PlainClimate
NOAA 1991–2020 normals Incorporated place · exact Census match 1 NOAA station · Primary-station record

Quartzsite, AZ Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month

Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation

30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Quartzsite's primary NOAA station, QUARTZSITE.

The climate verdict for Quartzsite

Quartzsite, Arizona is cooling-led and dry. Its 4.6 inches of annual precipitation pairs with an annual average of 74°F. It scores 80/100 for climate comfort (excellent), putting it in the top third of station-mapped location scores and exceeding 76% of them.

74°F
average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
80/100
comfort score, above 76% of station-mapped location scores
4.6"
precipitation, annual total
312 days
frost-free growing season

Quartzsite: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.

Normals record plate

Sheet USC00026865 · Quartzsite, AZ 74°F mean · 4.6" precip

TEMP-HOT · RANK-WARM · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-TOP · LOAD-COOL · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL

Nearest mean-temperature peer: Laughlin, NV (+ 0.4 °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.

Climate Living Index · Quartzsite

Quartzsite: 56/100 · grade C

Quartzsite publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.

C
56/100Climate Living Index

PlainClimate-derived for Quartzsite, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 80/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.

Quartzsite Living Index dimension scores
DimensionStation valueScore
Frost-free season 312 days/year 100/100 · A
Snowfall burden 0.2 inches/year 89/100 · A
Annual temperature balance 73.7°F · 6.2° from 67.5°F 81/100 · B
Normal heat + freeze calendar 168 calendar days 34/100 · F
Precipitation balance 4.6 in · 30.4 from 35 in 0/100 · F

Quartzsite · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.

Quartzsite's normals sit in a dry climate class: BWh

Annual precipitation falls well below the aridity threshold for this temperature regime, so the normals classify as hot desert (BWh). Class BWh is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically hot desert.

Köppen code
BWh
Group
Dry (arid or semi-arid)
Warmest month
95.5°F
Coldest month
51.8°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 · cooling-led station

Where Quartzsite sits across the climate record

Three NOAA fields for Quartzsite's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.

Annual temperature
Top 2% warmest
Among 6,861 stations, Quartzsite sits in the warmer third of annual means.
Annual precipitation
Drier than 99%
Quartzsite's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
Seasonal temperature swing
52nd percentile swing
Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.

How Quartzsite compares across U.S. station-mapped locations

Quartzsite's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations

PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals

80 Top 24% score exceeds 76% 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%). Below this entry. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry. This location 0 100 every station-mapped location, bucketed by value
  1. 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  2. 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
  3. 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
  4. 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
  5. 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
  6. 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
  7. 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Below this entry.
  8. 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Below this entry.
  9. 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). This entry sits in this band.
  10. 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.

Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more station-mapped locations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Quartzsite's measured station temperature trend

Methodology

Across 33 complete annual observations from 1960 to 2021, QUARTZSITE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.25°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.

Quartzsite fitted annual mean temperature change, 1960-2021 Fitted station-temperature change from 1960 to 2021, relative to the fitted first year. The linear trend warmed at 0.25 °C per decade. -0.3°C +0.2°C +0.7°C +1.2°C +1.7°C 1960198020002020
  • Quartzsite primary station fitted change +0.25 °C/decade
Source: NOAA GHCN-M v4, quality-controlled monthly mean temperature. PlainClimate fits ordinary least squares over complete calendar years; minimum 30 years, record must reach 2015 or later.

Monthly Temperatures

Average daily high and low temperatures by month

Month Avg High Avg Low Mean
January 67°F (19°C) 40°F (5°C) 53°F (12°C)
February 71°F (22°C) 44°F (7°C) 58°F (14°C)
March 79°F (26°C) 51°F (10°C) 65°F (18°C)
April 87°F (30°C) 57°F (14°C) 72°F (22°C)
May 95°F (35°C) 66°F (19°C) 81°F (27°C)
June 105°F (41°C) 75°F (24°C) 90°F (32°C)
July 109°F (43°C) 82°F (28°C) 96°F (35°C)
August 108°F (42°C) 82°F (28°C) 95°F (35°C)
September 102°F (39°C) 74°F (23°C) 88°F (31°C)
October 90°F (32°C) 60°F (15°C) 75°F (24°C)
November 76°F (24°C) 47°F (8°C) 61°F (16°C)
December 65°F (18°C) 39°F (4°C) 52°F (11°C)

The year, day by day

The year in Quartzsite runs from a mild 38°F around December 18 to 109°F at the peak near July 14, and the normal low never reaches freezing on any date in the record.

