Rio Rancho weather in March

In March, Rio Rancho sees average daytime highs of 60°F and overnight lows near 35°F, with 0.6 in of precipitation across 3.6 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 56°F in the first days to 64°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 51% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 12 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Rio Rancho's 10th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rio Rancho's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 60°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 35°; 5th coldest
Precipitation: 0.6 in; 3.6 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 42 min; 6:25 AM – 6:08 PM
Cloud cover: 41%; 10th clearest
Wind: 7 mph; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 5.86 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.9; out of 10

Rio Rancho is city in Sandoval and Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States.

Density: 326/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1961

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

← February Rio Rancho year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 56°F in the first days to 64°F by the end.

A typical March day in Rio Rancho reaches about 60°F in the afternoon and slips back to 35°F overnight — a 25°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 49°F and 71°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 9°F warmer than February and about 8°F cooler than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°F)	55	56	56	56	57	57	58	58	58	59	59	60	60	60	61	61	61	62	62	62	62	62	63	63	63	63	63	64	64	64	64
Avg low (°F)	31	32	32	32	32	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	35	36	36	36	36	37	37	37	37	37	38	38	38	38	38	38

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	31
2	56	32
3	56	32
4	56	32
5	57	32
6	57	33
7	58	33
8	58	33
9	58	34
10	59	34
11	59	34
12	60	34
13	60	35
14	60	35
15	61	35
16	61	35
17	61	36
18	62	36
19	62	36
20	62	36
21	62	37
22	62	37
23	63	37
24	63	37
25	63	37
26	63	38
27	63	38
28	64	38
29	64	38
30	64	38
31	64	38

How March really feels in Rio Rancho

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 25 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

The story in March is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Rio Rancho weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 8th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	46° / 25°	0.6	4.2	2.4	9.9	1.3
Feb	52° / 29°	0.6	3.6	1.7	10.7	3.2
Mar	60° / 35°	0.6	3.6	0.8	11.7	5.9
Apr	68° / 42°	0.6	2.8	0.4	12.9	7.7
May	78° / 51°	0.7	3.2	0	13.8	8.1
Jun	88° / 61°	0.4	2.3	0	14.3	5.6
Jul	89° / 66°	1.2	6.6	0	14.1	4.7
Aug	86° / 64°	1.1	6.2	0	13.3	5.6
Sep	80° / 57°	1.1	4.4	0	12.2	7.8
Oct	69° / 45°	1.1	4.1	0.2	11.1	7.8
Nov	55° / 33°	0.6	3.2	0.9	10.1	4.5
Dec	45° / 25°	0.8	3.8	2.3	9.7	1.2

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 51% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 32%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	67	67	67	67	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	69	69	69	68	68	68	68	68	68	69	69	69	69	69
Cloudier (%)	33	33	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	31

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Rio Rancho gets around 0.6 in of rain and snow over 3.6 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 12% and peaks near 13% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Snow chance (%)	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	13	5
2	13	4
3	13	4
4	13	3
5	12	3
6	12	3
7	12	3
8	12	3
9	12	3
10	12	3
11	12	3
12	12	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	3
21	12	3
22	12	3
23	12	3
24	11	3
25	11	3
26	11	2
27	11	2
28	11	2
29	11	2
30	11	2
31	11	2

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 7 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 6 mph on the calmest days to 7 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (mph)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	7	calm
20	7	calm
21	7	calm
22	7	calm
23	7	calm
24	7	calm
25	7	calm
26	7	calm
27	7	calm
28	7	calm
29	7	calm
30	7	calm
31	7	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 12 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:45 AM to 6:03 AM, and sunset from 5:55 PM to 6:20 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3
Sunrise (AM)	6:45	6:44	6:42	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:36	6:34	6:33	6:32	6:30	6:29	6:27	6:26	6:25	6:23	6:22	6:20	6:19	6:17	6:16	6:14	6:13	6:12	6:10	6:09	6:07	6:06	6:04	6:03
Sunset (PM)	5:55	5:56	5:57	5:58	5:59	5:59	6:00	6:01	6:02	6:03	6:04	6:05	6:06	6:06	6:07	6:08	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:16	6:17	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:20

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.2	6:45	5:55
2	11.2	6:44	5:56
3	11.2	6:42	5:57
4	11.3	6:41	5:58
5	11.3	6:40	5:59
6	11.4	6:38	5:59
7	11.4	6:37	6:00
8	11.4	6:36	6:01
9	11.5	6:34	6:02
10	11.5	6:33	6:03
11	11.5	6:32	6:04
12	11.6	6:30	6:05
13	11.6	6:29	6:06
14	11.6	6:27	6:06
15	11.7	6:26	6:07
16	11.7	6:25	6:08
17	11.8	6:23	6:09
18	11.8	6:22	6:10
19	11.8	6:20	6:11
20	11.9	6:19	6:11
21	11.9	6:17	6:12
22	12.0	6:16	6:13
23	12.0	6:14	6:14
24	12.0	6:13	6:15
25	12.1	6:12	6:16
26	12.1	6:10	6:16
27	12.1	6:09	6:17
28	12.2	6:07	6:18
29	12.2	6:06	6:19
30	12.3	6:04	6:20
31	12.3	6:03	6:20

