Climate and average weather in Gallup

In Gallup, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: mid August to late October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gallup typically varies from 21°F to 85°F, and is rarely below 6°F or above 92°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Gallup for warm-weather activities are from late April to late June and mid August to late October.

Hottest
Jul
85°
Coldest
Jan
21°
Wettest
Aug
1.3 in
Driest
Jun
0.3 in
Rain / yr
10.1 in
58 wet days
Daylight
9.6–14.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
6,512 ft
35.5°N
Clearest
Oct
29% cloud

Gallup is city in and county seat of McKinley County, New Mexico, United States.

Density
474/km²
people per km²
Founded
1881

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Gallup weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid August to late October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Gallup, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.2 months, from May 22 to September 25, with daily high temperatures above 74°F. The hottest month of the year in Gallup is July, with an average high of 85°F and low of 62°F.

The cool season lasts 3.0 months, from November 26 to February 25, with daily high temperatures below 48°F. The coldest month of the year in Gallup is January, with an average low of 21°F and high of 41°F.

Days typically run about 23°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 27°F) in June.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4121
Feb4625
Mar5531
Apr6338
May7247
Jun8356
Jul8562
Aug8260
Sep7653
Oct6542
Nov5330
Dec4222

How hot and cold Gallup really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 10°F (around January 1), with roughly 178 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 53 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan41411221
Feb46461725
Mar55552331
Apr63633038
May72724247
Jun83835656
Jul85856262
Aug82826060
Sep76765253
Oct66653742
Nov52532330
Dec42421322

Average hourly temperature in Gallup

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 85°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 21°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Gallup weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan41° / 21°1.05.64.29.90.1
Feb46° / 25°0.95.24.110.71.5
Mar55° / 31°0.95.7311.74.0
Apr63° / 38°0.641.512.96.4
May72° / 47°0.63.70.313.88.1
Jun83° / 56°0.31.7014.47.5
Jul85° / 62°1.26.9014.25.9
Aug82° / 60°1.37.4013.36.8
Sep76° / 53°0.94.4012.28.2
Oct65° / 42°0.84.10.611.17.2
Nov53° / 30°0.74.12.110.13.5
Dec42° / 22°1.04.84.59.60.4

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Gallup gets about 10.1 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 2.3 months, from around Jul 8 to Sep 14, peaking in July at about 30% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 8.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 1.3 in over about 7 wet days; June is the driest, with 0.3 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetJul 30 · 30%Jun 8 · 6%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan176
Feb195
Mar186
Apr144
May114
Jun72
Jul227
Aug247
Sep154
Oct134
Nov144
Dec165

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gallup collects about 10.1 in of rain across 58 wet days — roughly 0.8 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 1.3 in, while June is the driest at just 0.3 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 35% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.5JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.00.90.90.60.60.31.21.30.90.80.71.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.064
Feb0.954
Mar0.963
Apr0.642
May0.640
Jun0.320
Jul1.270
Aug1.370
Sep0.940
Oct0.841
Nov0.742
Dec1.055

Snow in Gallup

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Gallup averages about 20 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 17 to May 7 — about 6.7 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 4 days of snow and an estimated 6 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 30 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 22
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan46
Feb46
Mar34
Apr22
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct11
Nov23
Dec57

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Gallup, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 8 and lasts for 2.3 months, ending around July 15. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 83% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 27 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around May 7. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 40% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 14 · 85%Feb 18 · 58%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6535
Feb6040
Mar6337
Apr6832
May7426
Jun8317
Jul7228
Aug7327
Sep8317
Oct8119
Nov7426
Dec6634

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 14 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.97:295:20
Feb10.77:105:49
Mar11.76:336:16
Apr12.95:486:42
May13.85:157:07
Jun14.45:047:27
Jul14.25:157:26
Aug13.35:387:00
Sep12.26:036:16
Oct11.16:275:33
Nov10.16:575:03
Dec9.67:234:59

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Gallup averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 11 and 22 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.4 months, from around Aug 30 to Dec 10. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 20 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 13 sunny days — about 36% fewer than the September peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 2922 daysJul 2711 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan16Bright
Feb12Mixed
Mar14Mixed
Apr15Mixed
May17Bright
Jun19Bright
Jul13Mixed
Aug14Mixed
Sep19Bright
Oct21Bright
Nov19Bright
Dec16Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Gallup, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul927
Aug928
Sep991
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Gallup is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.6 months, from around Feb 12 to Jul 1. The windiest month is April, averaging about 11 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 2 to Feb 11, with August the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyApr 13 · 11 mphAug 3 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb8light breeze
Mar9light breeze
Apr11light breeze
May10light breeze
Jun9light breeze
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep7calm
Oct8light breeze
Nov8light breeze
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Gallup

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Gallup throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late August, Gallup is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Gallup for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to late June and again from mid August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 24 · 8.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.2poor
Feb1.5poor
Mar4.0fair
Apr6.4good
May8.1ideal
Jun7.5good
Jul5.9good
Aug6.8good
Sep8.2ideal
Oct7.2good
Nov3.5fair
Dec0.4poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gallup for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the third week of June.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 18 · 8.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Gallup, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 85°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 41°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Gallup sees daytime highs around 85°F and nights near 62°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 7 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gallup by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gallup peaks around July 11 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 11UV 12Dec 16UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar7High
Apr6High
May9Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Gallup

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan3.50
Feb4.50
Mar62
Apr6.52.5
May85
Jun96.5
Jul96.5
Aug8.56
Sep74.5
Oct61.5
Nov40
Dec10
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Gallup typically lasts about 238 days, from around March 18 to November 10 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 27 to October 19.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJan 2810%Mar 1850%Apr 2790%Oct 1990%Nov 1050%Dec 1810%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1031
Feb1928
Mar4631
Apr7927
May980
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct9013
Nov4130
Dec1231

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Gallup banks about 2,829 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr33
May294
Jun580
Jul720
Aug645
Sep435
Oct121
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Gallup receives about 5.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.0 and 8.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 14 to Sep 24. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.4 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.1 kWh/m² — roughly 63% less than the June peak.

012345678910JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 138.5 kWhDec 163.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.4Moderate
Feb4.4Bright
Mar5.9Bright
Apr7.3Intense
May8.0Intense
Jun8.5Intense
Jul7.5Intense
Aug6.8Intense
Sep6.1Intense
Oct4.9Bright
Nov3.7Moderate
Dec3.1Moderate

Where is Gallup?

Gallup sits at 35.5°N, 108.7°W, 6,512 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Farmington, 88 mi away.

Topography around Gallup

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Gallup.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Gallup has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 561 ft around an average of 6,611 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,555 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,940 ft.

The land around Gallup is covered by shrubs (29%), artificial surfaces (28%) and grassland (26%) within 2 miles, grassland (48%) and shrubs (25%) within 10 miles, and trees (39%) and grassland (36%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
561 ft
10 miles
1,555 ft
50 miles
3,940 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Farmington 88 mi · Rio Rancho 119 mi · Enchanted Hills 122 mi · South Valley 122 mi · Albuquerque 122 mi · Los Lunas 124 mi · Durango 130 mi · Santa Fe 158 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Gallup (35.5281°, -108.7426°, elevation 6,512 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).