Catalina, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Catalina's normal year runs from 31°F December nights to 100°F July afternoons, with 13.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.7°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 38°C, 335 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCatalina State Park
- Station IDUSC00021357
- Location32.42°N 110.93°W
- Elevation2,707 ft (825 m)
- Population (census place)6,908
On October 14, the normal high in Catalina is 87°F and the normal low 49°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Catalina.
- Jan 67° 31°
- Feb 68° 32°
- Mar 75° 36°
- Apr 82° 43°
- May 91° 51°
- Jun 101° 60°
- Jul 100° 71°
- Aug 98° 69°
- Sep 96° 62°
- Oct 87° 48°
- Nov 76° 38°
- Dec 66° 31°
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 Catalina each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 100°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 31°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.60 in), the least in May (0.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67°F | 31°F | 48.8°F | 1.35 | – | <1 | 20 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 68°F | 32°F | 50.1°F | 1.21 | – | <1 | 15 | 11 h |
| March | 75°F | 36°F | 55.6°F | 0.70 | – | 1 | 7 | 12 h |
| April | 82°F | 43°F | 62.4°F | 0.32 | – | 7 | 2 | 13 h |
| May | 91°F | 51°F | 70.7°F | 0.20 | – | 19 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 101°F | 60°F | 80.1°F | 0.35 | – | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 100°F | 71°F | 85.2°F | 2.60 | – | 29 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 98°F | 69°F | 83.5°F | 2.54 | – | 30 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 96°F | 62°F | 78.7°F | 1.17 | – | 26 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 87°F | 48°F | 67.4°F | 0.79 | – | 14 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 76°F | 38°F | 56.7°F | 0.80 | – | 2 | 7 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 66°F | 31°F | 48.7°F | 1.17 | – | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 84°F | 48°F | 65.6°F | 13.20 | – | 157 | 67 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | −1°C | 9.3°C | 34 mm |
| February | 20°C | 0°C | 10.1°C | 31 mm |
| March | 24°C | 2°C | 13.1°C | 18 mm |
| April | 28°C | 6°C | 16.9°C | 8 mm |
| May | 33°C | 10°C | 21.5°C | 5 mm |
| June | 38°C | 15°C | 26.7°C | 9 mm |
| July | 38°C | 22°C | 29.6°C | 66 mm |
| August | 37°C | 20°C | 28.6°C | 65 mm |
| September | 35°C | 17°C | 25.9°C | 30 mm |
| October | 30°C | 9°C | 19.7°C | 20 mm |
| November | 24°C | 3°C | 13.7°C | 20 mm |
| December | 19°C | −1°C | 9.3°C | 30 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Tucson Camp Ave Experiment (9 miles away), gets 0 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00021357; 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 Catalina?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, April, November and December.
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 USC00021357.
When is the last frost in Catalina?
In Catalina, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 2 in half of years and after April 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 11 in half of years and before October 26 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
- April 21 year in 10 after April 18; 9 in 10 after March 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 111 year in 10 before October 26; 9 in 10 before November 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 222 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 252 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 12 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Catalina in zone 9a in ZIP code 85755, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00021357; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Catalina?
In a normal year in Catalina, 157 days a year reach 90°F (68 of them 100°F or more) and 67 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 157a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 68a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 67a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00021357.
How sunny is Catalina?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Catalina, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (94%) and July the cloudiest (84%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.6 |
| February | 85% | 4.5 |
| March | 89% | 6.0 |
| April | 93% | 7.4 |
| May | 94% | 8.2 |
| June | 94% | 8.3 |
| July | 84% | 6.9 |
| August | 86% | 6.5 |
| September | 88% | 5.9 |
| October | 92% | 5.1 |
| November | 89% | 3.9 |
| December | 85% | 3.3 |
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 Catalina need?
A normal year in Catalina brings 2,180 heating degree days, 59% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,445 cooling degree days, 2.7 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,057 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 502 | 0 |
| February | 419 | 0 |
| March | 294 | 3 |
| April | 122 | 42 |
| May | 23 | 198 |
| June | 0 | 455 |
| July | 0 | 626 |
| August | 0 | 574 |
| September | 1 | 410 |
| October | 53 | 129 |
| November | 260 | 9 |
| December | 507 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,180 | 2,445 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00021357. 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 Catalina been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 66.7°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 65.6°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65.9°F | +0.3°F | 16.33 |
| 2022 | 65.6°F | at normal | 18.43 |
| 2024 | 66.7°F | +1.1°F | 12.47 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00021357. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Catalina's climate compare?
Catalina is warmer than 50 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 60. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 65.6°F is warmer than 89%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Catalina 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 Catalina 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.
- Marana, AZalso near: Casas Adobes (13 mi, 69.3°F a year); Tucson U Of A #1 (16 mi, 70.3°F a year)62,380 people · 12 mi W
- Oro Valley, AZ48,855 people · 3 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 Catalina's climate
What is the coldest month in Catalina?
December, with a normal high of 66°F and a normal low of 31°F. The warmest is July (100°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Catalina?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Catalina's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Tucson Camp Ave Experiment (9 miles away), records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Catalina?
July, with 2.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 0.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Catalina in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Catalina in zone 9a in ZIP code 85755, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Catalina?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 2; in one year in ten it comes after April 18. Waiting until April 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Casas Adobes, AZ6 miles from this station, 69.3°F a year
- Tucson U Of A #1, AZ12 miles from this station, 70.3°F a year
- Mount Lemmon Willow Canyon, AZ14 miles from this station, 55.9°F a year
- Oracle, AZ17 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made