As shown in the following tables, parts of Arizona get lots of rain and snow. Flagstaff, for example, has very serious winter weather.
Summer in Central Arizona is serious as well, especially after Noon ... this is not a time and place for laboring outside, or to leave perishables in a parked car even for a few minutes.
But Central Arizona is "the" place to be December through March - just ask any of the million-plus snowbirds who visit then.
And summer in Central Arizona is NOT all that bad - at least not at 6 AM when it's typically 80° to 85° and less than 20% humidity - about as good as it gets for golf, jogging, or whatever. Just have a cool place to be by Noon.
The summer daily high temperatures do not occur until about 4 PM, and 100° temps often persist until 9 PM. "Morning" people who work indoors don't mind the summer here that much. "Evening" people do not like summer so much.
Elevation in metro Phoenix varies from about 1,100 feet at the airport to over 2,700 feet in far-North Scottsdale, where the annual averages are about 7° cooler with over 3 inches more rain.
| Metro Phoenix Climate | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | Yr |
| Rain - inches | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.76 | 0.32 | 0.14 | 0.12 | 0.75 | 1.2 | 0.69 | 0.46 | 0.46 | 0.82 | 7.1 |
| Daily High Temp - °F | 66 | 75 | 80 | 86 | 95 | 106 | 107 | 104 | 100 | 94 | 76 | 67 | 88 |
| Daily Low Temp - °F | 44 | 50 | 53 | 60 | 68 | 80 | 84 | 83 | 75 | 70 | 53 | 45 | 64 |
| % Humidity | 43 | 47 | 47 | 27 | 29 | 17 | 32 | 38 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 54 | 34 |
| % Sun | 78 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 93 | 94 | 85 | 85 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 77 | 85 |
|
Average Annual Precipitation |
Yuma | Phoenix | Tucson | Prescott | Flagstaff |
| Rain - inches | 3.0 | 7.1 | 10.7 | 18.1 | 19.8 |
| Snow - inches | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 23.7 | 84.4 |
