Elgin, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elgin's normal year runs from 29°F December nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 15.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.4°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 32°C, 390 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElgin (5 mi S)
- Station IDUSW00053132
- Location31.59°N 110.51°W
- Elevation4,811 ft (1,466 m)
- Population (census place)190
On October 23, the normal high in Elgin is 77°F and the normal low 42°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 Elgin.
- Jan 60° 29°
- Feb 62° 31°
- Mar 68° 35°
- Apr 75° 40°
- May 83° 48°
- Jun 92° 57°
- Jul 89° 63°
- Aug 87° 61°
- Sep 85° 55°
- Oct 78° 45°
- Nov 68° 35°
- Dec 59° 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 Elgin each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.88 in), the least in April (0.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 29°F | 44.4°F | 1.19 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 62°F | 31°F | 46.7°F | 1.03 | 6 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| March | 68°F | 35°F | 51.6°F | 0.66 | 4 | <1 | 10 | 12 h |
| April | 75°F | 40°F | 57.2°F | 0.19 | 3 | <1 | 4 | 13 h |
| May | 83°F | 48°F | 65.4°F | 0.24 | 1 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| June | 92°F | 57°F | 74.5°F | 0.61 | 3 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 89°F | 63°F | 76.2°F | 3.88 | 16 | 17 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 87°F | 61°F | 74.0°F | 3.41 | 14 | 9 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 85°F | 55°F | 70.0°F | 1.73 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 78°F | 45°F | 61.6°F | 0.77 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 68°F | 35°F | 51.2°F | 0.61 | 4 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 59°F | 29°F | 44.3°F | 1.05 | 7 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 75°F | 44°F | 59.8°F | 15.37 | 78 | 60 | 83 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | −2°C | 6.9°C | 30 mm |
| February | 17°C | −1°C | 8.2°C | 26 mm |
| March | 20°C | 2°C | 10.9°C | 17 mm |
| April | 24°C | 4°C | 14.0°C | 5 mm |
| May | 28°C | 9°C | 18.6°C | 6 mm |
| June | 33°C | 14°C | 23.6°C | 15 mm |
| July | 32°C | 17°C | 24.6°C | 99 mm |
| August | 30°C | 16°C | 23.3°C | 87 mm |
| September | 29°C | 13°C | 21.1°C | 44 mm |
| October | 26°C | 7°C | 16.4°C | 20 mm |
| November | 20°C | 2°C | 10.7°C | 15 mm |
| December | 15°C | −1°C | 6.8°C | 27 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Sierra Vista (14 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 USW00053132; 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 Elgin?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, September, October and November. Of those, May has the fewest days with rain (1).
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 USW00053132.
When is the last frost in Elgin?
In Elgin, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 18 in half of years and after May 3 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 18 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 181 year in 10 after May 3; 9 in 10 after April 4
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 18; 9 in 10 before November 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 195 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 223 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 14 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elgin in zone 8a in ZIP code 85611, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Elgin's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°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 USW00053132; 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 Elgin?
In a normal year in Elgin, 60 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 83 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 78 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 60a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 83a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 78a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 2002) is 106°F, on June 19, 2017; the lowest is 3°F, on January 15, 2013.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 20.44 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00053132; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00053132. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elgin?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elgin, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (94%) and July the cloudiest (79%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.8 |
| February | 87% | 4.7 |
| March | 90% | 6.2 |
| April | 94% | 7.6 |
| May | 94% | 8.3 |
| June | 92% | 8.1 |
| July | 79% | 6.5 |
| August | 83% | 6.3 |
| September | 87% | 5.8 |
| October | 92% | 5.2 |
| November | 90% | 4.1 |
| December | 87% | 3.5 |
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 Elgin need?
A normal year in Elgin brings 3,073 heating degree days, 43% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,185 cooling degree days, 31% more than 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 4,238 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 639 | 0 |
| February | 514 | 0 |
| March | 416 | 0 |
| April | 237 | 4 |
| May | 74 | 85 |
| June | 1 | 286 |
| July | 0 | 347 |
| August | 0 | 279 |
| September | 8 | 158 |
| October | 132 | 25 |
| November | 413 | 0 |
| December | 640 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 3,073 | 1,185 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00053132. 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 Elgin been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 62.0°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.8°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 60.5°F | +0.7°F | 16.04 |
| 2022 | 59.5°F | −0.3°F | 18.55 |
| 2023 | 60.7°F | +0.9°F | 9.66 |
| 2024 | 61.4°F | +1.6°F | 12.55 |
| 2025 | 62.0°F | +2.2°F | 12.57 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00053132. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elgin's climate compare?
Elgin is warmer than 27 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 65. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.8°F is warmer than 74%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elgin 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.
Questions about Elgin's climate
What is the coldest month in Elgin?
December, with a normal high of 59°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Elgin?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Elgin's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Sierra Vista (14 miles away), records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Elgin?
July, with 3.88 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elgin in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elgin in zone 8a in ZIP code 85611, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elgin's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 12°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Elgin?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 18; in one year in ten it comes after May 3. Waiting until May 3 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Canelo (1 mi NW), AZ2 miles from this station, 58.3°F a year
- Fort Huachuca Pioneer Airfield, AZ5 miles from this station, 62.7°F a year
- Sonoita, AZ11 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Sierra Vista, AZ14 miles from this station, 61.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made