The hottest day of the year averages 104.9°F, and the record 110°F has stood since June 28, 1994. Ordinary days have warmed measurably over these 50 years — the yearly peak has not.
Location
Las Cruces, NM (NMSU)
Period
1976–2025 (50 yrs)
Metric
Hottest day each year
Source
NOAA / RCC-ACIS1
104.9°F
average annual peak
110°F
record — 6/28/1994
99°F
lowest peak — 1988
27 of 50
years reaching 105°F+
Hottest Temperature Recorded Each Year
Year-by-Year Peak (°F)
1976102
1977103
1978107
1979105
1980106
1981107
1982102
1983102
1984100
1985105
1986101
1987103
198899
1989107
1990107
1991104
1992105
1993103
1994110
1995106
1996105
1997104
1998106
1999105
2000104
2001104
2002104
2003104
2004102
2005104
2006103
2007104
2008104
2009104
2010107
2011106
2012105
2013107
2014106
2015103
2016106
2017109
2018105
2019104
2020107
2021107
2022107
2023109
2024107
2025107
Findings
The record has stood 31 years. 110°F on 6/28/1994 is still the highest reading; the next hottest, 109°F, came in 2017 and 2023.
Swing dominates, not trend. The slope is +0.64°F per decade but explains just 17% of the variation (r² 0.17). Over the same years the average daily high rose +0.73°F per decade at r² 0.53 — a far clearer signal.
Extreme-heat frequency is near flat: 13 years hit 105°F+ in 1976–2000, versus 14 in 2001–2025.
What has changed is consistency. Every year from 2020 through 2025 reached at least 107°F — a six-year run, and the only stretch of three or more consecutive years at that level anywhere in the 50-year record.
Scope note. Readings are from the NMSU cooperative station in Las Cruces (elev. 3,886 ft), about two miles from the 88005 centroid — the nearest station with a continuous 50-year daily record. Each value is the highest single-day maximum that calendar year. 1997 is missing 30 days of observation, so its 104°F may understate. Data as published, unadjusted.
MVTech · Research Brief
Las Cruces, NM 88005 — climate, 1976–2025
Climate Data Analysis
Las Cruces Annual Rainfall, 1976–2025
Rainfall averages 9.11” a year and has fallen roughly 15% between the first and second halves of the record. The two driest years in 50 are 2024 and 2023 — consecutive.
9.11”
50-year annual mean
3.64”
driest — 2024
14.83”
wettest — 1978
−1.43”
2001–25 vs 1976–2000
Total Rainfall by Year
Year-by-Year Total (inches)
19767.74
19778.74
197814.83
19799.37
19808.05
19819.68
19827.87
19837.28
198413.79
198512.55
198613.00
19879.17
198811.24
19898.94
19909.53
199114.66
199211.03
19939.60
19948.15
19957.59
19966.21
199710.42
19987.17
19999.18
20009.94
20015.25
20027.62
20035.51
200413.15
200510.86
200614.18
200710.29
20089.31
20098.77
20109.39
20116.89
20125.52
20136.42
20148.26
201512.60
20168.48
201711.64
20189.36
20198.67
20207.00
20216.44
20228.82
20234.66
20243.64
20257.16
Findings
The record's two driest years are the two most recent complete ones — 3.64” in 2024 and 4.66” in 2023, against a 9.11” average. No other back-to-back pair in the record comes close.
The second half is meaningfully drier: 9.83” average for 1976–2000 versus 8.40” for 2001–2025 — down 1.43”, roughly 15%.
As with temperature, the slope understates it. The fitted trend is −0.63” per decade at r² 0.12; year-to-year swing is large, so the shift reads more clearly in period averages than in the line.
Taken with page 1: typical days are hotter and water is scarcer, while the single hottest day of the year has not moved. The averages are shifting; the extreme is not.
Scope note. Same station and period as page 1. Values are annual sums of daily precipitation as published by RCC-ACIS. 1997 is missing 30 days of observation, so its 10.42” understates that year. No adjustment or infilling has been applied.
Source
1. NOAA Regional Climate Centers, Applied Climate Information System (RCC-ACIS) — station USC00298535 “State University,” Las Cruces, New Mexico. Daily maximum temperature and daily precipitation, 1976–2025. Accessed 8/4/2026. https://data.rcc-acis.org — StnData; elems maxt (yearly reduce max) and pcpn (yearly reduce sum)