January 2025 overall was a little colder and a bit wetter than average. The average temperature was 24.1 degrees, about 1.3 degrees below average. Precipitation totaled 0.76 inches with 10.3 inches of snowfall, both a little above average.

One of the main weather features of the month was the very cold temperatures during the third week of the month, from the 18th to the 24th. Temperatures remained below freezing for nearly 4 days from the 19th to the 22nd, with 4 days of lows below zero. With no snow cover, the cold penetrated deeper into the ground, causing lots of frozen pipes across the valley.

The other notable weather event of the month was the snowstorm on the 29th and 30th which brought some much needed moisture to the area. Snowfall was about 4 to 8 inches across the valley, with the higher amounts across the northern part. Snowfalls of 8 to 18 inches occurred in the foothills and mountains. A daily record amount of precipitation fell on the 29th as 0.49 inches of melted snow occurred.

The month started off warm for the first few days, with highs in the 50s and lows in the teens. Colder air moved into the area for the next 2 weeks, as highs dropped into the 30s to low 40s and lows fell into the zero to 15 above range. A light snowfall around an inch or so fell on the 12th and 13th, with a brief 2 day warmup on the 16th and 17th as highs hit 45 to 50. Then came the very cold period from the 18th to the 24th. Conditions gradually warmed up the last week with highs of 45 to 50 on the 26th to 28th, followed by a cooldown as the main snowstorm of the month occurred on the 29th and 30th.

Highs for the month ended up just a fuzz below average, with the warmest high of 57 degrees occurring on the 3rd, which was a record for that day. The coldest high was 23 degrees on the 20th in the middle of the cold snap. Lows overall were about 2.5 degrees below average, mainly due to the large number of days (11) with lows in the single figures, as well as the 6 days of the month with readings of zero or colder. The coldest low was minus 10 on the 21st, while the warmest low was 25 degrees on the 4th during the warm start to the month.

Winds for the month were a little above average, with the windiest days on the 4th, 7th, 18th, and 29th. The highest gust was 43 mph which occurred on the 4th as a strong cold front blew through the region.

Here are the actual numbers for the month at the 4 NNW Taos location…

Average Temp . . . . 24.1 degrees, -1.3 degrees below average

Average High . . . . . 39.8 degrees, -0.2 degrees below average

Average Low . . . . . 8.3 degrees, -2.5 degrees below average

Total Pcpn. . . . . . . . 0.76 inches, +0.05 inches above average

Total Snow. . . . . . . . 10.3 inches, +2.1 inches above average

JAN 2025 DAILY DATA for 4 NNW Taos

DATE	HIGH	LOW	DAILY DEP.	MON. DEP.	PCPN	SNOW	REMARK
1	44	11	+3.9	+3.9
2	52	18	+12.3	+8.1
3	57*	15	+13.3	+9.8			*Record warm high
4	52	25	+15.5	+11.3
5	41	14	+3.9	+9.8
6	36	5	-3.1	+7.6
7	34	13	-0.5	+6.5	Trace	Trace
8	38	6	-2.1	+5.4
9	33	9	-4.0	+4.4
10	34	0	-8.3	+3.1
11	44	10	+1.8	+3.0
12	33	15	-0.7	+2.7	0.07″	1.3″
13	32	14	-1.5	+2.4	0.01″	0.2″
14	33	8	-4.7	+1.9
15	39	-1	-6.3	+1.3
16	50	7	+2.5	+1.4
17	47	14	+4.3	+1.6
18	35	7	-5.0	+1.2	Trace	Trace
19	28	-2	-13.5	+0.4
20	23	4	-12.8	-0.2
21	32	-10	-14.3	-0.9
22	38	4	-3.7	-1.0
23	29	-2	-11.7	-1.5
24	43	-1	-5.0	-1.6
25	40	10	-2.1	-1.7
26	46	9	-0.1	-1.6
27	51	8	+1.8	-1.5
28	51	14	+5.0	-1.2
29	45	19	+4.6	-1.0	0.49″*	6.3″	*Record pcpn
30	33	10	-6.4	-1.2	0.19″	2.5″
31	42	4	-5.4	-1.3
AVGS/ TOTAL	39.8	8.3	24.1	-1.3	0.76″	10.3″

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

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

PCPN – Precipitation

—————————————————————————————————-

The year 2024 in Taos weatherwise averaged quite a bit warmer than usual, with a little above average precipitation overall. The year started off wetter and snowier than usual through March, but with milder temperatures. Warmer than usual weather continued through April, May and June with adequate rainfall. July was warm and quite dry, with August and September still warmer than usual with a little above average rainfall. October was dry and warm, with just 2 days of rainfall that made it the 9th wettest October on record. November was the only month of the year that was cooler than average, then December ended up quite warm and dry.

