Sanders, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Sanders's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 8.2 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.2°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 32°C, 207 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSanders
- Station IDUSC00027488
- Location35.22°N 109.32°W
- Elevation5,853 ft (1,784 m)
- Population (census place)738
On October 23, the normal high in Sanders is 68°F and the normal low 34°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 Sanders.
- Jan 48° 19°
- Feb 52° 22°
- Mar 60° 26°
- Apr 68° 31°
- May 77° 38°
- Jun 88° 46°
- Jul 90° 56°
- Aug 88° 56°
- Sep 82° 48°
- Oct 70° 37°
- Nov 58° 26°
- Dec 48° 19°
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 Sanders each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.38 in), the least in June (0.11 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 19°F | 33.3°F | 0.89 | 0.8 | 3 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| February | 52°F | 22°F | 37.4°F | 0.38 | 0.7 | 2 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 60°F | 26°F | 43.1°F | 0.70 | 0.7 | 3 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 31°F | 49.3°F | 0.41 | 0.0 | 1 | <1 | 16 | 13 h |
| May | 77°F | 38°F | 57.5°F | 0.32 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 h |
| June | 88°F | 46°F | 66.9°F | 0.11 | 0.0 | 1 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 56°F | 73.3°F | 1.17 | 0.0 | 5 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 56°F | 71.9°F | 1.38 | 0.0 | 5 | 15 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 82°F | 48°F | 65.0°F | 0.53 | 0.0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 37°F | 53.4°F | 0.86 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 58°F | 26°F | 42.0°F | 0.70 | 0.3 | 2 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 48°F | 19°F | 33.6°F | 0.71 | 1.1 | 2 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 35°F | 52.2°F | 8.16 | 3.6 | 30 | 52 | 159 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | −7°C | 0.7°C | 23 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 11°C | −5°C | 3.0°C | 10 mm | 2 cm |
| March | 16°C | −3°C | 6.2°C | 18 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 20°C | −1°C | 9.6°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 3°C | 14.2°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 8°C | 19.4°C | 3 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 13°C | 22.9°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 13°C | 22.2°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 9°C | 18.3°C | 13 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 3°C | 11.9°C | 22 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 15°C | −4°C | 5.6°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 9°C | −7°C | 0.9°C | 18 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00027488; 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 Sanders?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. 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 USC00027488.
When is the last frost in Sanders?
In Sanders, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 22 in half of years and after June 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 8 in half of years and before September 25 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
- May 221 year in 10 after June 10; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 81 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 138 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 161 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 7 in half of springs and before October 17 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sanders in zone 6b in ZIP code 86512, 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 USC00027488; 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 in Sanders?
In a normal year in Sanders, 52 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 159 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 30 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 52a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 159a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 30a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 107°F, on July 6, 1985; the lowest is −23°F, on January 30, 1979.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1978, with 18.58 in; the snowiest season is 1952–53, with 21.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00027488; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00027488. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Sanders?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Sanders, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (92%) and December the cloudiest (79%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81% | 3.1 |
| February | 81% | 4.1 |
| March | 85% | 5.6 |
| April | 87% | 7.0 |
| May | 89% | 7.9 |
| June | 92% | 8.4 |
| July | 84% | 7.2 |
| August | 85% | 6.6 |
| September | 88% | 5.9 |
| October | 89% | 4.8 |
| November | 87% | 3.6 |
| December | 79% | 2.8 |
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 Sanders need?
A normal year in Sanders brings 5,275 heating degree days, 2% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 641 cooling degree days, 29% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,843 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 981 | 0 |
| February | 774 | 0 |
| March | 681 | 0 |
| April | 471 | 0 |
| May | 239 | 8 |
| June | 40 | 97 |
| July | 1 | 258 |
| August | 2 | 215 |
| September | 61 | 62 |
| October | 361 | 1 |
| November | 692 | 0 |
| December | 973 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,275 | 641 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00027488. 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 Sanders been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 53.9°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.2°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.1°F | +0.9°F | 11.76 | 8.0 |
| 2022 | 52.4°F | +0.2°F | 11.04 | – |
| 2025 | 53.9°F | +1.7°F | 6.14 | 0.0 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00027488. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Sanders's climate compare?
Sanders is warmer than 13 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 25. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.2°F is warmer than 50%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Sanders is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Sanders 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.
- Houck, AZ809 people · 6 mi NE
- Wide Ruins, AZ28 people · 17 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 Sanders's climate
What is the coldest month in Sanders?
January, with a normal high of 48°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 56°F at night).
Does it snow in Sanders?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (1.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Sanders?
August, with 1.38 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.11 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Sanders in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Sanders in zone 6b in ZIP code 86512, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Sanders?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 22; in one year in ten it comes after June 10. Waiting until June 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Painted Desert National Park, AZ27 miles from this station, 54.2°F a year
- Zuni, NM29 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Window Rock, AZ34 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Gallup, NM36 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made