Scottsdale, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Scottsdale's normal year runs from 43°F December nights to 104°F July afternoons, with 8.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 22.9°C, December lows of 6°C, July highs of 40°C, 222 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationScottsdale Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00003192
- Location33.62°N 111.91°W
- Elevation1,473 ft (449 m)
- Population246,170
On October 14, the normal high in Scottsdale is 88°F and the normal low 63°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 Scottsdale.
- Jan 67° 43°
- Feb 69° 46°
- Mar 76° 52°
- Apr 83° 58°
- May 92° 67°
- Jun 102° 76°
- Jul 104° 83°
- Aug 103° 82°
- Sep 98° 75°
- Oct 87° 63°
- Nov 75° 51°
- Dec 65° 43°
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 Scottsdale each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 104°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 43°F. The most precipitation falls in February (1.24 in), the least in June (0.05 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 | 67°F | 43°F | 54.9°F | 1.11 | 4 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 69°F | 46°F | 57.3°F | 1.24 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| March | 76°F | 52°F | 63.7°F | 1.10 | 3 | 2 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 83°F | 58°F | 70.6°F | 0.34 | 2 | 7 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 92°F | 67°F | 79.3°F | 0.16 | 1 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 102°F | 76°F | 89.1°F | 0.05 | <1 | 29 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 104°F | 83°F | 93.4°F | 0.90 | 4 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 103°F | 82°F | 92.3°F | 0.83 | 4 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 98°F | 75°F | 86.7°F | 0.60 | 2 | 27 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 87°F | 63°F | 75.0°F | 0.62 | 3 | 14 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 75°F | 51°F | 62.7°F | 0.79 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 65°F | 43°F | 53.6°F | 0.99 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 85°F | 62°F | 73.2°F | 8.73 | 34 | 161 | 3 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 6°C | 12.7°C | 28 mm |
| February | 20°C | 8°C | 14.1°C | 31 mm |
| March | 24°C | 11°C | 17.6°C | 28 mm |
| April | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 9 mm |
| May | 33°C | 19°C | 26.3°C | 4 mm |
| June | 39°C | 25°C | 31.7°C | 1 mm |
| July | 40°C | 28°C | 34.1°C | 23 mm |
| August | 39°C | 28°C | 33.5°C | 21 mm |
| September | 37°C | 24°C | 30.4°C | 15 mm |
| October | 31°C | 17°C | 23.9°C | 16 mm |
| November | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 20 mm |
| December | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 25 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003192; 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 Scottsdale?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, April 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 USW00003192.
When is the last frost in Scottsdale?
In Scottsdale, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 6 in half of years and after February 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 26 in half of years and before December 4 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 70% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 61 year in 10 after February 7; 9 in 10 after December 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 261 year in 10 before December 4; 9 in 10 before January 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 353 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 2 in half of springs and before January 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Scottsdale in zones 9b to 10a across its 10 ZIP code areas (9b in 85262, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Scottsdale's NOAA station is in zone 10a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (20 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 USW00003192; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Scottsdale ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Scottsdale's 10 ZIP code areas run from zone 9b to 10a: 6 in 10a and 4 in 9b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Scottsdale?
In a normal year in Scottsdale, 161 days a year reach 90°F (93 of them 100°F or more), 3 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 34 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 161a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 93a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 3a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 34a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 2000) is 118°F, on June 20, 2017; the lowest is 25°F, on January 14, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2021, with 12.43 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003192; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00003192. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Scottsdale?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Scottsdale, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (84%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 11th (with 9 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 84% | 4.3 |
| March | 89% | 5.8 |
| April | 93% | 7.3 |
| May | 95% | 8.2 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 91% | 7.4 |
| August | 91% | 6.8 |
| September | 93% | 6.1 |
| October | 93% | 5.0 |
| November | 89% | 3.8 |
| December | 84% | 3.0 |
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 Scottsdale need?
A normal year in Scottsdale brings 1,139 heating degree days, 79% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 4,170 cooling degree days, 4.6 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 8,567 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 312 | 1 |
| February | 220 | 6 |
| March | 102 | 61 |
| April | 18 | 184 |
| May | 1 | 443 |
| June | 0 | 723 |
| July | 0 | 879 |
| August | 0 | 848 |
| September | 0 | 652 |
| October | 8 | 318 |
| November | 124 | 55 |
| December | 355 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 1,139 | 4,170 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003192. 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 Scottsdale been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 74.9°F, 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 73.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74.3°F | +1.1°F | 12.43 |
| 2022 | 73.9°F | +0.7°F | – |
| 2023 | 73.9°F | +0.7°F | 5.26 |
| 2024 | 75.0°F | +1.8°F | 5.91 |
| 2025 | 74.9°F | +1.7°F | 8.72 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003192. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Scottsdale's climate compare?
Scottsdale is warmer than 85 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 32. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 73.2°F is warmer than 98%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Scottsdale 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 Scottsdale share this climate record?
Paradise Valley has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Paradise Valley, AZ12,523 people · 6 mi SW
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 Scottsdale's climate
What is the coldest month in Scottsdale?
December, with a normal high of 65°F and a normal low of 43°F. The warmest is July (104°F by day, 83°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Scottsdale?
February, with 1.24 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.05 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Scottsdale in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Scottsdale in zones 9b to 10a across its 10 ZIP code areas (9b in 85262, the largest). By the same method at Scottsdale's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 10a.
How late can frost come in Scottsdale?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 6; in one year in ten it comes after February 7. Waiting until February 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Scottsdale in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pinnacle Peak, AZ8 miles from this station, 69.5°F a year
- Phoenix Deer Valley Municipal Airport, AZ11 miles from this station, 72.5°F a year
- Fountain Hills, AZ11 miles from this station, 72.1°F a year
- Carefree, AZ14 miles from this station, 70.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made