Cottonwood, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cottonwood's normal year runs from 29°F December nights to 101°F July afternoons, with 12.0 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.5°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 38°C, 305 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTuzigoot
- Station IDUSC00028904
- Location34.77°N 112.03°W
- Elevation3,470 ft (1,058 m)
- Population12,939
On October 14, the normal high in Cottonwood is 83°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cottonwood.
- Jan 61° 30°
- Feb 65° 33°
- Mar 71° 38°
- Apr 79° 43°
- May 88° 51°
- Jun 99° 59°
- Jul 101° 67°
- Aug 98° 66°
- Sep 93° 58°
- Oct 83° 47°
- Nov 71° 36°
- Dec 60° 29°
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 Cottonwood each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 101°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.15 in), the least in June (0.18 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61°F | 30°F | 45.3°F | 1.10 | 0.2 | 5 | <1 | 19 | 10 h |
| February | 65°F | 33°F | 48.6°F | 0.99 | 0.1 | 5 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 71°F | 38°F | 54.4°F | 1.01 | 0.1 | 5 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 79°F | 43°F | 61.0°F | 0.43 | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 88°F | 51°F | 69.4°F | 0.42 | 0.0 | 3 | 14 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 99°F | 59°F | 79.1°F | 0.18 | 0.0 | 1 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 101°F | 67°F | 83.9°F | 1.64 | 0.0 | 8 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 98°F | 66°F | 82.0°F | 2.15 | 0.0 | 8 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 93°F | 58°F | 75.7°F | 1.30 | 0.0 | 5 | 22 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 83°F | 47°F | 64.7°F | 0.96 | 0.0 | 4 | 5 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 71°F | 36°F | 53.3°F | 0.70 | 0.1 | 3 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 60°F | 29°F | 44.6°F | 1.12 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 81°F | 46°F | 63.5°F | 12.00 | 1.0 | 53 | 128 | 63 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | −1°C | 7.4°C | 28 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 18°C | 0°C | 9.2°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| March | 22°C | 3°C | 12.4°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 26°C | 6°C | 16.1°C | 11 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 31°C | 10°C | 20.8°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 37°C | 15°C | 26.2°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 38°C | 19°C | 28.8°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 37°C | 19°C | 27.8°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 34°C | 15°C | 24.3°C | 33 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 28°C | 8°C | 18.2°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 21°C | 2°C | 11.8°C | 18 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 15°C | −1°C | 7.0°C | 28 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028904; 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 Cottonwood?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00028904.
When is the last frost in Cottonwood?
In Cottonwood, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 30 in half of years and after April 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 10 in half of years and before October 25 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
- March 301 year in 10 after April 21; 9 in 10 after March 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 101 year in 10 before October 25; 9 in 10 before November 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 223 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 257 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 5 in half of springs and before November 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cottonwood in zone 8b in ZIP code 86326. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cottonwood's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (25 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 USC00028904; 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 Cottonwood?
In a normal year in Cottonwood, 128 days a year reach 90°F (51 of them 100°F or more), 63 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 53 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 128a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 51a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 63a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 53a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1920) is 118°F, on June 26, 1994; the lowest is 5°F, on January 13, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 26.07 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 45.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00028904; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00028904. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cottonwood?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cottonwood, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (95%) and December the cloudiest (82%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.3 |
| February | 83% | 4.2 |
| March | 87% | 5.7 |
| April | 90% | 7.1 |
| May | 92% | 8.1 |
| June | 95% | 8.6 |
| July | 86% | 7.2 |
| August | 87% | 6.7 |
| September | 90% | 6.0 |
| October | 91% | 4.9 |
| November | 89% | 3.7 |
| December | 82% | 2.9 |
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 Cottonwood need?
A normal year in Cottonwood brings 2,657 heating degree days, 51% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,136 cooling degree days, 2.4 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,464 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 609 | 0 |
| February | 459 | 0 |
| March | 330 | 2 |
| April | 148 | 26 |
| May | 37 | 171 |
| June | 1 | 424 |
| July | 0 | 587 |
| August | 0 | 526 |
| September | 2 | 325 |
| October | 84 | 73 |
| November | 355 | 2 |
| December | 632 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,657 | 2,136 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028904. 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 Cottonwood been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 64.7°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.5°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.7°F | +1.2°F | 12.55 | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00028904. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cottonwood's climate compare?
Cottonwood is warmer than 45 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.5°F is warmer than 84%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cottonwood is BSk: cold 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 Cottonwood share this climate record?
3 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.
- Verde Village, AZ12,662 people · 4 mi SE
- Clarkdale, AZ4,951 people · 2 mi SW
- Cornville, AZ3,356 people · 7 mi E
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 Cottonwood's climate
What is the coldest month in Cottonwood?
December, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (101°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Cottonwood?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (0.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Cottonwood?
August, with 2.15 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.18 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cottonwood in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cottonwood in zone 8b in ZIP code 86326. By the same method at Cottonwood's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Cottonwood?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 30; in one year in ten it comes after April 21. Waiting until April 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Jerome, AZ5 miles from this station, 60.1°F a year
- Camp Verde, AZ16 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Sedona, AZ17 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Oak Creek Canyon, AZ20 miles from this station, 57.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made