Is there any part of NM that isn't blazing hot in summer? (Albuquerque: credit)

[6/3]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

Fort Davis: 4902
Alpine: 4481
Marfa: 4690
Marathon: 4633

Cathy....i know your crazy about those places in West Texas as i'm curious as to why as i know your not to crazy about hot summer weather. I've been to Balmorhea but not Alpine or Marfa etc...Is the weather cool in the summer? Is there a resort town like Ruidoso or Cloudcroft? Are there any water or Lakes around it?

[rruff]

Originally Posted by HoneysuckleHobo

I found Santa Fe to be difficult in terms of heat in the summer, due to its elevation. The rays are truly beaming down on you there.

I'm surprised that anyone would find Santa Fe oppressive in the summer, but I guess some people are particularly senstitive to sun. If you are going to be out in the sun for a long time you might consider a big straw hat and light loose clothing... should help. I live in Ruidoso and did not find a single day in summer even in the "hot" category. I do a lot of cycling, and the heat was simply never an issue. If it gets into the upper 80s or above it is always super dry... like 5% humidity... and the sweat evaporates very quickly and efficiently. Just drink enough, and you can exercise for as long and hard as you want. I could not do that in 85 deg 60% humidity... an avg summer day in IL.

I think I'd prefer the summer weather in the hotest town in NM to where I grew up in the middle of IL... and of course it would be no contest in the winter.

Devin... don't know if you've seen this site, but there is good data for the western states. Yes... a 30-40 deg swing from high to low temps is very avg in the summer.

New Mexico

[GregW]

Try the south side of the canyon in Mogollon for cool summer weather. Or Sunspot, south of Cloudcroft.

[Devin Bent]

Originally Posted by rruff

Devin... don't know if you've seen this site, but there is good data for the western states. Yes... a 30-40 deg swing from high to low temps is very avg in the summer.

New Mexico

Thanks Rruff, for the link, but I still can't find information on the typical or average hour by hour temperature. I suspect the low hits right before sunrise and the high comes sometime in the late afternoon depending upon the season. But I don't know.

I do use sunscreen or hat in July and August at 6,000 feet. It is not so much the temperature -- it is more the direct impact of the sun. But I have fair skin that has absorbed a lot of punishement over the years in the humid states I come from.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by 6/3

Cathy....i know your crazy about those places in West Texas as i'm curious as to why as i know your not to crazy about hot summer weather. I've been to Balmorhea but not Alpine or Marfa etc...Is the weather cool in the summer? Is there a resort town like Ruidoso or Cloudcroft? Are there any water or Lakes around it?

You know how I love higher elevations and mountains/mesas country...and that is what those areas are. For that reason, they have always been my favorite areas in the entire state, and I've seen all of it other than above Amarillo.

There are a few small creeks here and there, as well as the Rio Grande south, but no real water. And no resorts, either, though all three towns are catering more and more to tourism as time goes on, and becoming gradually more "artsy."

I had seriously considered relocating to Alpine, and did look at some properties, but the property taxes are OUTRAGEOUS, as bad as El Paso. The isolation and lack of amenities mean that you would be driving to Midland-Odessa for nearly everything....major medical (though there is a medical center in Alpine), big ticket items, all but the most basic groceries, et al.

So. I still love all 3 places, but not having anything handy was the huge downside for me. You would have to keep your list and plan your trips. I just got back from Home Depot--they FINALLY got the Silverado sage I wanted for the front yard in...and I would have had to drive to Midland for it if I had moved to Alpine.

If Alpine sees some positive growth over the next few years, I have not ruled it out completely. It's a wonderful little town, but has its drawbacks.

The worst of those drawbacks is not being able to find someone who can do repairs, services, et al.

No, the weather is not usually cool during the summer days, but like Alamogordo, the nights cool off considerably, and the humidity is low. The temperatures between there and here tend to be very similar. Winters are mild. It has the best climate in the state, and if I ever go back to Texas, it would be high on my list, once I no longer ski.

[domino]

Alpine is a great town and a great place to visit. Beautiful scenery, awesome weather. For me, it's just too remote to consider living there.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by malamute

I've been to Chicago when it was 95 degrees and I thought it was absolutely miserable. Unbearable even.

Oh God yeah. Those days suck. Fortunate for us, those days are rare, only occuring a handful of times all summer. We're normally in the upper 70s/lower 80s, with our hottest month averaging in the mid 80s. I spend alot of time in the southwest in summer, actually, and while the air is dry there, its much hotter than in the midwest. Our air is stickier, but feels quite a bit cooler. And days when the humidity is down, it feels actually quite cool here, making me put on sweatshirts at night from time to time. I think ABQ's climate is very nice, I jsut wish the summer wasnt so long and Id ask for about 20-30% more humidity in the air so it wasnt quite so dry. But hey, cant have everything, right?

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Oh God yeah. Those days suck. Fortunate for us, those days are rare, only occuring a handful of times all summer. We're normally in the upper 70s/lower 80s, with our hottest month averaging in the mid 80s. I spend alot of time in the southwest in summer, actually, and while the air is dry there, its much hotter than in the midwest. Our air is stickier, but feels quite a bit cooler. And days when the humidity is down, it feels actually quite cool here, making me put on sweatshirts at night from time to time. I think ABQ's climate is very nice, I jsut wish the summer wasnt so long and Id ask for about 20-30% more humidity in the air so it wasnt quite so dry. But hey, cant have everything, right?