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 5.86 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.05 kWh/m² to a high of 8.27 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 5.86 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.1	6.1	6.2	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.4	6.4	6.5	6.5
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.1	Bright
2	5.2	Bright
3	5.2	Bright
4	5.3	Bright
5	5.3	Bright
6	5.4	Bright
7	5.4	Bright
8	5.5	Bright
9	5.5	Bright
10	5.6	Bright
11	5.6	Bright
12	5.7	Bright
13	5.7	Bright
14	5.8	Bright
15	5.8	Bright
16	5.9	Bright
17	5.9	Bright
18	6.0	Bright
19	6.0	Intense
20	6.0	Intense
21	6.1	Intense
22	6.1	Intense
23	6.2	Intense
24	6.2	Intense
25	6.3	Intense
26	6.3	Intense
27	6.3	Intense
28	6.4	Intense
29	6.4	Intense
30	6.5	Intense
31	6.5	Intense

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Rio Rancho?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.9

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.9

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Rio Rancho for sightseeing.

What to pack for Rio Rancho in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Rio Rancho sees daytime highs around 60°F and nights near 35°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 4 days see rain.

a warm layersun protection

UV index in Rio Rancho in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Rio Rancho peaks around June 23 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 3 (moderate).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	4	5	6	8	9	12	12	11	9	6	4	3
Level	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Moderate

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	4	Moderate
Feb	5	Moderate
Mar	6	High
Apr	8	Very high
May	9	Very high
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	11	Extreme
Sep	9	Very high
Oct	6	High
Nov	4	Moderate
Dec	3	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Rio Rancho?

Rio Rancho sits at 35.2°N, 106.7°W, 5,282 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Enchanted Hills, 8.1 mi away.

Topography around Rio Rancho

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Rio Rancho has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 469 ft around an average of 5,246 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,156 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,522 ft.

The land around Rio Rancho is covered by artificial surfaces (68%) and bare terrain (20%) within 2 miles, grassland (39%), artificial surfaces (29%) and bare terrain (20%) within 10 miles, and grassland (55%) and trees (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

469 ft

artificial surfaces 68%

10 miles

3,156 ft

grassland 39%

50 miles

6,522 ft

grassland 55%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

← February Rio Rancho year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Enchanted Hills 8.1 mi · Albuquerque 11 mi · South Valley 16 mi · Los Lunas 30 mi · Santa Fe 52 mi · Gallup 119 mi · Farmington 135 mi · Durango 157 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

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 Rio Rancho (35.2334°, -106.6645°, elevation 5,282 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).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	31
2	56	32
3	56	32
4	56	32
5	57	32
6	57	33
7	58	33
8	58	33
9	58	34
10	59	34
11	59	34
12	60	34
13	60	35
14	60	35
15	61	35
16	61	35
17	61	36
18	62	36
19	62	36
20	62	36
21	62	37
22	62	37
23	63	37
24	63	37
25	63	37
26	63	38
27	63	38
28	64	38
29	64	38
30	64	38
31	64	38

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	13	5
2	13	4
3	13	4
4	13	3
5	12	3
6	12	3
7	12	3
8	12	3
9	12	3
10	12	3
11	12	3
12	12	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	3
21	12	3
22	12	3
23	12	3
24	11	3
25	11	3
26	11	2
27	11	2
28	11	2
29	11	2
30	11	2
31	11	2

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	31
2	56	32
3	56	32
4	56	32
5	57	32
6	57	33
7	58	33
8	58	33
9	58	34
10	59	34
11	59	34
12	60	34
13	60	35
14	60	35
15	61	35
16	61	35
17	61	36
18	62	36
19	62	36
20	62	36
21	62	37
22	62	37
23	63	37
24	63	37
25	63	37
26	63	38
27	63	38
28	64	38
29	64	38
30	64	38
31	64	38

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	13	5
2	13	4
3	13	4
4	13	3
5	12	3
6	12	3
7	12	3
8	12	3
9	12	3
10	12	3
11	12	3
12	12	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	3
21	12	3
22	12	3
23	12	3
24	11	3
25	11	3
26	11	2
27	11	2
28	11	2
29	11	2
30	11	2
31	11	2

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	55	31
2	56	32
3	56	32
4	56	32
5	57	32
6	57	33
7	58	33
8	58	33
9	58	34
10	59	34
11	59	34
12	60	34
13	60	35
14	60	35
15	61	35
16	61	35
17	61	36
18	62	36
19	62	36
20	62	36
21	62	37
22	62	37
23	63	37
24	63	37
25	63	37
26	63	38
27	63	38
28	64	38
29	64	38
30	64	38
31	64	38

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	67	33
2	67	33
3	67	33
4	67	33
5	68	32
6	68	32
7	68	32
8	68	32
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	68	32
16	68	32
17	68	32
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	68	32
22	68	32
23	68	32
24	68	32
25	68	32
26	68	32
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	13	5
2	13	4
3	13	4
4	13	3
5	12	3
6	12	3
7	12	3
8	12	3
9	12	3
10	12	3
11	12	3
12	12	3
13	12	3
14	12	3
15	12	3
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	3
21	12	3
22	12	3
23	12	3
24	11	3
25	11	3
26	11	2
27	11	2
28	11	2
29	11	2
30	11	2
31	11	2

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100