Normal daily high and low temperature for Quartzsite, January through December Peaks 109°F around July 14. Bottoms 38°F around December 18. 30 50 70 90 110 freezing JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal daily high and low across the calendar year. NOAA 1991–2020 daily normals, QUARTZSITE.

When the heat sits

Normal highs reach 90°F from April 30 through October 14, covering 168 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs February 9 to November 27.

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.

No freezing date

Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 38°F around December 18.

Where the wet dates fall

The likeliest wet date is February 19, when 9% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 4 at 1%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 19 wet dates a year.

The widest day

June 7 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 31°F between the normal high and the normal low.

Look up any date

Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Quartzsite.

Where Quartzsite Stands Nationally

Summers here run among the most heat-heavy normals calendars in the country: on about 168 days a year the normal daily high itself reaches 90°F — a count fewer than one station in ten exceeds.

Aridity defines the water calendar: about 5 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.

Quartzsite 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

January 0.7"

Snow: 0.2"

2.2 days with precipitation

February 0.7"

2.6 days with precipitation

March 0.5"

1.8 days with precipitation

April 0.1"

0.8 days with precipitation

May 0.1"

0.4 days with precipitation

June 0.1"

0.2 days with precipitation

July 0.5"

2.1 days with precipitation

August 0.5"

2.3 days with precipitation

September 0.5"

1.7 days with precipitation

October 0.2"

1.1 days with precipitation

November 0.3"

1.1 days with precipitation

December 0.6"

2.3 days with precipitation

Quartzsite's wet season runs through the cold months

December, January and February carry 41% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 22%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 43.7°F seasonal spread.

Wettest month
January, 0.7"
Driest month
June, 0.1"
Wettest three months
January, February, December (41% of the year)

Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.

How Quartzsite's precipitation splits across the calendar

About 19 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 4.6" between them, or roughly 0.25 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.

Wet days a year
19
Wettest month by days
February
Driest month by days
June

A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.

Snow reaches Quartzsite, but rarely amounts to much

The normals record 0.2 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.

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

December 6

50% probability date

Last Spring Freeze

January 28

50% probability date

Growing Season

312 days

Heating & Cooling Degree Days

Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling

Heating Degree Days

1,256

Higher = more heating needed

Cooling Degree Days

4,453

Higher = more cooling needed

Warmest Month

July

Coldest Month

December

Nationwide similar cities

Other rankable U.S. places outside AZ closest to Quartzsite 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 (74°F here).

Closest by annual precipitation

Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (4.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.

Arizona climate overview →

Scarce-water calendar

Where Quartzsite's limited precipitation lands

cooling led · dry · mid swing

Air-conditioning demand is the clearest thermal signal here. Quartzsite accumulates 4,453 cooling degree days, more than twice its 1,256 heating total; the monthly table shows when that imbalance builds rather than treating it as a year-round condition.

Heat demand sits beside limited local precipitation: Quartzsite receives 4.6 inches in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's dry range. Recorded annual snowfall is negligible. Month-level precipitation is the useful check on when that small annual total arrives.

July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Quartzsite's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 43.7°F. The annual average is 74°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.

Quartzsite has a long frost-free window of roughly 312 days, but the dry annual profile is a separate constraint. Growing-season length says when freezes are unlikely, not whether rainfall is sufficient.

Quartzsite wettest normal

January

January concentrates the scarce annual total (4.6 inches).

Quartzsite driest normal

June

June is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.

Questions about Quartzsite's climate

How dry is Quartzsite?
Quartzsite receives 4.6 inches of precipitation a year, spread across roughly 19 days that record any measurable amount. For reference, the contiguous United States averages near 30 inches. Based on NOAA 30-year climate normals (1991-2020).
How many days above 90°F does Quartzsite get?
Quartzsite averages about 176 days a year at or above 90°F, concentrated in July and the months either side of it. That is a count of days reaching the threshold, not a measure of how far above it they go.
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Quartzsite?
Quartzsite has 1,256 heating degree days and 4,453 cooling degree days annually, a cooling-dominated climate. Degree-day definitions: reading weather data.

Data Sources

Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Quartzsite's primary station: QUARTZSITE (USC00026865). For informational purposes only.

Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 0458010). Match rule for Quartzsite: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainClimate

On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Quartzsite 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.