New Mexico · 1514 m elevation

Barometric Pressure in Albuquerque, NM

• 29.98Average pressure (inHg, sea level)
• 180.7Swing days a year · 25th of 50
• 75.5Big-swing days a year (≥10 hPa)
• 99.1Significant 24h drop days a year

Overview

Albuquerque averages 180.7 pressure swing days a year — the national median — but only 75.5 big swings. Winter is turbulent; July nearly flat.

Albuquerque sits at 29.98 inHg (1015.4 hPa) mean sea-level pressure, with a typical range from 29.67 inHg (1004.9 hPa) at the 5th percentile to 30.36 inHg (1028 hPa) at the 95th. The standard deviation is 0.21 inHg (6.97 hPa), barely above the 6.87 hPa national median and good for 24th of 50 cities.

The more interesting number is how often pressure moves versus how far. Albuquerque logs 180.7 significant swing days per year — days when pressure changes at least 0.18 inHg (6 hPa) over 24 hours — which is exactly the national median and ranks #25 of 50. But big-swing days of 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) or more come only 75.5 times a year, below the national median of 86.1 and good for #27. The deepest 24-hour fall in ten years, 0.63 inHg (21.5 hPa), ranks just #40 of 50 for severity. The city moves constantly and gently: the median day changes only 0.09 inHg (2.9 hPa). That separates Albuquerque sharply from Denver, its closest high-elevation analogue and the most volatile city in this set, which records 1.56 times as many swing days, 2.25 times as many big-swing days, and a worst drop 1.82 times deeper. Elevation alone doesn't make a city volatile. Against the rest of the Southwest, Albuquerque is the restless one: 1.29 times El Paso's swing days, 2.38 times Phoenix's, and 9.1 times Miami's. In amplitude, its 95th-percentile 24-hour change of 0.35 inHg (11.7 hPa) matches Nashville, and its big-swing count is a near-tie with Fort Worth's 75.3.

Elevation matters for anyone reading a barometer at home. At 1,514 m, mean station pressure in Albuquerque is 25.13 inHg (850.9 hPa) — 4.86 inHg (164.5 hPa) below the sea-level-adjusted value. An uncorrected gauge will sit near 25 inHg permanently and appear to be forecasting a hurricane. Set the altitude offset, or track only the change rather than the absolute number.

Migraine & pressure-sensitivity outlook

• Low — under 6 hPa (0.18 inHg)
• Elevated — 6 to 10 hPa
• High — 10 hPa (0.30 inHg) or more
• Dashed outline = forecast (after today)

Association only. This calendar shows days when pressure changed — or is forecast to change — sharply over 24 hours, conditions associated with pressure sensitivity in some people. It is not a prediction of symptoms, not a diagnosis, and not medical advice. The 30 days of history are there so you can compare the days you actually felt something against what the barometer did. Talk to a clinician about headache or migraine management.

For people who track pressure, Albuquerque is a moderate-frequency, low-intensity city. It records 99.1 drop days per year — significant 24-hour falls of 0.18 inHg (6 hPa) or more — roughly one every 3.7 days on average. But the events tend to be shallow. Only 75.5 days a year reach the 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) big-swing threshold, below the national median of 86.1, and the ten-year worst case of 0.63 inHg (21.5 hPa) is milder than the deepest drop in 39 other cities in this comparison. The typical day moves just 0.09 inHg (2.9 hPa), which most people would not register at all.

The calendar is unusually predictable here, which is the practical takeaway. January brings 14.0 drop days and December 13.7, versus 1.8 in July and 2.6 in August. From June through September the barometer is close to flat, with monthly variability under 5 hPa. Late fall through early spring concentrates nearly all of the conditions many pressure-sensitive people report as triggers, and every one of the five deepest recorded drops landed between late November and early February. Sharp intraday movement is possible in winter as well — the steepest six-hour fall on record is 0.56 inHg (19.1 hPa).

Relative to other cities, Albuquerque sits in the middle without the extremes. Denver, at similar elevation, delivers 2.25 times as many big-swing days and a worst drop nearly twice as deep. Phoenix has roughly 4.3 times fewer big-swing days, and Miami about 9 times fewer swing days overall. Anyone comparing locations should read Albuquerque as a steady but muted winter pattern paired with a summer in which the barometer rarely moves.

Seasonal patterns

Albuquerque's year splits cleanly in two. December and January tie at 23.6 swing days each, with February at 21.5, March at 19.7, and November at 19.6. July is nearly inert at 4.4, with August 5.5 and June 7.2 — January produces 5.4 times as many swing days as July. Month-to-month variability tells the same story: standard deviation falls from 7.76 hPa in February to 3.77 hPa in July and August. The winter half is driven by Pacific storm systems and lee-side troughing east of the Rockies, which push pressure around on a two-to-three-day rhythm. The summer half belongs to the North American monsoon, when pressure is thermally governed and day-to-day differences nearly vanish — afternoon storms can be violent while the barometer barely notices.

Mean sea-level pressure peaks in January at 30.17 inHg (1021.6 hPa) and bottoms in May at 29.83 inHg (1010.3 hPa), with December close behind January at 30.14 inHg (1020.5 hPa). Both ten-year records fall in February. The high, 30.92 inHg (1047 hPa), came on February 4, 2022; the low, 29.26 inHg (990.9 hPa), on February 22, 2023 — a 56.1 hPa span between them. The five sharpest 24-hour drops are all cold-season events: 0.63 inHg (21.5 hPa) ending February 3, 2020; 0.61 inHg (20.7 hPa) on November 27, 2016; 0.59 inHg (19.9 hPa) on January 21, 2019; 0.58 inHg (19.5 hPa) on January 23, 2017; and 0.56 inHg (19.1 hPa) on December 28, 2022.

One asymmetry is worth knowing: pressure here rises faster than it falls. The largest 24-hour rise on record is 1.08 inHg (36.6 hPa), far exceeding any drop, and the 95th-percentile daily rise of 0.30 inHg (10 hPa) outpaces the 5th-percentile fall of 0.25 inHg (8.5 hPa). Post-frontal cold surges pile pressure onto the high desert more abruptly than storms remove it.

Month by month

Swing days: 24-hour change of at least 6 hPa (0.18 inHg). Drop days: 24-hour fall of at least 6 hPa. Averages per year, 2015–2024.

Records and extremes

Sharpest 24-hour drops, 2015–2024

Nearby cities

• El Paso, TX
• Colorado Springs, CO
• Tucson, AZ
• Phoenix, AZ
• Denver, CO
• Las Vegas, NV

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