Believe it or not, but overall, I also agree with this post from Steve-O too!!

The upper Midwestern summer (Chicago, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Indy, etc.) is overrated in its heat-humidity. A few stretches, but usually pretty short and overall, if the summer in this region were much longer, you wouldn't hear people complain as much about the weather here. The summertime weather is the last thing to really cause folks problems in the upper Midwest like Chicago.

I also agree that ABQ's summers are a hare longer than ideal, and sometimes in the summer (unless a year has a particularly good monsoon) you start to yearn for more a tad more humidity (not Mississippi-like, mind you ). I actually like the monsoon in ABQ which cools things down and gets humidity levels more in that 35% - 45% range (as long as you aren't stuck with a swamp cooler that renders useless in those humidities!).

I guess some of this is apples-to-oranges and relative. If you are from deep MS or deep Alabama, etc, to you probably Albuquerque's summers are great (even Las Cruces'). If you are from Chicago or Cleveland, Albuquerque's summers can be long and hot. It just depends on what you are comfortable with and used to.

Having said all of that, of course I personally find the Albuquerque-through-Las Cruces / (El Paso) region to have some of the best, most ideal year-round weather in the nation by far, so it isn't like I let my preference for ABQ's falls and springs trash my appreciation of the summers!

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by EnjoyEP

Believe it or not, but overall, I also agree with this post from Steve-O too!!

The upper Midwestern summer (Chicago, Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Indy, etc.) is overrated in its heat-humidity. A few stretches, but usually pretty short and overall, if the summer in this region were much longer, you wouldn't hear people complain as much about the weather here. The summertime weather is the last thing to really cause folks problems in the upper Midwest like Chicago.

I also agree that ABQ's summers are a hare longer than ideal, and sometimes in the summer (unless a year has a particularly good monsoon) you start to yearn for more a tad more humidity (not Mississippi-like, mind you ). I actually like the monsoon in ABQ which cools things down and gets humidity levels more in that 35% - 45% range (as long as you aren't stuck with a swamp cooler that renders useless in those humidities!).

I guess some of this is apples-to-oranges and relative. If you are from deep MS or deep Alabama, etc, to you probably Albuquerque's summers are great (even Las Cruces'). If you are from Chicago or Cleveland, Albuquerque's summers can be long and hot. It just depends on what you are comfortable with and used to.

Having said all of that, of course I personally find the Albuquerque-through-Las Cruces / (El Paso) region to have some of the best, most ideal year-round weather in the nation by far, so it isn't like I let my preference for ABQ's falls and springs trash my appreciation of the summers!

Whoa, we agree?!?!? j/k

If I had to move out west, Id definitely consider ABQ (weather wise). Its pretty mild (minus the summers which are actually very mild compared to PHX), which is what I like. Im not crazy about single digit humidity levels though, which is why I would like for there to be around 25-35% humidity levels, just enough to add moisture to the air for the skin/hair/etc, but not swamp you out like in Florida, ick. If ABQs summers were like your early-to-mid October weather, Id be there in a heartbeat. Er, Santa Fe actually.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Whoa, we agree?!?!? j/k

No kidding. I wondered why the sun was turning to blood on my lunch break!

Actually Steve, look at your first post in this thread and my reply to it. We agreed overall then too. Rare perhaps, but I guess it does indeed sometimes occur!

Originally Posted by Steve-o

If I had to move out west, Id definitely consider ABQ (weather wise). Its pretty mild (minus the summers which are actually very mild compared to PHX), which is what I like.

I agree fully with this. Albuquerque maybe has 5-to-10 days total annually which I would classify as Phoenix-esque (and more like Phoenix in May or September than June - August) and absolutely no days that are the bear of a Phoenix summer.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Im not crazy about single digit humidity levels though, which is why I would like for there to be around 25-35% humidity levels, just enough to add moisture to the air for the skin/hair/etc, but not swamp you out like in Florida, ick.

I am torn on this one, although I can see where you are coming from.

A few days ago here in Milwaukee, it was 79 degrees at 5pm and fairly darn humid. But you know what? It was very enjoyable and comfortable. Humidity levels were probably a hare higher than *ideal* and temps were probably a hare lower than *ideal* (due to cloud cover...a sunny 79 is great to me), but honestly, that humidity felt great. There is just a look in the air, a smell in the air, etc.

Humidity can actually be missed (to many's shock) at times. Not the super thick, ultra hot and uncomfortable stuff of a Florida, Mississippi, Eastern Texas, or New Orleans, etc., but those 70 to 83, 84 degree days in the Midwest where it feels actually just kind of like "summer".

I actually do prefer dry to humid given the two, but ideally in Utopia, USA, wouldn't mind some mixture with some occasional humidity thrown into the loop.

I remember often going to Denver from ABQ for a weekend and thinking "wow, this humidity feels nice." You know when you are thinking that DENVER has some "nice humidity", you are subconsciously missing humidity a bit.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

If ABQs summers were like your early-to-mid October weather, Id be there in a heartbeat.

Can't say I disagree with this either. To me, mid-to-late October and also non-windy portions of April are ideal times in ABQ.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Er, Santa Fe actually.

Ah, well, we disagree on this one, however I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later!

Santa Fe is beautiful though, and some folks posting here like Towanda, Devin Bent, etc., love the area.