Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Petrified Forest National Park's normal year runs from 21°F December nights to 93°F July afternoons, with 9.6 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.1°C, December lows of −6°C, July highs of 34°C, 244 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPetrified Forest National Park
- Station IDUSC00026468
- Location34.80°N 109.89°W
- Elevation5,446 ft (1,660 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Petrified Forest National Park is 71°F and the normal low 36°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 Petrified Forest National Park.
- Jan 50° 21°
- Feb 56° 24°
- Mar 65° 30°
- Apr 72° 36°
- May 81° 44°
- Jun 91° 53°
- Jul 93° 60°
- Aug 91° 59°
- Sep 85° 52°
- Oct 74° 39°
- Nov 61° 28°
- Dec 50° 21°
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 Petrified Forest National Park each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 93°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in July (1.72 in), the least in June (0.24 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 21°F | 35.6°F | 0.59 | 0.8 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| February | 56°F | 24°F | 40.3°F | 0.64 | 0.6 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 65°F | 30°F | 47.1°F | 0.65 | 0.8 | 5 | <1 | 19 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 72°F | 36°F | 53.8°F | 0.40 | 0.0 | 3 | <1 | 9 | 13 h |
| May | 81°F | 44°F | 62.2°F | 0.43 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 h |
| June | 91°F | 53°F | 72.1°F | 0.24 | 0.0 | 2 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 93°F | 60°F | 76.7°F | 1.72 | 0.0 | 9 | 24 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 91°F | 59°F | 74.9°F | 1.58 | 0.0 | 9 | 19 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 85°F | 52°F | 68.4°F | 1.02 | 0.0 | 5 | 6 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 39°F | 56.6°F | 0.89 | 0.2 | 5 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 61°F | 28°F | 44.5°F | 0.67 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 50°F | 21°F | 35.1°F | 0.78 | 0.8 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 39°F | 55.6°F | 9.61 | 3.5 | 62 | 72 | 134 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −6°C | 2.0°C | 15 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 14°C | −4°C | 4.6°C | 16 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 18°C | −1°C | 8.4°C | 17 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 22°C | 2°C | 12.1°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 27°C | 6°C | 16.8°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 33°C | 12°C | 22.3°C | 6 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 34°C | 16°C | 24.8°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 33°C | 15°C | 23.8°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 11°C | 20.2°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 4°C | 13.7°C | 23 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 16°C | −2°C | 6.9°C | 17 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 10°C | −6°C | 1.7°C | 20 mm | 2 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00026468; 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 Petrified Forest National Park?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USC00026468.
When is the last frost at Petrified Forest National Park?
In Petrified Forest National Park, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 21 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 16 in half of years and before October 3 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
- May 41 year in 10 after May 21; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 161 year in 10 before October 3; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 162 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 183 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Petrified Forest National Park in zone 7a in ZIP code 85942, 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 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (28 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 USC00026468; 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 Petrified Forest National Park?
In a normal year in Petrified Forest National Park, 72 days a year reach 90°F (5 of them 100°F or more), 134 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 62 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 72a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 134a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 62a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1931) is 107°F, on June 29, 1998; the lowest is −27°F, on January 6, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2022, with 17.50 in; the snowiest season is 1967–68, with 30.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00026468; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00026468. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Petrified Forest National Park?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Petrified Forest National Park, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (91%) and July the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 3.3 |
| February | 82% | 4.2 |
| March | 86% | 5.7 |
| April | 89% | 7.1 |
| May | 90% | 7.9 |
| June | 91% | 8.3 |
| July | 80% | 6.8 |
| August | 82% | 6.4 |
| September | 87% | 5.9 |
| October | 90% | 4.9 |
| November | 87% | 3.7 |
| December | 81% | 2.9 |
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 Petrified Forest National Park record?
A normal year at Petrified Forest National Park brings 4,473 heating degree days, 17% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,073 cooling degree days, 18% more than the median (908). Six months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,657 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 913 | 0 |
| February | 690 | 0 |
| March | 555 | 0 |
| April | 338 | 2 |
| May | 130 | 42 |
| June | 10 | 222 |
| July | 0 | 363 |
| August | 1 | 308 |
| September | 29 | 131 |
| October | 267 | 7 |
| November | 615 | 0 |
| December | 925 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,473 | 1,073 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00026468. 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 Petrified Forest National Park been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 56.3°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 55.6°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 55.0°F | −0.6°F | 17.50 | 1.5 |
| 2023 | 54.9°F | −0.7°F | 12.35 | 2.7 |
| 2024 | 56.8°F | +1.2°F | 8.96 | 0.2 |
| 2025 | 56.3°F | +0.7°F | – | 4.5 |
Over 58 complete years from 1931 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.2°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00026468; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Petrified Forest National Park's climate compare?
Petrified Forest National Park is warmer than 18 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 36. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 55.6°F is warmer than 62%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Petrified Forest National Park 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 Petrified Forest National Park share this climate record?
Woodruff has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Woodruff, AZ0 people · 8 mi W
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 Petrified Forest National Park's climate
What is the coldest month at Petrified Forest National Park?
December, with a normal high of 50°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (93°F by day, 60°F at night).
Does it snow at Petrified Forest National Park?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Petrified Forest National Park?
July, with 1.72 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.24 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Petrified Forest National Park in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Petrified Forest National Park in zone 7a in ZIP code 85942, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 1°F (28 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come at Petrified Forest National Park?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; in one year in ten it comes after May 21. Waiting until May 21 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Holbrook, AZ17 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Painted Desert National Park, AZ20 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
- Snowflake, AZ23 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Saint Johns station, AZ34 miles from this station, 54.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made