Petrified Forest National Park, AZ Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Petrified Forest National Park's primary NOAA station, PETRIFIED FOREST NP.
The climate verdict for Petrified Forest National Park
Dryness leads the climate profile for Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, with 9.6 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 56°F. Its climate comfort score of 59/100 (moderate) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 37% of station-mapped location scores.
- 56°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 59/100
- comfort score, above 37% of station-mapped location scores
- 9.6"
- annual precipitation · 4" snow
- 165 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Petrified Forest National Park: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00026468 · Petrified Forest National Park, AZ 56°F mean · 9.6" precip
TEMP-MILD · RANK-UPPER · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-MILD 56°F
- RANK-UPPER #4,254
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ London Locks
- PRCP-ARID 9.6"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-MID 59/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,473 HDD
- STN-1 USC00026468
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: London Locks, WV (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every AZ station list.
- Petrified Fores… (this station) 56°F
- Cold Milton Freewater, OR 56°F
- Hot Williamsburg, KY 56°F
- Near London Locks, WV 56°F
- Near Meteor Crater, AZ 56°F
Climate Living Index · Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park: 34/100 · grade F
Petrified Forest National Park publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Petrified Forest National Park, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 59/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 3.5 inches/year | 73/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 55.6°F · 11.9° from 67.5°F | 61/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 165 days/year | 38/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 9.6 in · 25.4 from 35 in | 11/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 221 calendar days | 5/100 · F |
Petrified Forest National Park · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Petrified Forest National Park's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 76.7°F
- Coldest month
- 35.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Petrified Forest National Park sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Petrified Forest National Park's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 62nd percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 94%
- Petrified Forest National Park's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 43rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Petrified Forest National Park compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Petrified Forest National Park's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
59 37th percentile score exceeds 37% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Petrified Forest National Park's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 58 complete annual observations from 1931 to 2025, PETRIFIED FOREST NP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.06°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Petrified Forest National Park primary station fitted change +0.06 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F (10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 0.6" | 0.8" | 27.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 56°F (14°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 0.6" | 0.6" | 22.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 65°F (18°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.7" | 0.8" | 18.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 72°F (22°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 9.2 | 0.0 |
| May | 81°F (27°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 1.4 | 3.4 |
| June | 91°F (33°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 0.2" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 20.0 |
| July | 93°F (34°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 1.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 23.8 |
| August | 91°F (33°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 18.5 |
| September | 85°F (29°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 5.6 |
| October | 74°F (23°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 0.9" | 0.2" | 5.2 | 0.2 |
| November | 61°F (16°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 0.7" | 0.3" | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 50°F (10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.8" | 0.8" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Petrified Forest National Park works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 94°F by June 30 and hold at or above 90°F on 75 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 146 dates, bottoming at 20°F around December 21.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from June 9 through August 22, covering 75 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs April 6 to October 26.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 29, then returns to freezing around November 5, covering 146 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is August 1, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 7 at 8%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 62 wet dates a year.
The widest day
June 9 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 40°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Petrified Forest National Park.
Where Petrified Forest National Park Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 10 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 40°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Petrified Forest National Park earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 0.8"
5.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
4.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
4.7 days with precipitation
3.3 days with precipitation
3.7 days with precipitation
2.2 days with precipitation
8.8 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
5.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
4.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.3"
3.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.8"
5.3 days with precipitation
Petrified Forest National Park runs a summer-peaked wet season
37% of Petrified Forest National Park's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is July at 1.7", on a 41.6°F seasonal spread. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: July, August, September, taking 45% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: June at 0.2".
- Winter share: 21% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Petrified Forest National Park is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 62 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 17% of the calendar, and they carry 9.6" between them. At roughly 0.16 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is August at about 9 wet days; the driest is June at about 2.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Snow reaches Petrified Forest National Park, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 3.5 inches of snow a year here, most likely in January. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 2 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 16
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 4
50% probability date
Growing Season
165 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,473
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1,073
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AZ closest to Petrified Forest National Park on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (56°F here).
- Bradfordsville, KY 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Butler, MO 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Chatham, VA 56°F · 0.0°F off
- Cliff, NM 56°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (9.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Malta, ID 9.6" · 0.0" off
- Corrales, NM 9.6" · 0.0" off
- Grants, NM 9.7" · 0.1" off
- Del Norte, CO 9.7" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Petrified Forest National Park's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Petrified Forest National Park's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 4,473 annual heating degree days against 1,073 for cooling. Its 41.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Petrified Forest National Park's frost-free season lasts about 165 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Petrified Forest National Park's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 41.6°F. The annual average is 56°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Petrified Forest National Park's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 9.6 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 3.5 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Petrified Forest National Park wettest normal
July
July concentrates the scarce annual total (9.6 inches).
Petrified Forest National Park driest normal
June
June is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Petrified Forest National Park's climate
How dry is Petrified Forest National Park? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Petrified Forest National Park get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Petrified Forest National Park? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Petrified Forest National Park's primary station: PETRIFIED FOREST NP (USC00026468). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Petrified Forest National Park; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Petrified Forest National Park comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.