Snowflake, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Snowflake's normal year runs from 20°F December nights to 90°F July afternoons, with 11.0 inches of precipitation and 13 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.9°C, December lows of −7°C, July highs of 32°C, 280 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSnowflake
- Station IDUSC00028012
- Location34.51°N 110.08°W
- Elevation5,642 ft (1,720 m)
- Population6,736
On October 23, the normal high in Snowflake is 70°F and the normal low 33°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 Snowflake.
- Jan 50° 20°
- Feb 55° 23°
- Mar 62° 28°
- Apr 69° 33°
- May 78° 41°
- Jun 88° 48°
- Jul 90° 58°
- Aug 88° 56°
- Sep 83° 49°
- Oct 73° 36°
- Nov 60° 26°
- Dec 49° 20°
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 Snowflake each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 90°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.16 in), the least in June (0.28 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50°F | 20°F | 35.1°F | 0.72 | 2.3 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| February | 55°F | 23°F | 39.1°F | 0.64 | 2.0 | 4 | <1 | 24 | 11 h |
| March | 62°F | 28°F | 45.1°F | 0.74 | 2.1 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 33°F | 51.2°F | 0.38 | 0.5 | 3 | <1 | 13 | 13 h |
| May | 78°F | 41°F | 59.4°F | 0.39 | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 h |
| June | 88°F | 48°F | 68.2°F | 0.28 | 0.0 | 2 | 13 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 90°F | 58°F | 73.8°F | 2.16 | 0.0 | 8 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 88°F | 56°F | 72.0°F | 1.91 | 0.0 | 9 | 13 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 83°F | 49°F | 65.7°F | 1.19 | 0.0 | 5 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 36°F | 54.3°F | 0.94 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 60°F | 26°F | 43.1°F | 0.77 | 1.2 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 49°F | 20°F | 34.6°F | 0.92 | 4.5 | 4 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 37°F | 53.5°F | 11.04 | 12.9 | 53 | 48 | 149 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 10°C | −7°C | 1.7°C | 18 mm | 6 cm |
| February | 13°C | −5°C | 3.9°C | 16 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 17°C | −2°C | 7.3°C | 19 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 21°C | 1°C | 10.7°C | 10 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 26°C | 5°C | 15.2°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 31°C | 9°C | 20.1°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 14°C | 23.2°C | 55 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 13°C | 22.2°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 28°C | 9°C | 18.7°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 23°C | 2°C | 12.4°C | 24 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 16°C | −3°C | 6.2°C | 20 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 10°C | −7°C | 1.4°C | 23 mm | 11 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028012; 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 Snowflake?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, September and October. Of those, May 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 USC00028012.
When is the last frost in Snowflake?
In Snowflake, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 11 in half of years and after May 31 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 in half of years and before September 28 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 111 year in 10 after May 31; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 149 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 172 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Snowflake in zone 7a in ZIP code 85937. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Snowflake's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (24 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 USC00028012; 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 Snowflake?
In a normal year in Snowflake, 48 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 149 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 53 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 48a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 149a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 53a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1897) is 104°F, on July 13, 1942; the lowest is −30°F, on January 23, 1937.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1915, with 23.28 in; the snowiest season is 1914–15, with 56.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00028012; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00028012. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Snowflake?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Snowflake, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (93%) and July the cloudiest (80%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.3 |
| February | 84% | 4.3 |
| March | 88% | 5.8 |
| April | 90% | 7.2 |
| May | 91% | 8.0 |
| June | 93% | 8.4 |
| July | 80% | 6.8 |
| August | 83% | 6.4 |
| September | 88% | 6.0 |
| October | 90% | 4.9 |
| November | 88% | 3.7 |
| December | 81% | 2.9 |
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 Snowflake need?
A normal year in Snowflake brings 4,887 heating degree days, 9% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 704 cooling degree days, 22% 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 3,034 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 927 | 0 |
| February | 725 | 0 |
| March | 619 | 0 |
| April | 414 | 0 |
| May | 192 | 16 |
| June | 27 | 123 |
| July | 1 | 273 |
| August | 1 | 220 |
| September | 49 | 70 |
| October | 333 | 1 |
| November | 657 | 0 |
| December | 942 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,887 | 704 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028012. 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 Snowflake been warmer than normal lately?
Over 78 complete years from 1898 to 2015, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 0.6°F per century (+0.03°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Snowflake's climate compare?
Snowflake is warmer than 15 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 44. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.5°F is warmer than 55%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Snowflake 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 Snowflake 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.
- Taylor, AZ4,386 people · 5 mi S
- Shumway, AZ178 people · 7 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.
Questions about Snowflake's climate
What is the coldest month in Snowflake?
December, with a normal high of 49°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (90°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Snowflake?
Yes: 13 inches in a normal year, falling on 6 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Snowflake?
July, with 2.16 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.28 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Snowflake in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Snowflake in zone 7a in ZIP code 85937. By the same method at Snowflake's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Snowflake?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 11; in one year in ten it comes after May 31. Waiting until May 31 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Show Low, AZ17 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Petrified Forest National Park, AZ23 miles from this station, 55.6°F a year
- Holbrook, AZ28 miles from this station, 56.6°F a year
- Pinetop (2 mi E), AZ28 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made