Carefree, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Carefree's normal year runs from 41°F December nights to 103°F July afternoons, with 12.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 21.4°C, December lows of 5°C, July highs of 40°C, 320 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCarefree
- Station IDUSC00021282
- Location33.82°N 111.90°W
- Elevation2,530 ft (771 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population3,657
On October 23, the normal high in Carefree is 83°F and the normal low 58°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 9%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carefree.
- Jan 65° 42°
- Feb 68° 44°
- Mar 74° 48°
- Apr 82° 53°
- May 91° 61°
- Jun 101° 70°
- Jul 103° 76°
- Aug 102° 76°
- Sep 97° 70°
- Oct 86° 60°
- Nov 74° 49°
- Dec 64° 41°
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 Carefree each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 103°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 41°F. The most precipitation falls in January (1.80 in), the least in June (0.12 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65°F | 42°F | 53.1°F | 1.80 | 5 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 68°F | 44°F | 55.6°F | 1.60 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| March | 74°F | 48°F | 61.0°F | 1.64 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 82°F | 53°F | 67.2°F | 0.50 | 2 | 5 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 91°F | 61°F | 76.1°F | 0.15 | 2 | 19 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 101°F | 70°F | 85.4°F | 0.12 | 1 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 103°F | 76°F | 89.7°F | 1.27 | 4 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 102°F | 76°F | 89.1°F | 1.30 | 5 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 97°F | 70°F | 83.7°F | 1.15 | 3 | 27 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 86°F | 60°F | 72.8°F | 0.97 | 3 | 11 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 74°F | 49°F | 61.5°F | 0.77 | 3 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 64°F | 41°F | 52.5°F | 1.31 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 84°F | 58°F | 70.6°F | 12.58 | 38 | 153 | 6 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 5°C | 11.7°C | 46 mm |
| February | 20°C | 7°C | 13.1°C | 41 mm |
| March | 23°C | 9°C | 16.1°C | 42 mm |
| April | 28°C | 12°C | 19.6°C | 13 mm |
| May | 33°C | 16°C | 24.5°C | 4 mm |
| June | 38°C | 21°C | 29.7°C | 3 mm |
| July | 40°C | 24°C | 32.1°C | 32 mm |
| August | 39°C | 24°C | 31.7°C | 33 mm |
| September | 36°C | 21°C | 28.7°C | 29 mm |
| October | 30°C | 16°C | 22.7°C | 25 mm |
| November | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 20 mm |
| December | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 33 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00021282; 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 Carefree?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00021282.
When is the last frost in Carefree?
In Carefree, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 4 in half of years and after March 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 16 in half of years and before November 24 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
- February 41 year in 10 after March 9; 9 in 10 after January 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 161 year in 10 before November 24; 9 in 10 before January 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 313 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 357 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 14 in half of springs and before January 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carefree in zone 9b in ZIP code 85377. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Carefree's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 28°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00021282; 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 Carefree?
In a normal year in Carefree, 153 days a year reach 90°F (81 of them 100°F or more), 6 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 38 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 153a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 81a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 6a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 38a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00021282.
How sunny is Carefree?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Carefree, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (84%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 84% | 4.3 |
| March | 89% | 5.8 |
| April | 93% | 7.3 |
| May | 95% | 8.2 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 91% | 7.4 |
| August | 91% | 6.8 |
| September | 93% | 6.1 |
| October | 93% | 5.0 |
| November | 89% | 3.8 |
| December | 84% | 3.0 |
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 Carefree need?
A normal year in Carefree brings 1,427 heating degree days, 73% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,512 cooling degree days, 3.9 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 7,680 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 370 | 1 |
| February | 266 | 4 |
| March | 161 | 37 |
| April | 56 | 122 |
| May | 9 | 353 |
| June | 0 | 610 |
| July | 0 | 764 |
| August | 0 | 747 |
| September | 0 | 561 |
| October | 20 | 262 |
| November | 157 | 50 |
| December | 390 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 1,427 | 3,512 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00021282. 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.
How does Carefree's climate compare?
Carefree is warmer than 68 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 70.6°F is warmer than 96%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Carefree is BSh: hot semi-arid steppe. 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 Carefree share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- New River, AZ18,365 people · 11 mi NW
- Cave Creek, AZ5,177 people · 5 mi W
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 Carefree's climate
What is the coldest month in Carefree?
December, with a normal high of 64°F and a normal low of 41°F. The warmest is July (103°F by day, 76°F at night).
Does it snow in Carefree?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Carefree?
January, with 1.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.12 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carefree in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carefree in zone 9b in ZIP code 85377. By the same method at Carefree's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 28°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Carefree?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 4; in one year in ten it comes after March 9. Waiting until March 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pinnacle Peak, AZ7 miles from this station, 69.5°F a year
- Scottsdale, AZ14 miles from this station, 73.2°F a year
- Phoenix Deer Valley Municipal Airport, AZ14 miles from this station, 72.5°F a year
- Fountain Hills, AZ18 miles from this station, 72.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made