2016 Annual Weather Highlights ABQ Temp Precip

TEMPERATURES

The 2016 year in Albuquerque was much warmer than normal, which has been the norm of the past 15 or so years. The average temperature was 59.2 degrees, tied for the 4th warmest year since records began in 1892. Since 2000, 14 years have ranked in the top 25 warmest years on record!

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The average temperature for Albuquerque in 2016 was 59.2 degrees. This was 2.0 degrees above the 30 year normal (1981-2010) of 57.2 degrees. The long term annual normal (1893 to current) temperature was 56.6 degrees. 2016 was the 4th warmest year on record in Albuquerque, going back to 1893, or 124 years.

Monthly temperatures for the Albuquerque Sunport in 2016 are illustrated in the charts below, with monthly average temperatures for Albuquerque in red, and both long term (purple) and 30-year (blue) normals in the top graph, with departures shown in the bottom graph.

Nine of the 12 months in 2016 experienced above normal temperatures. The year began with above normal temperatures in January through March, with both February and March well above normal. April (barely) and May were below normal, with the rest of the months in 2016 above normal except August. February (6th warmest), March (11th warmest), June (5th warmest), July (tied for 7th warmest), October (2nd warmest), November (Tied 11th warmest) and December (17th warmest) all contributed to the well above normal temperatures this year.

The average maximum temperature for Albuquerque in 2016 was 71.8°F (+3.0 degrees above normal), while the average minimum temperature for the year was 46.5°F (+1.0 degree above normal). Thus, the maximum temperatures in 2016 were much more of a contributor to the warmer than normal average temperatures. The maximum and minimum monthly average temperatures are shown in the graphs below..

PRECIPITATION

Precipitation in Albuquerque for 2016 was below normal, like many recent years have been. The graph below displays the actual daily precipitation (blue line below) for 2016.

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Total precipitation in 2016 was 6.68 inches, while the official 30 year normal (1981-2010) is 9.45 inches. This was a deficit of 2.77 inches. It was another drier than normal year, with only 2015 wetter than normal in Albuquerque since 2007. The long term annual precipitation (1892 to current) averages 8.56 inches. 2016 was the 36th driest on record since 1892.

The monthly precipitation (orange) is shown below and is compared to the 30 year normal (light green), the long term period of record normal (cyan), and the departures from normal (green or brown).

The year began with January through March slightly below normal, while April and May were slightly above normal. June through October were below normal, while November and December (barely) were above normal.

SNOWFALL

The Albuquerque Sunport (blue line below) measured just 2.8 inches of snow in calendar year 2016. The 30 year normal (1981-2010) is 9.6 inches while the long term normal (1892-current) is 9.7 inches.

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The table below shows the snowfall for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons so far, which officially runs from July through June. The 2015-2016 total was 8.0 inches while the current 2016-2017 season has only been 0.2 inches so far.

The Albuquerque South Valley received 9.91 inches of precipitation in 2016 and 3.0 inches of snow.

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