Climate and average weather in Roswell

In Roswell, the summers are sweltering, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: late February to mid May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Roswell typically varies from 31°F to 94°F, and is rarely below 20°F or above 104°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Roswell for warm-weather activities are from late February to mid May and late September to mid November.

Hottest
Jul
94°
Coldest
Dec
31°
Wettest
Sep
1.6 in
Driest
Feb
0.5 in
Rain / yr
12.1 in
51 wet days
Daylight
9.8–14.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
3,576 ft
33.4°N
Clearest
Oct
29% cloud

Roswell is city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, United States.

Density
627/km²
people per km²
Founded
1869

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

Roswell 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 late February to mid May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 12 to September 19, with daily high temperatures above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in Roswell is July, with an average high of 94°F and low of 70°F.

The cool season lasts 2.7 months, from November 23 to February 12, with daily high temperatures below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Roswell is December, with an average low of 31°F and high of 54°F.

Days typically run about 25°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 28°F) in April.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5531
Feb6035
Mar6841
Apr7748
May8558
Jun9467
Jul9470
Aug9169
Sep8562
Oct7550
Nov6338
Dec5431

How hot and cold Roswell 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 hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Roswell feels like about 95°F (around June 20). About 91 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in June.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 22°F (around December 26), with roughly 108 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in December.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan54552331
Feb60602835
Mar68683541
Apr77774548
May85855858
Jun94946767
Jul94947070
Aug91916969
Sep85856262
Oct75754850
Nov63633338
Dec54542431

Average hourly temperature in Roswell

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 94°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 31°F.

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

Roswell 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
Jan55° / 31°0.52.61.2104.3
Feb60° / 35°0.52.70.910.86.0
Mar68° / 41°0.83.30.311.77.7
Apr77° / 48°0.82.60.112.88.4
May85° / 58°1.44.8013.76.2
Jun94° / 67°0.95014.23.4
Jul94° / 70°1.46.40143.2
Aug91° / 69°1.57.6013.23.9
Sep85° / 62°1.66.1012.26.2
Oct75° / 50°1.34.30.211.28.2
Nov63° / 38°0.62.60.610.36.8
Dec54° / 31°0.73.11.39.84.0

Chance of rain

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

Roswell gets about 12.1 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from around May 12 to Oct 14, peaking in August at about 26% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 12.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 1.6 in over about 6 wet days; February is the driest, with 0.5 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetAug 10 · 26%Jan 12 · 7%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan83
Feb103
Mar103
Apr93
May165
Jun175
Jul216
Aug248
Sep216
Oct144
Nov93
Dec103

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Roswell collects about 12.1 in of rain across 51 wet days — roughly 1.0 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 1.6 in, while February is the driest at just 0.5 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.52JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0.50.50.80.81.40.91.41.51.61.30.60.7
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan0.531
Feb0.531
Mar0.830
Apr0.830
May1.450
Jun0.950
Jul1.460
Aug1.580
Sep1.660
Oct1.340
Nov0.631
Dec0.731

Snow in Roswell

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.

Roswell averages about 5 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 15 to Mar 8 — about 3.7 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 1.2 day of snow and an estimated 2 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 8 in of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 29
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan12
Feb11
Mar01
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov11
Dec12

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Roswell, 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 24 and lasts for 1.6 months, ending around July 11. 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 18 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around April 3. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 28% 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%Dec 26 · 69%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7426
Feb7228
Mar7228
Apr7822
May7723
Jun8317
Jul7723
Aug7921
Sep8119
Oct8020
Nov7723
Dec7228

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 10, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.07:075:08
Feb10.86:505:36
Mar11.76:156:00
Apr12.85:336:23
May13.75:036:46
Jun14.24:527:04
Jul14.05:037:04
Aug13.25:256:40
Sep12.25:465:59
Oct11.26:085:18
Nov10.36:364:51
Dec9.87:004:48

