Climate averages 1991–2020
Rio Rancho weather
in December.
A cold, fairly dry month: the coolest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Rio Rancho: daytime highs average 7.3°C and nights cool to about -3.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 19 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes December a fairly dry month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 50 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Enchanted Hills (13 km away). In December its highs average 6.9°C, about as warm as Rio Rancho, with 22 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Rio Rancho ranks joint 293rd of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 14th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Rio Rancho is 3.3°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.2°C to 7.4°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 19 mm to 16 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Rio Rancho climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.4°C-3.4°C | -3.4°C | 16 | 4.2 | 10.110 h |
| February | 10.9°C-1.4°C | -1.4°C | 15 | 3.6 | 10.911 h |
| March | 16.0°C2.2°C | 2.2°C | 16 | 3.5 | 11.912 h |
| April | 20.5°C6.0°C | 6.0°C | 15 | 2.8 | 13.113 h |
| May | 25.9°C11.5°C | 11.5°C | 18 | 3.2 | 14.014 h |
| June | 31.7°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 11 | 2.3 | 14.514 h |
| July | 32.0°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 31 | 6.6 | 14.314 h |
| August | 30.6°C18.3°C | 18.3°C | 28 | 6.1 | 13.513 h |
| September | 27.1°C14.5°C | 14.5°C | 29 | 4.4 | 12.412 h |
| October | 20.5°C8.1°C | 8.1°C | 29 | 4.1 | 11.311 h |
| November | 13.2°C1.5°C | 1.5°C | 17 | 3.2 | 10.310 h |
| December, selected | 7.3°C-3.2°C | -3.2°C | 19 | 3.8 | 9.810 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Enchanted Hills in DecemberUnited States · 13 kmHigh 6.9°C · Low -3.4°C · 22 mm rain
- Albuquerque in DecemberUnited States · 17 kmHigh 8.0°C · Low -2.5°C · 18 mm rain
- Santa Fe, United States in DecemberUnited States · 83 kmHigh 4.7°C · Low -6.1°C · 25 mm rain
- Las Cruces in DecemberUnited States · 325 kmHigh 13.3°C · Low 1.2°C · 19 mm rain
- Pueblo in DecemberUnited States · 383 kmHigh 6.3°C · Low -6.9°C · 12 mm rain
- El Paso in DecemberUnited States · 387 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 1.7°C · 18 mm rain
- Ciudad Juárez in DecemberMexico · 391 kmHigh 13.9°C · Low 1.7°C · 18 mm rain
- Colorado Springs in DecemberUnited States · 432 kmHigh 4.9°C · Low -9.1°C · 13 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Rio Rancho) is explained once on the Rio Rancho year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.