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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The summer of 2026 ended up being the warmest on record here in the Taos valley, with the previous warmest summer occurring in 2011. The month of August was especially hot, as it was even warmer than July.

A lot of the warmth came from the high temperatures during the summer, especially in August. There was one daily record high set or tied in June, one in July, and 8 daily records in August, including a new record high for the month of 96 degrees on the 5th and 6th. The summer average high of 88.4 degrees was the second warmest, just behind the summer of 2011.

As for the lows during the summer, they were consistently about 3 to 4 degrees above average. There were no daily record warm lows set or tied in June, 3 records in July, and 1 in August. The summer average low of 52.9 degrees was the third warmest on record, just behind the summers of 2006 and 2022.

Here is breakdown of the monthly and summer temperatures for 2026…

	June 2026	July 2026	August 2026	Summer 2026
Average T	67.8 degs	72.0 degs	72.4 degs	70.7 degs
Departure	+4.0 degs	+4.0 degs	+6.1 degs	+4.7 degs
Rank	8th Warmest	4th Warmest	1st Warmest	1st Warmest
Average High	86.2 degs	89.5 degs	89.4 degs	88.4 degs
Departure	+4.6 degs	+4.8 degs	+7.1 degs	+5.5 degs
Rank	10th Warnest	6th Warmest	1st Warmest	2nd Warmest
Average Low	49.4 degs	54.6 degs	54.8 degs	52.9 degs
Departure	+3.5 degs	+3.3 degs	+4.6 degs	+3.8 degs
Rank	11th Warmest	5th Warmest	1st Warmest	3rd Warmest
Rainfall	1.98″	0.86″	1.16″	4.00″
Departure	+1.10″	-0.85″	-0.71″	-0.45″

Not only was it quite warm during the summer, it was also dry as rainfall was less than usual, especially across the central and southern parts of the valley. Total summer rainfall at my north side location ended up at 4.00 inches, about a half inch below average (summer average rainfall is 4.45″), while a location on the south side totaled only 2.09 inches, about 2.36 inches below average. It was just a summer where a couple of lucky storms each month brought some higher amounts of rain to the northern sections, while the central and southern areas missed out on the heavier rains.

Why was it so hot and dry this summer? As it frequently does, it comes down to the strength, location and orientation of the upper level high pressure area that usually forms during the summer across the southwest U.S. This summer, the upper level high was stronger than usual, resulting in warmer temperatures. Its persistent location over the Four Corners region, and its orientation of west/northwest to east/southeast into Texas kept a lot of the monsoon moisture away from northern New Mexico (see figure 1 below).

Figure 1 – Average airflow at about 18,000 feet above sea level for July 10 to August 31 2026. Note the location and strength of the upper level high pressure area over the Four Corners region, and the orientation of the high pressure area along a west/northwest to east/southeast axis. Airflow around the high (as shown by the arrows) took most of the monsoon moisture from northern Mexico further west into Arizona and then north into Utah/Colorado, missing most of northern New Mexico.

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August 2026 continued the trend of July 2026 by being quite a bit warmer than average, along with below average rainfall. The monthly average temperature was 72.4 degrees (a bit warmer than July!), which was about 6 degrees above average, making it the warmest August on record. Daytime high temperatures and nighttime low readings were both equally above average, especially in the first 2 weeks of the month.

A total of 8 record highs were set or tied during the period from August 2nd to the 12th, including a new record high for August of 96 degrees, recorded on the 5th and 6th (the previous monthly record was 95 degrees). Just one record warm low reading was tied during the month (on the 10th), although several overnight lows during the month came within a degree or two of the daily warm low records.

The string of days from the 2nd to the 12th all had highs of 90 degrees or higher, with the 11 days of consecutive 90+ degree highs ending up as the 7th longest streak on record. A total of 14 days during the month had 90+ degree highs, which was the 3rd most for August.

Rainfall during the month once again was below average across the valley. At my northside location rainfall totaled 1.16 inches for the month, about 3/4 of an inch below average (usual August rainfall is 1.87″). Parts of the northern and western sections got lucky with some localized storms during the month, but some southern spots around Ranchos missed out on most of the storms and ended up with totals only around a half inch or so (see rainfall map below).

Most of the rain fell in the last half of the month, except for a few localized storms on the 9th. Daily amounts of rain tended to be skimpy, generally less than a tenth of an inch. There were not really any days with heavy rains in the valley itself, although areas along and west of the gorge did have some decent rains on a few days.

The warmest high was 96 degrees on the 5th and 6th (a new record warm high for August), while the coolest high was 80 degrees on the 31st. The coolest low was 48 degrees on the 27th, while the warmest low was 60 degrees on the 5th.

Overall, wind speeds for the month were about average, with 12 days recording peak wind gusts of 35 mph or higher. Strongest overall winds occurred on the 4th to the 6th, while the highest gust of 52 mph occurred during a thunderstorm on the 9th.

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

Average Temp . . . . 72.4 degrees, +6.1 degrees above average (1st warmest)

Average High . . . . . 89.4 degrees, +7.1 degrees above average (1st warmest)

Average Low. . . . . . 54.8 degrees, +4.6 degrees above average (1st warmest)

Total Rain . . . . . . . . 1.16 inches, -0.71 inches below average

AUG 2026 rainfall totals (from rain gauges)

AUG 2026 DAILY DATA for 4 NNW Taos

DATE	HIGH	LOW	DAILY DEP.	MON. DEP.	RAIN	REMARK
1	88	55	+3.4	+3.4	0.04″
2	93	53	+4.8	+4.1
3	95*	58	+8.5	+5.6		*Record warm high
4	95*	58	+8.8	+6.4		*Record warm high
5	96*	60	+10.5	+7.2		*Record warm high for Aug
6	96*	57	+9.0	+7.5	T	*Record warm high for Aug
7	91	59	+7.7	+7.5
8	94*	53	+6.3	+7.4		*Record warm high
9	93*	56	+7.3	+7.4	0.44″	*Tied record warm high & 1/4″ inch hail 329-338 PM
10	94*	58*	+8.7	+7.5		*Tied record warm low and high
11	94*	55	+7.5	+7.5	T	*Record warm high
12	91	56	+6.9	+7.4	T
13	86	57	+5.1	+7.3
14	86	58	+5.9	+7.2	0.10″
15	87	59	+6.9	+7.2
16	89	52	+4.0	+7.0
17	88	51	+3.2	+6.7
18	91	53	+5.6	+6.7
19	93	56	+8.4	+6.8	0.07″
20	89	52	+4.4	+6.6	0.02″
21	92	55	+7.8	+6.7	0.11″
22	89	52	+5.1	+6.6	T
23	85	54	+4.1	+6.5	0.19″
24	87	51	+3.9	+6.4
25	89	54	+6.5	+6.4	0.03″
26	87	54	+5.3	+6.4	0.03″
27	89	48	+3.5	+6.3	T
28	88	52	+5.0	+6.2
29	89	54	+6.9	+6.2	0.04″
30	84	55	+5.2	+6.2	T
31	80	53	+2.1	+6.1	0.09″
AVGS/ TOTAL	89.4	54.8	72.4	+6.1	1.16″

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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