Safford, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Safford's normal year runs from 34°F December nights to 100°F July afternoons, with 8.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.1°C, December lows of 1°C, July highs of 38°C, 203 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSafford Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00093084
- Location32.85°N 109.64°W
- Elevation3,176 ft (968 m)
- Population10,257
On October 14, the normal high in Safford is 84°F and the normal low 53°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 11%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Safford.
- Jan 61° 34°
- Feb 66° 37°
- Mar 73° 42°
- Apr 82° 48°
- May 91° 56°
- Jun 101° 66°
- Jul 100° 72°
- Aug 98° 71°
- Sep 93° 65°
- Oct 83° 52°
- Nov 70° 41°
- Dec 60° 34°
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 Safford each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 100°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in July (1.33 in), the least in May (0.17 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61°F | 34°F | 47.1°F | 0.71 | 4 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 66°F | 37°F | 51.2°F | 0.62 | 3 | <1 | 8 | 11 h |
| March | 73°F | 42°F | 57.6°F | 0.47 | 3 | <1 | 3 | 12 h |
| April | 82°F | 48°F | 64.8°F | 0.19 | 1 | 5 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 91°F | 56°F | 73.6°F | 0.17 | 2 | 20 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 101°F | 66°F | 83.4°F | 0.24 | 4 | 29 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 100°F | 72°F | 85.9°F | 1.33 | 9 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 98°F | 71°F | 84.6°F | 1.28 | 6 | 29 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 93°F | 65°F | 78.9°F | 0.88 | 4 | 23 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 83°F | 52°F | 67.5°F | 0.72 | 4 | 6 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 70°F | 41°F | 55.6°F | 0.52 | 3 | <1 | 4 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 60°F | 34°F | 46.6°F | 0.85 | 4 | <1 | 14 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 81°F | 51°F | 66.4°F | 7.98 | 48 | 143 | 44 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16°C | 1°C | 8.4°C | 18 mm |
| February | 19°C | 3°C | 10.7°C | 16 mm |
| March | 23°C | 5°C | 14.2°C | 12 mm |
| April | 28°C | 9°C | 18.2°C | 5 mm |
| May | 33°C | 13°C | 23.1°C | 4 mm |
| June | 38°C | 19°C | 28.6°C | 6 mm |
| July | 38°C | 22°C | 29.9°C | 34 mm |
| August | 37°C | 22°C | 29.2°C | 33 mm |
| September | 34°C | 18°C | 26.1°C | 22 mm |
| October | 28°C | 11°C | 19.7°C | 18 mm |
| November | 21°C | 5°C | 13.1°C | 13 mm |
| December | 15°C | 1°C | 8.1°C | 22 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Safford's own co-op station Safford Agricultural Center does: 0 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093084; 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 Safford?
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 (1).
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 USW00093084.
When is the last frost in Safford?
In Safford, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 8 in half of years and after March 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before November 4 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 81 year in 10 after March 27; 9 in 10 after February 18
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before November 4; 9 in 10 before December 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 254 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 283 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 19 in half of springs and before December 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Safford in zone 8b in ZIP code 85552, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Safford's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (22 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 USW00093084; 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 Safford?
In a normal year in Safford, 143 days a year reach 90°F (60 of them 100°F or more), 44 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 48 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 143a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 60a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 44a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 48a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 115°F, on July 11, 2020; the lowest is 4°F, on February 3, 2011.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2016, with 12.64 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093084; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093084. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Safford, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 51°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 57°F; the driest air comes in November (24°F). June is the windiest month (9.0 mph on average), and May has the most clear or nearly clear hours (98%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25°F | 42% | 24% | 6.6 mph | – | – |
| February | 25°F | 36% | 20% | 7.3 mph | 87% | 6% |
| March | 25°F | 26% | 14% | 8.1 mph | – | – |
| April | 25°F | 19% | 11% | 8.8 mph | – | – |
| May | 29°F | 16% | 10% | 8.2 mph | 98% | 0% |
| June | 43°F | 23% | 14% | 9.0 mph | 97% | 1% |
| July | 57°F | 41% | 24% | 7.7 mph | – | – |
| August | 54°F | 40% | 24% | 6.9 mph | – | – |
| September | 41°F | 31% | 18% | 6.7 mph | – | – |
| October | 32°F | 35% | 20% | 6.4 mph | – | – |
| November | 24°F | 40% | 24% | 6.3 mph | – | – |
| December | 25°F | 49% | 30% | 6.5 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00093084. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Safford?
Over a year 89% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Safford, 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 much heating and cooling does Safford need?
A normal year in Safford brings 2,175 heating degree days, 60% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,715 cooling degree days, 3.0 times the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,368 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 553 | 0 |
| February | 387 | 0 |
| March | 237 | 8 |
| April | 80 | 72 |
| May | 10 | 277 |
| June | 0 | 550 |
| July | 0 | 649 |
| August | 0 | 608 |
| September | 0 | 416 |
| October | 49 | 126 |
| November | 291 | 9 |
| December | 569 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,175 | 2,715 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093084. 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 Safford been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 68.7°F, 2.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 66.4°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67.1°F | +0.7°F | 9.77 |
| 2022 | 65.5°F | −0.9°F | 8.59 |
| 2023 | 67.0°F | +0.6°F | 7.84 |
| 2024 | 67.9°F | +1.5°F | 3.93 |
| 2025 | 68.7°F | +2.3°F | 5.43 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093084. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Safford's climate compare?
Safford is warmer than 54 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 22. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 66.4°F is warmer than 91%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Safford 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 share this climate record?
2 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.
- San Jose, AZ560 people · 3 mi SE
- Solomon, AZ478 people · 3 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Safford's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Safford. This page uses Safford Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safford Agricultural Center USC00027390 | 4 mi SW | 2,954 ft | 65.1°F | 30°F | 99°F | 8.8 | 0 | March 25 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Safford's climate
What is the coldest month in Safford?
December, with a normal high of 60°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (100°F by day, 72°F at night).
Does it snow in Safford?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Safford's NOAA station; Safford's own co-op station Safford Agricultural Center records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Safford?
July, with 1.33 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 0.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Safford in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Safford in zone 8b in ZIP code 85552, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Safford's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Safford?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 8; in one year in ten it comes after March 27. Waiting until March 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Safford in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Safford Agricultural Center, AZ4 miles from this station, 65.1°F a year
- Fort Thomas, AZ23 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Clifton, AZ24 miles from this station, 67.3°F a year
- Duncan, AZ30 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