Maricopa, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Maricopa's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 109°F July afternoons, with 7.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 22.2°C, December lows of 2°C, July highs of 43°C, 181 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMaricopa (4 mi N)
- Station IDUSC00025270
- Location33.11°N 112.03°W
- Elevation1,160 ft (354 m)
- From the center5 miles
- Population76,654
On October 23, the normal high in Maricopa is 89°F and the normal low 51°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 7%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Maricopa.
- Jan 69° 37°
- Feb 73° 40°
- Mar 80° 45°
- Apr 88° 51°
- May 97° 59°
- Jun 107° 69°
- Jul 109° 78°
- Aug 107° 77°
- Sep 102° 69°
- Oct 91° 55°
- Nov 78° 43°
- Dec 68° 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 Maricopa each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 109°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.02 in), the least in June (0.09 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69°F | 37°F | 52.8°F | 0.77 | 4 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 73°F | 40°F | 56.4°F | 0.79 | 4 | <1 | 5 | 11 h |
| March | 80°F | 45°F | 62.3°F | 0.91 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 88°F | 51°F | 69.5°F | 0.20 | 1 | 13 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 97°F | 59°F | 78.4°F | 0.22 | 1 | 27 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 107°F | 69°F | 87.8°F | 0.09 | 1 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 109°F | 78°F | 93.3°F | 0.67 | 4 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 107°F | 77°F | 92.3°F | 1.02 | 4 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 102°F | 69°F | 85.7°F | 0.68 | 3 | 30 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 91°F | 55°F | 72.9°F | 0.47 | 2 | 18 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 78°F | 43°F | 60.4°F | 0.53 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 68°F | 35°F | 51.4°F | 0.76 | 4 | <1 | 12 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 89°F | 55°F | 71.9°F | 7.11 | 32 | 183 | 32 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°C | 3°C | 11.6°C | 20 mm |
| February | 23°C | 4°C | 13.6°C | 20 mm |
| March | 27°C | 7°C | 16.8°C | 23 mm |
| April | 31°C | 10°C | 20.8°C | 5 mm |
| May | 36°C | 15°C | 25.8°C | 6 mm |
| June | 42°C | 20°C | 31.0°C | 2 mm |
| July | 43°C | 25°C | 34.1°C | 17 mm |
| August | 42°C | 25°C | 33.5°C | 26 mm |
| September | 39°C | 21°C | 29.8°C | 17 mm |
| October | 33°C | 13°C | 22.7°C | 12 mm |
| November | 26°C | 6°C | 15.8°C | 13 mm |
| December | 20°C | 2°C | 10.8°C | 19 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00025270; 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 Maricopa?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, November and December. Of those, November 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 USC00025270.
When is the last frost in Maricopa?
In Maricopa, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 23 in half of years and after March 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 24 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 231 year in 10 after March 15; 9 in 10 after January 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 241 year in 10 before November 10; 9 in 10 before December 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 274 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 310 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 2 in half of springs and before December 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Maricopa in zone 9a in ZIP code 85138. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Maricopa's NOAA station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 21°F (22 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 USC00025270; 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 Maricopa?
In a normal year in Maricopa, 183 days a year reach 90°F (124 of them 100°F or more), 32 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 32 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 183a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 124a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 32a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 32a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1960) is 124°F, on July 28, 1995; the lowest is 13°F, on January 16, 1964.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1992, with 14.98 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00025270; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00025270. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Maricopa?
Over a year 92% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Maricopa, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (86%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 3rd (with 7 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.4 |
| February | 87% | 4.4 |
| March | 90% | 5.9 |
| April | 93% | 7.3 |
| May | 96% | 8.2 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 92% | 7.5 |
| August | 93% | 6.9 |
| September | 94% | 6.2 |
| October | 94% | 5.0 |
| November | 91% | 3.8 |
| December | 86% | 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 Maricopa need?
A normal year in Maricopa brings 1,382 heating degree days, 74% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,946 cooling degree days, 4.3 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 8,135 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 377 | 0 |
| February | 245 | 3 |
| March | 123 | 41 |
| April | 29 | 164 |
| May | 2 | 417 |
| June | 0 | 686 |
| July | 0 | 879 |
| August | 0 | 845 |
| September | 0 | 621 |
| October | 16 | 261 |
| November | 169 | 31 |
| December | 421 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 1,382 | 3,946 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00025270. 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 Maricopa's climate compare?
Maricopa is warmer than 75 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 17. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 71.9°F is warmer than 97%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Maricopa is BWh: hot desert. 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 Maricopa share this climate record?
5 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.
- Casa Blanca, AZ1,382 people · 7 mi E
- Ak-Chin Village, AZ1,133 people · 7 mi SW
- Goodyear Village, AZ564 people · 11 mi NE
- Sacate Village, AZ279 people · 4 mi NE
- Wet Camp Village, AZ179 people · 8 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 Maricopa's climate
What is the coldest month in Maricopa?
December, with a normal high of 68°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (109°F by day, 78°F at night).
Does it snow in Maricopa?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Maricopa?
August, with 1.02 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Maricopa in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Maricopa in zone 9a in ZIP code 85138. By the same method at Maricopa's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 21°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come in Maricopa?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 23; 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
- Maricopa in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Laveen (3 mi SSE), AZ17 miles from this station, 73.9°F a year
- South Phoenix, AZ19 miles from this station, 71.4°F a year
- Chandler, AZ21 miles from this station, 71.4°F a year
- Phoenix, AZ22 miles from this station, 75.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made