Alpine, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Alpine's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 20.1 inches of precipitation and 45 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.6°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 26°C, 512 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAlpine
- Station IDUSC00020159
- Location33.85°N 109.15°W
- Elevation8,050 ft (2,454 m)
- Population (census place)103
On October 23, the normal high in Alpine is 62°F and the normal low 28°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Alpine.
- Jan 46° 15°
- Feb 48° 18°
- Mar 54° 23°
- Apr 61° 26°
- May 69° 32°
- Jun 78° 39°
- Jul 79° 47°
- Aug 76° 46°
- Sep 72° 39°
- Oct 64° 30°
- Nov 54° 22°
- Dec 46° 16°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Alpine each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in August (4.31 in), the least in April (0.53 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 15°F | 30.5°F | 1.26 | 10.7 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 48°F | 18°F | 33.2°F | 1.13 | 9.9 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 11 h |
| March | 54°F | 23°F | 38.2°F | 0.92 | 8.2 | 4 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 26°F | 43.4°F | 0.53 | 1.7 | 2 | <1 | 24 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 32°F | 50.1°F | 0.71 | 0.5 | 4 | <1 | 18 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 78°F | 39°F | 58.4°F | 0.83 | 0.0 | 4 | <1 | 6 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 79°F | 47°F | 62.6°F | 3.91 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 76°F | 46°F | 61.2°F | 4.31 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 72°F | 39°F | 55.5°F | 2.34 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 30°F | 46.7°F | 1.61 | 1.3 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 54°F | 22°F | 37.8°F | 1.16 | 4.6 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 46°F | 16°F | 30.9°F | 1.44 | 7.9 | 5 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 29°F | 45.7°F | 20.15 | 44.8 | 75 | <1 | 218 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −9°C | −0.8°C | 32 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 9°C | −8°C | 0.7°C | 29 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 12°C | −5°C | 3.4°C | 23 mm | 21 cm |
| April | 16°C | −3°C | 6.3°C | 13 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 20°C | 0°C | 10.1°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 26°C | 4°C | 14.7°C | 21 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26°C | 8°C | 17.0°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 8°C | 16.2°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 4°C | 13.1°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | −1°C | 8.2°C | 41 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 12°C | −6°C | 3.2°C | 29 mm | 12 cm |
| December | 8°C | −9°C | −0.6°C | 37 mm | 20 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00020159; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Alpine?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, May has the fewest days with rain (4).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00020159.
When is the last frost in Alpine?
In Alpine, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 15 in half of years and after June 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 21 in half of years and before September 7 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- June 151 year in 10 after June 30; 9 in 10 after June 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 211 year in 10 before September 7; 9 in 10 before October 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 96 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 116 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after June 3 in half of springs and before September 28 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alpine in zone 6b in ZIP code 85920, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Alpine's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (18 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00020159; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Alpine?
In a normal year in Alpine, a 90°F day is rare, 218 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 75 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 218a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 7high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 75a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00020159.
How sunny is Alpine?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Alpine, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and July the cloudiest (78%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.4 |
| February | 82% | 4.3 |
| March | 86% | 5.8 |
| April | 89% | 7.2 |
| May | 91% | 8.0 |
| June | 91% | 8.1 |
| July | 78% | 6.5 |
| August | 80% | 6.2 |
| September | 85% | 5.7 |
| October | 89% | 4.9 |
| November | 87% | 3.8 |
| December | 82% | 3.1 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Alpine need?
A normal year in Alpine brings 7,040 heating degree days, 31% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 23 cooling degree days, 97% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,278 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,071 | 0 |
| February | 890 | 0 |
| March | 831 | 0 |
| April | 648 | 0 |
| May | 461 | 0 |
| June | 203 | 5 |
| July | 86 | 12 |
| August | 125 | 5 |
| September | 284 | 1 |
| October | 567 | 0 |
| November | 818 | 0 |
| December | 1,056 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,040 | 23 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00020159. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Alpine been warmer than normal lately?
2022 averaged 46.0°F, 0.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 45.7°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 46.0°F | +0.3°F | – | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00020159. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Alpine's climate compare?
Alpine is warmer than 2 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 79. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.7°F is warmer than 22%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Alpine is Dsb: continental, dry-summer, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Alpine share this climate record?
Nutrioso has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Nutrioso, AZ478 people · 8 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Alpine's climate
What is the coldest month in Alpine?
January, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 47°F at night).
Does it snow in Alpine?
Yes: 45 inches in a normal year, falling on 15 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Alpine?
August, with 4.31 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.53 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Alpine in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Alpine in zone 6b in ZIP code 85920, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Alpine's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Alpine?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 15; in one year in ten it comes after June 30. Waiting until June 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Luna, NM12 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Springerville, AZ21 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Greer, AZ21 miles from this station, 44.2°F a year
- Reserve, NM23 miles from this station, 53.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made