Sunny days

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

Roswell averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 15 and 22 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around Aug 29 to Dec 17. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 20 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is July, down near 16 sunny days — about 19% fewer than the September peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantSep 3022 daysJul 2715 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan18Bright
Feb16Bright
Mar18Bright
Apr19Bright
May18Bright
Jun18Bright
Jul17Bright
Aug17Bright
Sep20Bright
Oct22Bright
Nov20Bright
Dec19Bright

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 Roswell, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.4 months, from around June 19 to September 30. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 27% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 1 to June 18, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 29 · 100%Aug 10 · 70%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May93700
Jun751951
Jul5027204
Aug4131225
Sep6322141
Oct93510
Nov100000
Dec100000

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 Roswell is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around Feb 13 to Jul 11. The windiest month is April, averaging about 10 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 12 to Feb 12, with December the calmest month at about 7 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyApr 17 · 10 mphDec 6 · 7 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan8light breeze
Feb9light breeze
Mar10light breeze
Apr10light breeze
May10light breeze
Jun9light breeze
Jul8light breeze
Aug7calm
Sep8light breeze
Oct8light breeze
Nov8light breeze
Dec7calm

Best time to visit Roswell

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early March, Roswell 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 Roswell for general outdoor tourist activities run from late February to mid May and again from late September to mid November, with a peak score in the second week of April.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationApr 11 · 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
Jan4.3fair
Feb6.0good
Mar7.7ideal
Apr8.4ideal
May6.2good
Jun3.4poor
Jul3.2poor
Aug3.9fair
Sep6.1good
Oct8.1ideal
Nov6.7good
Dec4.1fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Roswell for hot-weather activities run from early April to mid June and again from late July to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of May.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMay 8 · 8.3

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 Roswell, 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 94°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 54°F), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Roswell sees daytime highs around 94°F and nights near 70°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Roswell 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 Roswell peaks around June 23 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 12Dec 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5High
Mar7High
Apr10Extreme
May9Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov5Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Roswell

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 June 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)
Jan30
Feb50
Mar63
Apr85.5
May85.5
Jun96.5
Jul96.5
Aug8.56
Sep74.5
Oct62
Nov4.50
Dec20

Air quality in Roswell by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Roswell is worst in December — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.7× the cleanest month (August, 9 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateDec 1822 µg/m³Aug 249 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan19Moderate
Feb17Moderate
Mar13Moderate
Apr11Good
May10Good
Jun11Good
Jul10Good
Aug9Good
Sep9Good
Oct9Good
Nov16Moderate
Dec23Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Roswell typically lasts about 309 days, from around February 3 to December 8 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 16 to November 7.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 350%Mar 1690%Nov 790%Dec 850%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4231
Feb6528
Mar8816
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov8023
Dec4431

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. Roswell banks about 5,154 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb1
Mar148
Apr377
May666
Jun902
Jul992
Aug932
Sep701
Oct389
Nov47
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.

Roswell receives about 5.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.2 and 7.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 13 to Sep 18. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.2 kWh/m² — roughly 59% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 127.8 kWhDec 183.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.6Moderate
Feb4.5Bright
Mar5.9Bright
Apr7.2Intense
May7.6Intense
Jun7.8Intense
Jul7.3Intense
Aug6.8Intense
Sep5.8Bright
Oct4.8Bright
Nov3.6Moderate
Dec3.2Moderate

Where is Roswell?

Roswell sits at 33.4°N, 104.5°W, 3,576 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Carlsbad, 70 mi away.

Topography around Roswell

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Roswell has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 95 ft around an average of 3,593 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 719 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,900 ft.

The land around Roswell is covered by artificial surfaces (55%) and grassland (22%) within 2 miles, grassland (72%) within 10 miles, and grassland (91%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
95 ft
10 miles
719 ft
50 miles
6,900 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Carlsbad 70 mi · Alamogordo 90 mi · Hobbs 94 mi · Clovis 103 mi · Las Cruces 150 mi · Horizon City 153 mi · Lubbock 154 mi · Hereford 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
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 Roswell (33.3944°, -104.5249°, elevation 3,576 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).