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Shaded-relief map of Columbus, New Mexico: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
NEW MEXICO · LUNA COUNTY

Columbus

1,495 people, 4,070 ft above sea level in Luna County.

4,070 ftElevation, city center
1,495People, 2024 estimate
5 sq miLand area
Sunny 62°
Sunny now Dew point 40° · W 18 mph · high 61°
City of Columbus River Interstate 2 miles
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The Columbus plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Columbus

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 1:00 PM MST
RIGHT NOW Deming Municipal Airport (KDMN) · 12:53 PM
Sunny
62° Sunny Feels like 62° · high of 61° near 1 PM
WindW 18 mphgusts 29
Humidity44%falling to 48% this afternoon
Pressure29.97 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 40° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 70.04 in · 7 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Luna County
NWS El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 1:46 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:38 AM5:12 PM ↓
10 h 33 m of daylight, 1 minute less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
10
GOODAir quality index · coarse particles
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
windy
partly cloudy night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
61°
39°
61°
39°
62°
42°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
21
16
9
8
9
8
6
3
0
2
5
6
7
7
8
10
10
9
8
8
9
9
9
9
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 38 to 46°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 67° / 35°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
61° 39°
0% rain — W 21, gusts 36 A
SUN Nov. 15 Sunny Sunny
62° 39°
0% rain — W 3 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
62° 39°
0% rain — E 10 B
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
64° 42°
20% rain — S 6 B
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
63° 39°
0% rain — W 3 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
67° 42°
0% rain — S 5 B
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
65° 37°
0% rain — W 14, gusts 28 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Columbus about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Rockies three days ago, and over Texas a day ago, about 380 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. It came down from about 9,300 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from Texas; at 10,000 feet, from the Rockies. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses, nine paths at each of three heights.

MILE2
THE GROUND

What Columbus stands on

Columbus’s center stands about 4,070 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 4,000 ft to 4,300 ft, a difference of 300 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is North Peak, about 5,730 ft, 8 miles northwest.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Piedmont alluvial deposits (unconsolidated), from the Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Columbus, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
4,000 ft4,500 ft5,000 ft COLUMBUS4,070 ftHigh point of the line5,190 ftBlack Hill4,050 ftLow point3,960 ft ← NWSE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 16×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Piedmont alluvial deposits

Unconsolidated. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Tertiary intrusive rocks of intermediate to silicic composition

Granitic, syenitic. Age: Eocene to Pliocene, 2.6 to 56 million years old. About 5 mi of the line.

Older piedmont alluvial deposits and shallow basin fill

Unconsolidated. Age: Late Pliocene to Pleistocene, 0.1 to 3.6 million years old. About 4 mi of the line.

Alluvium

Unconsolidated. Age: Pleistocene to Holocene, less than 0.1 million years old. About 3 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Columbus on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Deming NM · 31 MI 31 miles north Las Cruces NM · 61 MI 61 miles northeast El Paso TX · 71 MI 71 miles east Tucson AZ · 191 MI 191 miles west Catalina Foothills AZ · 193 MI 193 miles west
FORECASTCITY
Map of Columbus, New Mexico. Explore the plate
NEW MEXICO · LUNA

Columbus

1,495 people, 4,070 ft above sea level in Luna County.

4,070 ftElevation
1,495People
5 sq miLand
Sunny 62°
SunnyDew point 40°
1

Today in Columbus

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now windy 61° 0%
4p partly cloudy day 60° 1%
7p mostly clear night 52° 0%
10p mostly clear night 47° 1%
1a clear night 44° 0%
4a clear night 42° 0%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
61
A
Sun0%
Sunny Sunny
39
62
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
62
B
Tue20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
42
64
B
Wed0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
39
63
C
Thu0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
42
67
B
Fri0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
37
65
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
2

What Columbus stands on

Columbus’s center stands about 4,070 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 4,000 ft to 4,300 ft, a difference of 300 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is North Peak, about 5,730 ft, 8 miles northwest.

Columbus, northwest to southeast Columbus4,070 ftBlack Hill4,050 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 30×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center4,070 ft
Within 3 miles4,000 to 4,300 ft
Lie of the landRolling (300 ft of relief)
High point nearbyNorth Peak, 5,730 ft, 8 mi northwest
Rock at the surfacePiedmont alluvial deposits
Its agePleistocene to Holocene, less than 2.6 million years old