Fort Valley, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Fort Valley's normal year runs from 16°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 20.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.6°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 29°C, 523 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationFort Valley
- Station IDUSC00023160
- Location35.27°N 111.74°W
- Elevation7,347 ft (2,239 m)
- Population (census place)1,803
On October 14, the normal high in Fort Valley is 67°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Fort Valley.
- Jan 46° 17°
- Feb 48° 20°
- Mar 54° 24°
- Apr 62° 27°
- May 71° 33°
- Jun 82° 40°
- Jul 84° 49°
- Aug 81° 49°
- Sep 76° 41°
- Oct 66° 30°
- Nov 55° 23°
- Dec 46° 16°
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 Fort Valley each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.38 in), the least in June (0.23 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F | 17°F | 31.6°F | 2.10 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 48°F | 20°F | 33.8°F | 2.47 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 54°F | 24°F | 39.1°F | 1.81 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 27°F | 44.5°F | 0.90 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 13 h |
| May | 71°F | 33°F | 51.7°F | 0.89 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 14 h |
| June | 82°F | 40°F | 60.6°F | 0.23 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 49°F | 66.5°F | 2.78 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 81°F | 49°F | 65.2°F | 3.38 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 76°F | 41°F | 58.4°F | 1.82 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 30°F | 48.0°F | 1.28 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 23°F | 38.7°F | 1.33 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 46°F | 16°F | 31.2°F | 1.61 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 31°F | 47.4°F | 20.60 | 82 | 6 | 244 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | −8°C | −0.2°C | 53 mm |
| February | 9°C | −7°C | 1.0°C | 63 mm |
| March | 12°C | −5°C | 3.9°C | 46 mm |
| April | 17°C | −3°C | 6.9°C | 23 mm |
| May | 22°C | 0°C | 10.9°C | 23 mm |
| June | 28°C | 4°C | 15.9°C | 6 mm |
| July | 29°C | 10°C | 19.2°C | 71 mm |
| August | 27°C | 10°C | 18.4°C | 86 mm |
| September | 24°C | 5°C | 14.7°C | 46 mm |
| October | 19°C | −1°C | 8.9°C | 33 mm |
| November | 13°C | −5°C | 3.7°C | 34 mm |
| December | 8°C | −9°C | −0.4°C | 41 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Bellemont (5 miles away), gets 73 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00023160; 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 Fort Valley?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. Of those, June 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 USC00023160.
When is the last frost in Fort Valley?
In Fort Valley, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 11 in half of years and after June 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 8 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
- June 111 year in 10 after June 30; 9 in 10 after May 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 8; 9 in 10 before October 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 99 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 129 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 27 in half of springs and before October 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Valley in zone 6a in ZIP code 86001. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Fort Valley's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (17 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00023160; 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 Fort Valley?
In a normal year in Fort Valley, 6 days a year reach 90°F, 244 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 82 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 244a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 82a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1909) is 98°F, on July 5, 1985; the lowest is −37°F, on January 12, 1963.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1965, with 37.29 in; the snowiest season is 1972–73, with 224.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00023160; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00023160. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Fort Valley?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Fort Valley, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (93%) and July the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.2 |
| February | 84% | 4.2 |
| March | 87% | 5.7 |
| April | 88% | 7.0 |
| May | 89% | 7.8 |
| June | 93% | 8.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.9 |
| August | 82% | 6.4 |
| September | 89% | 5.9 |
| October | 89% | 4.8 |
| November | 89% | 3.6 |
| December | 81% | 2.8 |
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 Fort Valley need?
A normal year in Fort Valley brings 6,526 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 147 cooling degree days, 84% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,730 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,035 | 0 |
| February | 872 | 0 |
| March | 804 | 0 |
| April | 614 | 0 |
| May | 412 | 1 |
| June | 154 | 22 |
| July | 28 | 73 |
| August | 39 | 47 |
| September | 202 | 4 |
| October | 527 | 0 |
| November | 789 | 0 |
| December | 1,049 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,526 | 147 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00023160. 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 Fort Valley been warmer than normal lately?
Over 81 complete years from 1910 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Fort Valley's climate compare?
Fort Valley is warmer than 5 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 82. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.4°F is warmer than 29%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Fort Valley is Dsb: continental, dry-summer, warm summer. 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 Fort Valley's climate
What is the coldest month in Fort Valley?
December, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow in Fort Valley?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Fort Valley's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Bellemont (5 miles away), records 73 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Fort Valley?
August, with 3.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.23 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Fort Valley in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Fort Valley in zone 6a in ZIP code 86001. By the same method at Fort Valley's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Fort Valley?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 11; in one year in ten it comes after June 30. Waiting until June 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Bellemont, AZ5 miles from this station, 44.4°F a year
- Flagstaff, AZ9 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Sunset Crater National Monument, AZ13 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Walnut Canyon National Monument, AZ15 miles from this station, 50.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made