Safford Agricultural Center, Arizona climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Safford Agricultural Center's normal year runs from 30°F December nights to 99°F July afternoons, with 8.8 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.2 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.4°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 37°C, 223 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSafford Agricultural Center
- Station IDUSC00027390
- Location32.81°N 109.68°W
- Elevation2,954 ft (900 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Safford Agricultural Center is 82°F and the normal low 46°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Safford Agricultural Center.
- Jan 62° 30°
- Feb 67° 34°
- Mar 74° 39°
- Apr 83° 46°
- May 91° 54°
- Jun 100° 63°
- Jul 99° 69°
- Aug 97° 68°
- Sep 93° 61°
- Oct 84° 48°
- Nov 72° 37°
- Dec 61° 30°
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 Safford Agricultural Center each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 99°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.84 in), the least in May (0.18 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62°F | 30°F | 46.2°F | 0.71 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 67°F | 34°F | 50.4°F | 0.66 | 4 | <1 | 13 | 11 h |
| March | 74°F | 39°F | 56.8°F | 0.45 | 3 | <1 | 5 | 12 h |
| April | 83°F | 46°F | 64.0°F | 0.21 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 13 h |
| May | 91°F | 54°F | 72.5°F | 0.18 | 2 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 100°F | 63°F | 81.3°F | 0.27 | 2 | 29 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 99°F | 69°F | 84.2°F | 1.35 | 8 | 29 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 97°F | 68°F | 82.5°F | 1.84 | 8 | 28 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 93°F | 61°F | 77.1°F | 1.08 | 4 | 23 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 84°F | 48°F | 66.3°F | 0.75 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 72°F | 37°F | 54.6°F | 0.51 | 3 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 61°F | 30°F | 45.7°F | 0.77 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 82°F | 48°F | 65.1°F | 8.78 | 49 | 142 | 70 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°C | −1°C | 7.9°C | 18 mm |
| February | 19°C | 1°C | 10.2°C | 17 mm |
| March | 24°C | 4°C | 13.8°C | 11 mm |
| April | 28°C | 8°C | 17.8°C | 5 mm |
| May | 33°C | 12°C | 22.5°C | 5 mm |
| June | 38°C | 17°C | 27.4°C | 7 mm |
| July | 37°C | 21°C | 29.0°C | 34 mm |
| August | 36°C | 20°C | 28.1°C | 47 mm |
| September | 34°C | 16°C | 25.1°C | 27 mm |
| October | 29°C | 9°C | 19.1°C | 19 mm |
| November | 22°C | 3°C | 12.6°C | 13 mm |
| December | 16°C | −1°C | 7.6°C | 20 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00027390; 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 Safford Agricultural Center?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in February, 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 USC00027390.
When is the last frost at Safford Agricultural Center?
In Safford Agricultural Center, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 25 in half of years and after April 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 9 in half of years and before October 23 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
- March 251 year in 10 after April 14; 9 in 10 after March 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 91 year in 10 before October 23; 9 in 10 before November 25
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 228 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 260 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 3 in half of springs and before November 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Safford Agricultural Center in zone 8b in ZIP code 85552, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00027390; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Safford Agricultural Center?
In a normal year in Safford Agricultural Center, 142 days a year reach 90°F (46 of them 100°F or more), 70 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 49 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 142a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 46a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 70a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 49a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 114°F, on June 30, 1994; the lowest is 5°F, on February 3, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 17.37 in; the snowiest season is 1960–61, with 5.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00027390; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00027390. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Safford Agricultural Center?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Safford Agricultural Center, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (94%) and February the cloudiest (85%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 86% | 3.6 |
| February | 85% | 4.5 |
| March | 89% | 6.0 |
| April | 92% | 7.4 |
| May | 94% | 8.2 |
| June | 94% | 8.2 |
| July | 86% | 7.1 |
| August | 87% | 6.6 |
| September | 88% | 5.9 |
| October | 92% | 5.1 |
| November | 89% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Safford Agricultural Center record?
A normal year at Safford Agricultural Center brings 2,345 heating degree days, 56% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,416 cooling degree days, 2.7 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,967 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 584 | 0 |
| February | 410 | 0 |
| March | 260 | 6 |
| April | 94 | 64 |
| May | 14 | 246 |
| June | 0 | 489 |
| July | 0 | 595 |
| August | 0 | 541 |
| September | 1 | 364 |
| October | 63 | 105 |
| November | 320 | 6 |
| December | 600 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,345 | 2,416 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00027390. 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 Safford Agricultural Center been warmer than normal?
2022 averaged 65.5°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 65.1°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 65.5°F | +0.4°F | 8.40 |
Over 43 complete years from 1953 to 2022, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.2°F per century (+0.23°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00027390; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Safford Agricultural Center's climate compare?
Safford Agricultural Center is warmer than 50 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 65.1°F is warmer than 88%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Safford Agricultural Center 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 Safford Agricultural Center share this climate record?
5 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.
- Thatcher, AZ5,627 people · 5 mi W
- Pima, AZ3,148 people · 11 mi NW
- Swift Trail Junction, AZ2,889 people · 6 mi S
- Cactus Flats, AZ1,550 people · 4 mi SW
- Central, AZ273 people · 7 mi NW
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 Safford Agricultural Center's climate
What is the coldest month at Safford Agricultural Center?
December, with a normal high of 61°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (99°F by day, 69°F at night).
Does it snow at Safford Agricultural Center?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.2 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Safford Agricultural Center?
August, with 1.84 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 0.18 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Safford Agricultural Center in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Safford Agricultural Center in zone 8b in ZIP code 85552, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Safford Agricultural Center?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 25; in one year in ten it comes after April 14. Waiting until April 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Safford, AZ4 miles from this station, 66.4°F a year
- Fort Thomas, AZ22 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Clifton, AZ27 miles from this station, 67.3°F a year
- Duncan, AZ33 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made