The main weather story of the year was the persistent above average temperatures each month except for November. For the year, the average temperature ended up at 49.8 degrees, some 2.7 degrees above average, which was the 4th warmest year on record. Only the years 2003, 2017, and 2012 were warmer than 2024.

Most of the warmer than usual temperatures was due to the higher than average low temperatures throughout the year, starting with January with the 12th warmest lows for that month. June had the warmest lows on record, August had the 4th warmest lows, and October recorded the 3rd warmest lows. Overall, the year had the 4th warmest lows on record. As for warmer than average high temperatures, October recorded the 6th warmest highs for that month, while December had the 2nd warmest highs.

Precipitation totaled was 15.05 inches, which was nearly 2.50 inches above average. Only April, July, November and December had below average precipitation, with the rest of the months of the year above average.

Snowfall was a little above average, totaling 47 inches, mainly due to the snowy start of the year.

Below is the yearly summary by month, with departures from the long term (1902-2019) average in the Dep column. Also included are the monthly/seasonal records set during the year, showing only those values that ended up in the top 12 positions.

—————————————————————————–

December 2024 overall was much warmer and drier than average. The average temperature was 32.7 degrees, nearly 6 degrees above average, which made it the 7th warmest December on record. Precipitation was also quite sparse with only 0.03 of an inch recorded during the month (about 2/3 of an inch below average), with the month ending up as the 7th driest December on record.

The precipitation for the month occurred on just one day – Christmas Day the 25th when occasional afternoon snow showers brought just 0.03 inches of moisture. Snowfall was only a tenth of an inch that day, resulting in the 8th least snowy December on record.

The month started off warm for the first week or so, with highs in the low to mid 50s and lows in the teens. A strong cold front around the 9th brought the coldest weather of the month, with highs falling into the 30s to mid 40s and lows of 5 to 15 for a few days. It warmed right back up though from the middle of the month to around Christmas Eve, with highs in the 50s for the most part and lows in the teens. Another cold front brought colder conditions and snow showers on Christmas Day, as highs fell into the low to mid 40s with lows in the teens for a few days. The last few days of the month saw a return to the warm and dry weather, with highs of 45 to 55 and lows of 15 to 25.

Highs during the month were quite warm on average, about 8.6 degrees above average, the 2nd warmest on record for December. Record daily warm highs were set on the 19th, 21st and 22nd with highs topping out all 3 days at 57 degrees, the warmest for the month. A record daily warm high was tied on the 29th. The coldest high for the month was 32 degrees on the 10th. The coldest low of the month was 4 degrees on the 11th, while the warmest low was 29 degrees on the 23rd.

Winds for the month were a little below average, due to the rather quiet weather patterns. The highest gust was 35 mph which occurred on the 9th as a strong cold front blew through the region.

Here are the actual numbers for the month at the 4 NNW Taos location…

Average Temp . . . . 32.7 degrees, +5.7 degrees above average (7th warmest)

Average High . . . . . 49.9 degrees, +8.6 degrees above average (2nd warmest)

Average Low . . . . . 15.4 degrees, +2.8 degrees above average

Total Pcpn. . . . . . . . 0.03 inches, -0.66 inches below average (7th driest)

Total Snow. . . . . . . . 0.1 inches, -7.8 inches below average (8th least snow)

DEC 2024 DAILY DATA for 4 NNW Taos

DATE	HIGH	LOW	DAILY DEP.	MON. DEP.	PCPN	SNOW	REMARK
1	54	14	+3.1	+3.1
2	55	15	+3.8	+3.5
3	55	17	+4.8	+3.9
4	56	18	+6.8	+4.6
5	52	17	+5.2	+4.7
6	53	16	+4.8	+4.8
7	53	15	+5.0	+4.8
8	51	13	+3.2	+4.6
9	47	11	+1.2	+4.2
10	32	8	-8.0	+3.0
11	40	4	-6.3	+2.1
12	48	10	+0.7	+2.0
13	45	13	+2.1	+2.0
14	49	12	+4.2	+2.2
15	51	18	+9.0	+2.6
16	50	12	+5.1	+2.8
17	53	17	+8.9	+3.1
18	48	13	+4.0	+3.2
19	57*	14	+9.5	+3.5			*Record warm high
20	53	13	+6.5	+3.7
21	57*	13	+9.2	+3.9			*Record warm high
22	57*	18	+12.0	+4.3			*Record warm high
23	54	29	+15.7	+4.8
24	52	16	+9.2	+5.0
25	43	19	+6.3	+5.0	0.03″	0.1″
26	44	13	+3.5	+5.0	Trace	Trace
27	43	22	+8.0	+5.1	Trace	Trace
28	47	18	+8.3	+5.2
29	55*	22	+14.1	+5.5			*Tied record warm high
30	49	21	+10.3	+5.7
31	44	17	+6.4	+5.7
AVGS/ TOTAL	49.9	15.4	32.7	+5.7	0.03″	0.1″

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

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

PCPN – Precipitation

—————————————————————————————————-