Picacho, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Picacho's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 104°F July afternoons, with 9.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 22.4°C, December lows of 5°C, July highs of 40°C, 253 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPicacho (8 mi SE)
- Station IDUSC00026513
- Location32.65°N 111.40°W
- Elevation1,981 ft (604 m)
- Population (census place)320
On October 23, the normal high in Picacho is 86°F and the normal low 58°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 8%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Picacho.
- Jan 67° 41°
- Feb 71° 43°
- Mar 78° 48°
- Apr 86° 54°
- May 95° 63°
- Jun 104° 72°
- Jul 104° 78°
- Aug 103° 78°
- Sep 99° 72°
- Oct 89° 60°
- Nov 76° 49°
- Dec 66° 40°
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 Picacho each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 104°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.86 in), the least in June (0.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67°F | 41°F | 53.8°F | 1.01 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 71°F | 43°F | 56.9°F | 1.15 | 4 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| March | 78°F | 48°F | 63.0°F | 0.90 | 3 | 2 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 86°F | 54°F | 69.9°F | 0.28 | 1 | 11 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 95°F | 63°F | 78.7°F | 0.22 | 1 | 25 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 104°F | 72°F | 88.1°F | 0.20 | 1 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 104°F | 78°F | 91.2°F | 1.26 | 5 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 103°F | 78°F | 90.1°F | 1.86 | 6 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 99°F | 72°F | 85.3°F | 0.92 | 4 | 28 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 89°F | 60°F | 74.5°F | 0.49 | 3 | 16 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 76°F | 49°F | 62.5°F | 0.51 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 66°F | 40°F | 52.8°F | 1.15 | 4 | <1 | 4 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 86°F | 58°F | 72.3°F | 9.95 | 39 | 176 | 10 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 5°C | 12.1°C | 26 mm |
| February | 21°C | 6°C | 13.8°C | 29 mm |
| March | 26°C | 9°C | 17.2°C | 23 mm |
| April | 30°C | 12°C | 21.1°C | 7 mm |
| May | 35°C | 17°C | 25.9°C | 6 mm |
| June | 40°C | 22°C | 31.2°C | 5 mm |
| July | 40°C | 26°C | 32.9°C | 32 mm |
| August | 39°C | 25°C | 32.3°C | 47 mm |
| September | 37°C | 22°C | 29.6°C | 23 mm |
| October | 32°C | 16°C | 23.6°C | 12 mm |
| November | 25°C | 9°C | 16.9°C | 13 mm |
| December | 19°C | 5°C | 11.6°C | 29 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00026513; 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 Picacho?
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 (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 USC00026513.
When is the last frost in Picacho?
In Picacho, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 6 in half of years and after March 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 9 in half of years and before November 22 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 61 year in 10 after March 5; 9 in 10 after January 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 91 year in 10 before November 22; 9 in 10 before December 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 308 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 342 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 14 in half of springs and before December 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Picacho in zone 9a in ZIP code 85141, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Picacho's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (15 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 USC00026513; 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 Picacho?
In a normal year in Picacho, 176 days a year reach 90°F (104 of them 100°F or more), 10 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 39 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 176a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 104a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 10a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 39a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00026513.
How sunny is Picacho?
Over a year 92% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Picacho, 5.9 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (96%) and December the cloudiest (86%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.6 |
| February | 87% | 4.6 |
| March | 91% | 6.0 |
| April | 94% | 7.4 |
| May | 95% | 8.2 |
| June | 96% | 8.4 |
| July | 88% | 7.2 |
| August | 90% | 6.7 |
| September | 92% | 6.1 |
| October | 94% | 5.1 |
| November | 91% | 3.9 |
| December | 86% | 3.3 |
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 Picacho need?
A normal year in Picacho brings 1,259 heating degree days, 77% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,938 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 8,248 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 347 | 1 |
| February | 232 | 7 |
| March | 119 | 59 |
| April | 31 | 179 |
| May | 3 | 429 |
| June | 0 | 691 |
| July | 0 | 814 |
| August | 0 | 778 |
| September | 0 | 609 |
| October | 12 | 308 |
| November | 137 | 62 |
| December | 378 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 1,259 | 3,938 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00026513. 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 Picacho been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 74.5°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 72.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 72.6°F | +0.3°F | 8.67 |
| 2024 | 73.6°F | +1.3°F | 9.99 |
| 2025 | 74.5°F | +2.2°F | 8.03 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00026513. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Picacho's climate compare?
Picacho is warmer than 80 of the other 96 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 72.3°F is warmer than 97%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Picacho 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 Picacho 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.
- Avra Valley, AZ6,364 people · 16 mi S
- Red Rock, AZ3,243 people · 6 mi S
- Nelson, AZ316 people · 17 mi SE
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 Picacho's climate
What is the coldest month in Picacho?
December, with a normal high of 66°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is July (104°F by day, 78°F at night).
Does it snow in Picacho?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Picacho?
August, with 1.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Picacho in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Picacho in zone 9a in ZIP code 85141, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Picacho's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Picacho?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 6; in one year in ten it comes after March 5. Waiting until March 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Eloy, AZ12 miles from this station, 70.9°F a year
- Robson Ranch, AZ17 miles from this station, 71.3°F a year
- Arizona City, AZ18 miles from this station, 68.9°F a year
- Casa Grande, AZ25 miles from this station, 72.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made