Pearce - Sunsites, Arizona climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Pearce - Sunsites's normal year runs from 29°F December nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 12.2 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.4°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 34°C, 310 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPearce - Sunsites
- Station IDUSC00026353
- Location31.94°N 109.84°W
- Elevation4,350 ft (1,326 m)
On October 24, the normal high in Pearce - Sunsites is 78°F and the normal low 43°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 Pearce - Sunsites.
- Jan 60° 29°
- Feb 64° 32°
- Mar 70° 37°
- Apr 78° 42°
- May 86° 50°
- Jun 95° 59°
- Jul 93° 65°
- Aug 91° 64°
- Sep 88° 57°
- Oct 80° 46°
- Nov 69° 36°
- 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 at Pearce - Sunsites each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 29°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.86 in), the least in April (0.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60°F | 29°F | 44.6°F | 0.85 | 0.7 | 4 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 64°F | 32°F | 47.9°F | 0.75 | 0.2 | 5 | <1 | 16 | 11 h |
| March | 70°F | 37°F | 53.4°F | 0.55 | 0.1 | 3 | <1 | 9 | 12 h |
| April | 78°F | 42°F | 59.6°F | 0.19 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 h |
| May | 86°F | 50°F | 67.7°F | 0.23 | 0.0 | 2 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 95°F | 59°F | 77.1°F | 0.56 | 0.0 | 3 | 25 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 93°F | 65°F | 78.9°F | 2.58 | 0.0 | 9 | 23 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 91°F | 64°F | 77.2°F | 2.86 | 0.0 | 11 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 88°F | 57°F | 72.5°F | 1.47 | 0.0 | 6 | 13 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 80°F | 46°F | 62.9°F | 0.68 | 0.0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 69°F | 36°F | 52.2°F | 0.67 | 0.2 | 3 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 59°F | 29°F | 44.4°F | 0.80 | 0.0 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 45°F | 61.5°F | 12.19 | 1.2 | 55 | 94 | 83 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | −2°C | 7.0°C | 22 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 18°C | 0°C | 8.8°C | 19 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 21°C | 3°C | 11.9°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 25°C | 5°C | 15.3°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 30°C | 10°C | 19.8°C | 6 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 35°C | 15°C | 25.1°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 18°C | 26.1°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 18°C | 25.1°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 31°C | 14°C | 22.5°C | 37 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 27°C | 8°C | 17.2°C | 17 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 20°C | 2°C | 11.2°C | 17 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 15°C | −1°C | 6.9°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00026353; 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.
Which months are mildest at Pearce - Sunsites?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, April 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 USC00026353.
When is the last frost at Pearce - Sunsites?
In Pearce - Sunsites, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 14 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 2 in half of years and before October 20 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 141 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 21 year in 10 before October 20; 9 in 10 before November 16
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 200 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 228 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 27 in half of springs and before November 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pearce - Sunsites in zone 8b in ZIP code 85606, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (18 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 USC00026353; 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 at Pearce - Sunsites?
In a normal year in Pearce - Sunsites, 94 days a year reach 90°F (12 of them 100°F or more), 83 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 55 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 94a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 12a 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
- 55a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1913) is 109°F, on June 19, 1960; the lowest is −8°F, on December 8, 1978.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1966, with 18.54 in; the snowiest season is 1989–90, with 7.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00026353; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00026353. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Pearce - Sunsites?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Pearce - Sunsites, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (94%) and July the cloudiest (82%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.8 |
| February | 87% | 4.7 |
| March | 90% | 6.1 |
| April | 93% | 7.5 |
| May | 94% | 8.2 |
| June | 92% | 8.1 |
| July | 82% | 6.7 |
| August | 84% | 6.4 |
| 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Pearce - Sunsites record?
A normal year at Pearce - Sunsites brings 2,827 heating degree days, 47% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,582 cooling degree days, 74% 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 4,797 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 634 | 0 |
| February | 479 | 0 |
| March | 359 | 1 |
| April | 176 | 14 |
| May | 43 | 125 |
| June | 1 | 364 |
| July | 0 | 429 |
| August | 0 | 377 |
| September | 3 | 230 |
| October | 107 | 42 |
| November | 387 | 1 |
| December | 640 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,827 | 1,582 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00026353. 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.
Have recent years at Pearce - Sunsites been warmer than normal?
Over 37 complete years from 1954 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.19°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 Pearce - Sunsites's climate compare?
Pearce - Sunsites is warmer than 33 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 52. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 61.5°F is warmer than 78%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pearce - Sunsites 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 Pearce - Sunsites 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.
- Sunsites, AZ660 people · 0 mi NW
- Dragoon, AZ227 people · 13 mi NW
- Sunizona, AZ211 people · 12 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 Pearce - Sunsites's climate
What is the coldest month at Pearce - Sunsites?
December, with a normal high of 59°F and a normal low of 29°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 65°F at night).
Does it snow at Pearce - Sunsites?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Pearce - Sunsites?
August, with 2.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pearce - Sunsites in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pearce - Sunsites in zone 8b in ZIP code 85606, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come at Pearce - Sunsites?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 14; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 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
- Tombstone, AZ21 miles from this station, 65.7°F a year
- Willcox, AZ22 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Benson, AZ24 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- McNeal, AZ25 miles from this station, 64.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made