Clifton, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Clifton's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 100°F July afternoons, with 17.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.6°C, December lows of 2°C, July highs of 38°C, 432 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationClifton
- Station IDUSC00021849
- Location33.06°N 109.31°W
- Elevation3,520 ft (1,073 m)
- Population3,815
On October 23, the normal high in Clifton is 80°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 13%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Clifton.
- Jan 61° 35°
- Feb 66° 39°
- Mar 73° 45°
- Apr 81° 51°
- May 90° 59°
- Jun 100° 69°
- Jul 100° 74°
- Aug 98° 72°
- Sep 93° 66°
- Oct 83° 55°
- Nov 70° 42°
- Dec 60° 35°
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 Clifton each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 100°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.28 in), the least in June (0.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61°F | 35°F | 48.1°F | 1.25 | 4 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 66°F | 39°F | 52.5°F | 1.53 | 5 | <1 | 3 | 11 h |
| March | 73°F | 45°F | 59.3°F | 0.85 | 4 | <1 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 81°F | 51°F | 66.1°F | 0.47 | 2 | 4 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 90°F | 59°F | 74.3°F | 0.49 | 2 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 100°F | 69°F | 84.4°F | 0.43 | 2 | 28 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 100°F | 74°F | 87.4°F | 3.12 | 9 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 98°F | 72°F | 84.6°F | 3.28 | 11 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 93°F | 66°F | 79.2°F | 1.71 | 6 | 22 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 83°F | 55°F | 68.8°F | 1.45 | 4 | 6 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 70°F | 42°F | 55.7°F | 1.33 | 3 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 60°F | 35°F | 47.3°F | 1.11 | 4 | <1 | 12 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 81°F | 54°F | 67.3°F | 17.02 | 55 | 135 | 30 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 2°C | 8.9°C | 32 mm |
| February | 19°C | 4°C | 11.4°C | 39 mm |
| March | 23°C | 7°C | 15.2°C | 22 mm |
| April | 27°C | 11°C | 18.9°C | 12 mm |
| May | 32°C | 15°C | 23.5°C | 12 mm |
| June | 38°C | 21°C | 29.1°C | 11 mm |
| July | 38°C | 24°C | 30.8°C | 79 mm |
| August | 36°C | 22°C | 29.2°C | 83 mm |
| September | 34°C | 19°C | 26.2°C | 43 mm |
| October | 28°C | 13°C | 20.4°C | 37 mm |
| November | 21°C | 5°C | 13.2°C | 34 mm |
| December | 15°C | 2°C | 8.5°C | 28 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00021849; 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 Clifton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, March, April, October 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 USC00021849.
When is the last frost in Clifton?
In Clifton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 26 in half of years and after March 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 23 in half of years and before November 10 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 261 year in 10 after March 15; 9 in 10 after February 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 231 year in 10 before November 10; 9 in 10 before December 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 268 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 302 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 5 in half of springs and before December 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Clifton in zone 8b in ZIP code 85540, 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 USC00021849; 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 Clifton?
In a normal year in Clifton, 135 days a year reach 90°F (48 of them 100°F or more), 30 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 55 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 135a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 48a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 30a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 55a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1908) is 116°F, on June 26, 1994; the lowest is 4°F, on January 12, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1919, with 22.53 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 20.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00021849; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00021849. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Clifton?
Over a year 85% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Clifton, 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 Clifton need?
A normal year in Clifton brings 2,026 heating degree days, 62% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,895 cooling degree days, 3.2 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 6,621 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 522 | 0 |
| February | 351 | 1 |
| March | 198 | 20 |
| April | 64 | 97 |
| May | 8 | 298 |
| June | 0 | 583 |
| July | 0 | 694 |
| August | 0 | 606 |
| September | 0 | 426 |
| October | 42 | 158 |
| November | 292 | 12 |
| December | 549 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,026 | 2,895 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00021849. 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 Clifton's climate compare?
Clifton is warmer than 59 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 71. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 67.3°F is warmer than 92%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Clifton 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 Clifton 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.
- Morenci, AZ1,514 people · 1 mi W
- York, AZ436 people · 12 mi SE
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 Clifton's climate
What is the coldest month in Clifton?
December, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (100°F by day, 74°F at night).
Does it snow in Clifton?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Clifton?
August, with 3.28 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Clifton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Clifton in zone 8b in ZIP code 85540, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Clifton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 26; in one year in ten it comes after March 15. Waiting until March 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Safford, AZ24 miles from this station, 66.4°F a year
- Duncan, AZ24 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Safford Agricultural Center, AZ27 miles from this station, 65.1°F a year
- Glenwood, NM31 miles from this station, 56.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made