Temperature

(data through 10/19/11)
Data Source(s): High Plains Regional Climate Center

Temperatures since the water year began on October 1 have averaged between 45 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit on the Colorado Plateau and across the northwestern half of New Mexico (Figure 1a). Temperatures in southwestern and eastern New Mexico have been between 60 and 70 degrees F, while the southwestern deserts of Arizona have been between 70 and 80 degrees F. The highest elevations in New Mexico have been cooler, between 40 and 45 degrees F. Temperatures have been 1–4 degrees F colder than average on the Colorado Plateau in Arizona and south-central New Mexico; 1–5 degrees F colder than average in northwestern New Mexico; and 2–4 degrees F above average in southeastern New Mexico, northeast New Mexico, and southeast Arizona (Figure 1b).

Temperatures during the past 30 days have been mostly above average (Figures 1c–d). There are only a few cooler-than-average pockets in the Southwest, most notably in west-central New Mexico, where Cibola and McKinley counties were 0–2 degrees cooler than average.

Notes:

The water year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30 of the following year. Water year is more commonly used in association with precipitation; water year temperature can be used to measure the temperatures associated with the hydrological activity during the water year.

Average refers to the arithmetic mean of annual data from 1971–2000. Departure from average temperature is calculated by subtracting current data from the average. The result can be positive or negative.

The continuous color maps (Figures 1a, 1b, 1c) are derived by taking measurements at individual meteorological stations and mathematically interpolating (estimating) values between known data points. The dots in Figure 1d show data values for individual stations. Interpolation procedures can cause aberrant values in data-sparse regions.

These are experimental products from the High Plains Regional Climate Center.