Elgin, AZ Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Elgin's primary NOAA station, ELGIN 5 S.
The climate verdict for Elgin
Dryness leads the climate profile for Elgin, Arizona, with 15.4 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 60°F. Its climate comfort score of 68/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 60°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 68/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.4"
- yearly precipitation total
- 197 days
- frost-free growing season
Elgin: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00053132 · Elgin, AZ 60°F mean · 15.4" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 60°F
- RANK-UPPER #5,077
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fort Bayard
- PRCP-DRY 15.4"
- SWING-MID 32°F
- COMF-MID 68/100
- LOAD-HEAT 3,073 HDD
- STN-1 USW00053132
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fort Bayard, NM ( -0.2 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every AZ station list.
- Elgin (this station) 60°F
- Hot Mableton, GA 60°F
- Near Fort Bayard, NM 60°F
- Near Chiricahua Nati…, AZ 60°F
- Cold New Cuyama Fire, CA 59°F
Climate Living Index · Elgin
Elgin: 60/100 · grade C
Elgin publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Elgin, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 68/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 59.8°F · 7.7° from 67.5°F | 76/100 · B |
| Frost-free season | 197 days/year | 62/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 126 calendar days | 61/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 15.4 in · 19.6 from 35 in | 30/100 · F |
Elgin · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Elgin's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 76.2°F
- Coldest month
- 44.3°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Elgin sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Elgin's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 26% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Elgin sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 82%
- Elgin's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 88%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Elgin is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Elgin compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Elgin's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
68 Top 44% score exceeds 56% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F (16°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.2" | 21.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 62°F (17°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.0" | 16.3 | 0.0 |
| March | 68°F (20°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 0.7" | 9.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 75°F (24°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 0.2" | 3.5 | 0.3 |
| May | 83°F (28°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 0.2" | 0.3 | 5.1 |
| June | 92°F (33°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 0.6" | 0.0 | 22.7 |
| July | 89°F (32°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 3.9" | 0.0 | 16.5 |
| August | 87°F (30°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 3.4" | 0.0 | 9.4 |
| September | 85°F (29°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 1.7" | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| October | 78°F (26°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 62°F (16°C) | 0.8" | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| November | 68°F (20°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 0.6" | 10.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 59°F (15°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 1.1" | 20.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Elgin works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 93°F by June 19 and hold at or above 90°F on 37 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 89 dates, bottoming at 28°F around January 1.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 5 through July 11, covering 37 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs March 24 to November 9.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into February 23, then returns to freezing around November 27, covering 89 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is July 26, when 52% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is May 10 at 4%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 77 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 36°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Elgin.
Where Elgin Stands Nationally
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 15 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 36°F between the normal high and low.
Elgin earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
6.8 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
3.9 days with precipitation
2.9 days with precipitation
1.2 days with precipitation
3.4 days with precipitation
15.9 days with precipitation
14.2 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
4.8 days with precipitation
3.7 days with precipitation
6.8 days with precipitation
Elgin runs a summer-peaked wet season
51% of Elgin's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is July at 3.9", on a 31.9°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: July, August, September, taking 59% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: April at 0.2".
- Winter share: 21% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Elgin is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 78 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 21% of the calendar, and they carry 15.4" between them. At roughly 0.20 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is July at about 16 wet days; the driest is May at about 1.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 18
50% probability date
Growing Season
197 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
3,073
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,185
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AZ closest to Elgin on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (60°F here).
- Beatty, NV 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Cheyenne, OK 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Conchas Dam, NM 60°F · 0.0°F off
- Greenbrier, AR 60°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Healy, AK 15.4" · 0.0" off
- Salinas, CA 15.4" · 0.0" off
- Hugo, CO 15.3" · 0.0" off
- Bynum, MT 15.3" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Elgin's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · mid swing
Elgin's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 3,073 annual heating degree days against 1,185 for cooling. Its 31.9°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Elgin's frost-free season lasts about 197 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Elgin's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 31.9°F. The annual average is 60°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Elgin's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 15.4 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Elgin's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Elgin, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Elgin's climate
How much rain does Elgin get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Elgin get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Elgin? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Elgin's primary station: ELGIN 5 S (USW00053132). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 0422150), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Elgin: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Elgin comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.