La Plata, New Mexico Weather
La Plata, New Mexico — live current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, NWS alerts, radar and satellite imagery, soil and crop conditions for La Plata, San Juan County.
Full aviation weather for La Plata is published on the Four Corners Regional Airport (KFMN) page, 21 km away. It carries the current METAR decoded into plain language — surface wind, visibility, cloud layers and ceiling, temperature and dewpoint, and altimeter setting — alongside the raw observation as transmitted. 5 airfields within reach of La Plata have their own pages, listed below.
The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is shown across its full validity period, with each change group broken out so you can see when conditions are expected to shift. Flight category is derived automatically — VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR — from reported ceiling and visibility, with runway details and field elevation alongside. Observations update roughly hourly and forecasts several times a day.
Other airports near La Plata: Animas Air Park (K00C) 42 km · Durango La Plata County Airport (KDRO) 46 km · Shiprock Airstrip (K5V5) 52 km · Cortez Municipal Airport (KCEZ) 57 km
Conditions reported at KFMN describe the airfield itself. Weather 21 km away can differ, particularly in terrain or near the coast. For conditions at La Plata specifically, see the current conditions and forecast above.
Soil conditions, frost risk and crop weather for La Plata.
About La Plata, New Mexico
La Plata rests in a broad, sun-drenched valley where the land begins to hint at the larger geological forces at play in northwestern New Mexico. It lies 13.9 miles north of Farmington, NM (from Farmington, NM: bearing 6°T), and is situated 9.7 miles west-north-west of North Light Plant. The terrain here is an open book of earth tones, a palette of ochres, ruddy browns, and faded sage greens, all under a sky that often stretches in an immense, almost palpable blue. Low mesas, their rims softened by distance and the ceaseless caress of wind, stand as silent sentinels, their flanks etched with the dry washes that channel infrequent but powerful storms. The air itself carries a dryness, a clean scent of dust and sun-baked sagebrush, and in the late afternoon, a particular quality of light descends, turning the distant horizons to a soft, hazy rose. The history of La Plata is tied to the enduring flow of the river that gives it its name, a vital artery in an arid land, and the early settlers who understood its worth. For generations, this valley has sustained agricultural life, with ranches and fields drawing sustenance from the water, supporting a local economy built on livestock and crops hardy enough for the climate. Though not a large hub, La Plata possesses a quiet character, a place where the pace of life is measured by the turning seasons and the needs of the land, a distinct continuity from the days when prospectors and ranchers first sought opportunity here. The enduring presence of the river, even when reduced to a whisper in drier months, remains a constant reminder of the delicate balance that defines existence in this corner of San Juan County.
Live animated radar for La Plata and surroundings — RainViewer.
NOAA GOES-16 GEOCOLOR — live animated loop updated every 10 minutes. Shows cloud cover, storm systems and weather patterns across the continental US.
Source: NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East · Public domain · Auto-updates on page reload
| Location | La Plata, San Juan County, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 36.928612°N, 108.190354°W |
| Timezone | Mountain Time (America/Denver) |
| ZIP Code(s) | 87418, 87401 |
| Area Code | 505 |
| Page generated | September 2026 |
| Weather data | Open-Meteo (open-source), NOAA National Weather Service |
About This La Plata, New Mexico Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for La Plata, New Mexico, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, NWS extended text forecast, precipitation radar and NOAA GOES-16 satellite imagery. Aviation weather — live METAR observations and TAF forecasts — is published separately on the pages for the nearest reporting airports, linked from the aviation section above. Additional sections may include tide predictions, wave height, wave direction and sea-surface temperature, a barometric pressure trend, and a solunar-based fishing forecast with a fishing-conditions rating for coastal localities, and soil temperature, crop weather and live USGS river gauge data for agricultural areas near a monitored waterway. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for La Plata includes coordinates 36.928612°N, 108.190354°W, situated in San Juan County. ZIP code 87418, 87401. Telephone area code: 505. Timezone: Mountain Time (America/Denver).
Weather data is sourced from the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and the open-source Open-Meteo API. River and stream data is sourced from the USGS National Water Information System. Tide predictions are sourced from NOAA CO-OPS; marine and solunar data are modeled from Open-Meteo and public sunrise/moon calculations and should be treated as a general guide alongside on-the-water conditions. Radar is provided by RainViewer. Satellite imagery is sourced from NOAA/NESDIS GOES-East and is public domain.
