22″ | |
| 2 | 83 | 49 | +1.9 | +1.5 | ||
| 3 | 84 | 49 | +2.9 | +2.0 | 0.01″ | |
| 4 | 84 | 56 | +6.6 | +3.1 | T | |
| 5 | 87 | 55 | +8.0 | +4.1 | T | |
| 6 | 89 | 51 | +7.2 | +4.6 | ||
| 7 | 88 | 62* | +12.3 | +5.7 | T | *Record warm low for the day and Sep |
| 8 | 90# | 56* | +10.4 | +6.3 | #Record warm high *Record warm low | |
| 9 | 88 | 56 | +10.1 | +6.7 | 0.03″ | |
| 10 | 86 | 51 | +6.9 | +6.7 | ||
| 11 | 89 | 48 | +7.2 | +6.8 | ||
| 12 | 89* | 51 | +9.4 | +7.0 | T | *Record warm high |
| 13 | 87 | 51 | +8.9 | +7.1 | T | |
| 14 | 73 | 55* | +4.4 | +6.9 | 0.86″# | *Record warm low #Record daily pcpn |
| 15 | 77 | 52 | +5.0 | +6.8 | 0.03″ | |
| 16 | 74 | 53 | +4.0 | +6.6 | 0.09″ | |
| 17 | 75 | 56* | +6.2 | +6.6 | 0.18″ | *Record warm low |
| 18 | 71 | 52 | +2.4 | +6.4 | 0.31″ | |
| 19 | 73 | 46 | +0.5 | +6.1 | 0.01″ | |
| 20 | 77 | 41 | +0.8 | +5.8 | ||
| 21 | 77 | 39 | +0.2 | +5.5 | ||
| 22 | 76 | 50 | +5.9 | +5.6 | 0.28″ | |
| 23 | 58 | 52 | -1.8 | +5.2 | 0.33″ | |
| 24 | 59 | 51 | -1.3 | +5.0 | 0.16″ | |
| 25 | 68 | 46 | +0.9 | +4.8 | 0.03″ | |
| 26 | 74 | 42 | +2.3 | +4.7 | ||
| 27 | 76 | 45 | +4.9 | +4.7 | ||
| 28 | 67 | 52 | +3.7 | +4.7 | 0.34″ | |
| 29 | 58 | 50 | -1.5 | +4.5 | 0.87″ | |
| 30 | 53* | 44 | -7.0 | +4.1 | 1.13″ | *Record cold high |
| AVGS/ TOTAL | 76.8 | 50.5 | 63.7 | +4.1 | 4.88″ |
DAILY DEP. – Departure from the long term daily average temperature
MON. DEP. – Cumulative departure from the long term monthly average temperature
T – Trace of rain
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